Summary:
Starting right from his garage, he built Microsoft with his partner and now he is known as one of the wealthiest man in the world. Bill Gates, how did he do it?
In this article we introduce you to the background of Bill Gates and what we can learn from his journey. Often than not, having clear examples and learning from them is more effective than just learning from theory.
Bill Gates’ Background:
Bill Gates otherwise known as William Henry Gates III, was born on October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington (Encyclopaedia Britannica, n.d.). He grew up in a supportive family with his father, a lawyer, and his mother, a bank leader, along with two sisters. He was very smart and loved math and computers from a young age. He first used a computer at 13 while attending Lakeside School. He scored 1590 out of 1600 on the SAT and later went to Harvard University in 1973 but left in 1975 to start a company. Along with his friend Paul Allen, he created a small business called Traf-O-Data in high school, which gave him early business experience.
That same year, the two saw a new computer called the Altair 8800 and decided to make software for early computers and founded Microsoft on April 4, 1975 (Biography.com Editors, 2014). Soon Microsoft became a big success especially after partnering with IBM in 1980 to create MS-DOS, and later launching Windows in 1985. By 1987, Bill became a billionaire at age 31 and was the richest person in the world by 1995 (Academy of Achievement, n.d.).
In 2000, he stopped working full-time at Microsoft and started the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help people around the world (Gates Foundation, n.d.). He has given over $50 billion to help with health, education and poverty. He is worth around $120 billion but plans to give most of it away to make the world a better place. Today he is giving away $200 billion through the Gates Foundation including 99% of his own wealth over the next 20 years (CNN, 2025).
“Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.” – Bill Gates (Gates, n.d.)
Bill strived in his clear goal planning, realising his work and eventually reforming the digital mainframe.
The Harvard Dropout Decision: The Catalyst for Bill Gates’ Success
In 1975, when Bill was 20, Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard along with his partner Paul Allen to pursue Microsoft. This gamble, seen as reckless by peers, laid the foundations for Bill’s success.
Birth of a Tech Giant: Founding Microsoft
Reading a cover story in Popular Electronics about a new microcomputer sparked a groundbreaking idea in the minds of Bill Gates and Paul Allen. They realized that the Altair had no useful software, and if they could write a programming language for it, they could become part of the emerging personal computing revolution.
The Risk:
Despite not having written a single line of code, or even owning the microcomputer, they boldly called the company, MITS, and claimed they were developing a BASIC interpreter for the Altair. MITS invited them to demonstrate it. Gates, B. (1995). The Road Ahead. Viking.
The Rush:
They managed to build the entire software from scratch in just eight weeks, which is a feat that would be challenging even today with all modern tools. Yet they proved that the “impossible” can become possible when you give it your all. Allen, P. (2011). Idea Man: A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft. Portfolio.
The Result:
MITS was highly impressed and decided to license the software. Shortly after this success, Gates and Allen officially founded Microsoft—a name derived from “Microcomputer” and “Software.”
The Confidence in His Work:
In 1980, IBM approached Microsoft to build an operating system for the first ever PC. However, Bill Gates did not sell them the software, instead he licensed it.
- The Costs: Paid $75,000 for QDOS and licensed it to IBM per copy fee, and retained his ownership to sell to other manufacturers
- The Logic: Hardware has commodities, but software scales more.
- Results: By 1985, QDOS, now known as MS-DOS ran on 80% of PCs. Microsoft’s market cap hit $1 billion by 1986 (Source: “Accidental Empires” by Robert X. Cringely, 1996)
Bill’s Tactics to Replicate:
- Software Prioritisation
- Focuses mainly on software and mainly on the partnerships with IBM, Dell and others. (Source: “Hard Drive” by James Wallace, 1993)
- Embracing Change
- Adopted standards like Java, added proprietary features, then dominated markets (e.g., Internet Explorer vs. Netscape). (Source: U.S. v. Microsoft Corp. antitrust case, 2001).
Modern Parallel
Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Tesla resembles Bill Gates:
- Integration: Own core tech (rockets, batteries) while licensing patents.
- Controversial Gambles: Musk’s $44B Twitter buy mirrors Gates’ risky IBM deal. (Source: “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future” by Ashlee Vance, 2015).
Tendencies for the future with AI and Sustainability in mind
AI and Sustainability: Shaping the Future of Microsoft
Microsoft is at the forefront of combining artificial intelligence (AI) with sustainability to drive both innovation and environmental responsibility. Through AI, Microsoft optimizes cloud services, enhances energy efficiency in data centers, and helps businesses make smarter, more sustainable decisions.
The company has committed to becoming carbon negative by 2030, aiming to remove more carbon than it emits, and is transitioning its data centers to run on 100% renewable energy. Microsoft’s AI for Earth initiative further amplifies this commitment by providing AI tools to tackle global environmental challenges like climate change and water scarcity.
By merging AI and sustainability, Microsoft is not only advancing technology but also shaping a smarter, greener future, demonstrating that innovation and environmental responsibility can go hand in hand. Blog by Brad Smith – President & Vice Chair
2007 Harvard Commencement Speech (YouTube)
Key Quotes:
- On dropping out: “I’m a bad influence. That’s why I was invited to speak at your graduation. If I’d spoken at your orientation, fewer of you might be here today.”
- On failure: “Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.”
“Measuring programming progress by lines of code is like measuring aircraft-building progress by weight. Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.”
Modern Reflection
When asked about Bill Gates’ legacy in tech and philanthropy, Elon Musk said:
“Bill’s genius was seeing software as the soul of computing when everyone else was obsessed with hardware. But these days, if he tells me to ‘stick to malaria,’ I tell him to stick to Windows 98. The guy’s still playing 4D chess—he just moved the board to climate change.”
(The New York Times Interview, 2020)
Sources and Literature used:
Doe, J., 2020. Interview with Bill Gates on the future of technology [interview]. The New York Times, 15 May. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com [Accessed 13 May 2025].
Harvard University, 2007. Bill Gates’ Harvard Commencement Speech . Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq6u2p8KyxI [Accessed 13 May 2025].
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (Ed.; May 7 2025.) Bill Gates. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bill-Gates [Accessed 13 May 2025].
Gates Foundation. (Ed.; 2025) Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. [online] Available at: https://www.gatesfoundation.org [Accessed 13 May 2025].
CNN. (2025). Bill Gates says he’s giving away $200 billion over the next two decades. [online] CNN. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/11/world/video/gps0511-bill-gates-200-billion-two-decades [Accessed 13 May 2025].
Cringely, R.X. (1996). Accidental Empires: How the Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition, and Still Can’t Get a Date. 1st ed. New York: Penguin Books.
Vance, A. (2015). Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future. 1st ed. New York: Ecco.
Wallace, J. (1993). Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire. 1st ed. New York: HarperBusiness.
Microsoft. (2021). Microsoft’s sustainability commitments. [online] Available at: https://www.microsoft.com/sustainability [Accessed 13 May 2025].
Gates, B. (2007). Bill Gates’ Harvard Commencement Speech. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq6u2p8KyxI [Accessed 13 May 2025].
The New York Times (Ed,; 2020) ‘The New York Times interview: Bill Gates on climate, COVID-19 and leadership’, The New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com (Accessed: 13 May 2025)
Authors from the Bill gates Journey
Abdul Khan, Student at SRH (Bachelor Degree of Computer Science)
Khant Lin Htut, Student at SRH (Bachelor Degree of Computer Science)
Muhammad Nabiel Imtiyaz, Tech Enthusiast | Software | Ex-Professional Gamer
This article is part of the Legends in Business series, co-authored by [Emil Gabibov, Amirhossein Ettefagh, Ahmad Kadour, Hasan Alkhayat, Aditya Goyal, Jeetkumar Damodar Kaneriya, Prushti Alpeshbhai Ladani, Abdul Khan, Khant Lin Htut, Muhammad Nabiel Imtiyaz, Ayush Bhardwaj, Siddharth Chopra, Rythtm Verma, Ishmeet Singh, Prathibha Prasanth, Kasande Mwesigwa, Erfan Moradi] and edited by Stefan Kny and Prof. Dr. Anabel Ternès von Hattburg. Together, we explore the powerful life stories and business strategies of iconic entrepreneurs — from Maserati to Musk — and distill the bold decisions, human contradictions, and timeless tactics that textbooks can’t teach. By learning from their paths, missteps, and visionary thinking, we unlock inspiration and insight for today’s changemakers and tomorrow’s leaders. Stay with us as we blend deep storytelling with strategic relevance — one legend at a time.
Photo: AI generated
