What I learned from reading Idea Man: A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft by Paul Allen 

---

Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. 

---

I was 21 years old and at loose ends (0:01)

how Paul Allen works (4:09)

coming up with the idea for Microsoft (4:48)

admiring Bill Gates' bravado (7:56)

advice from his father: do something you love (12:30)

"Paul is an 'enthusiast' and when in the grip of an enthusiasm is almost totally irresponsible in other areas. How can one help such a student to see the error of his ways ? I don't know. He could even be more right than we, who knows ?" (18:30)

Going deep on subjects that interested him (20:56)

Paul's first jobs (24:14)

Paul Allen and Bill Gates first business (26:44)

New Mexico and the start of Microsoft (31:37)

We were certain that the tech establishment was wrong and we were right (34:40)

Unequal cofounders (37:29)

Starting to grow Microsoft (39:00)

Unequal cofounders part two (41:00)

Early Microsoft culture: When I talk about the early days at Microsoft, it's hard to explain to people how much fun it was.( 46:43)

Turning down a millions of dollars from Ross Perot (53:37)

Unequal cofounders part 3 (56:54)

The deal that led to Microsoft becoming the largest tech company of its day (58:00)

Health crisis and Paul Allen leaves Microsoft (1:05:30)

His most important realization (1:09:27)

How Paul makes $75 million from AOL (1:13:00)

I start from a different place , from the love of ideas and the urge to put them into motion and see where they might lead (1:18:10)

“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth

Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast