Paul Allen: The Unsung Co-Founder Behind Microsoft’s Success
Many business ideas today may seem to have only one face, but behind the scenes, there is an army of people working. Among these people, we recognize the leaders. Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk are some of these leaders.
Many business ideas today may seem to have only one face, but behind the scenes, there is an army of people working. Among these people, we recognize the leaders. Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk are some of these leaders. One of the most prominent leaders of yesterday and today is undoubtedly Bill Gates… With him, operating systems with interfaces reached a huge market. Bill Gates, of course, did not do these things alone. At first, he was accompanied by his partner Paul Allen and his wife Melinda Ann French, whom he later divorced in an eventful way.
The Founding of Microsoft
Paul Gardner Allen, with whom Gates co-founded Microsoft, remained in the shadows for a long time and died in 2018. Before his death, he collected his memories in a book. Allen, who left Microsoft in his early 30s, was childhood friends with Gates in Seattle. He describes those days as follows: “Bill and I both became very good software developers. We were both fanatically passionate about learning new things.”
The duo started thinking about the idea of starting a software company. According to their initial calculations, a company of 35 people would be big enough. Paul Allen resigned in February 1983, 9 years after the idea of starting a company began to circulate. At that time, Microsoft employed 500 people. Allen was 22 and Gates 19 when Microsoft was founded.
Behind the Scenes: The Role of Paul Allen
According to Allen, he is the idea man of Microsoft. He even wrote a memoir called Idea Man. Due to some disturbances in Microsoft’s ownership structure, Allen took his shares and left. He says he could have gotten a better deal, but he didn’t force his hand.
According to Allen’s recollections, Bill Gates never liked to lose. Even when he plays chess, his anger grows when he loses. He is also not afraid to foul his mouth at work. Gates’ first offer was to divide Microsoft 60 to 40 percent, but then things came to the point of dividing the company 64 to 36 percent. Gates, who was uncomfortable with this share taken by Allen, often complained to Steve Ballmer, the former CEO of the company.
A Life Beyond Microsoft
After leaving Microsoft, Allen devoted himself to the hobbies of great men. He became a partner in a basketball team, bought an American football team and Jimi Hendrix’s guitar. He became friends with Mick Jagger and Bono. He built a 126-meter yacht called Octopus. He employed more than 50 full-time staff.
Paul Allen spent the last years of his life fighting cancer. He was interested in scientific research on how the brain works. He participated in fundraising events for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. After his death, he agreed to donate half of his fortune. Gates visited Allen several times while he was recovering from chemotherapy. On October 15, 2018, Allen died of blood cancer.
A Dynamic Partnership
Those who know them immediately recognize the character differences between the two. Gates was the son of business parents, had teeth, and liked to discuss things loudly. Paul Allen, on the other hand, was the son of a librarian, always used to dealing with things in a low-key manner.
When they started their company, Micro-Soft, microprocessors had been around for a few years, and all computers were just text on green digital screens. Many companies were focused on building computers with more powerful hardware and smaller footprints.
By the time Allen left the company, Micro-Soft had released the operating system Windows, but it wasn’t long before Word came out. In his own words, he was very interested in both of these products. He says he was behind the idea of the two-button mouse.
The success of Microsoft owes much to the contributions of Paul Allen, the unsung co-founder who played a pivotal role in shaping the tech giant’s future.
