Someone asked me a history question about Microsoft tonight and I dug out this paper fact sheet from my files to give them an answer.

My first conversation with Bill about Microsoft was in the summer of 1980.

Microsoft sales in 1980 were $8 million. 40 employees at year end. Image
Can you name everyone in this picture? What date was it taken? Image
Answer: BOOP (Bill and the Office of the President) Frank Gaudette is next to Mike Maples. 1992.…rdcoresoftware.learningbyshipping.com/p/018-microsof…
One of my blog 300 posts is about Mike Maples Sr. who is in that picture and was part of BOOP. Maybe I will write one about Frank Gaudette someday. 25iq.com/2016/07/01/a-d…

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More from @trengriffin

1 Nov
The future is a probability distribution.

The global chip supply set of issues is multiple complex adaptive systems interacting (AKA a lollapalooza). Solutions for some firms include product redesign.

Experts who predict a specific date aren't experts. wsj.com/articles/globa…
"As of October, times for chip deliveries have ballooned to 22 weeks. It is longer for the scarcest parts: 25 weeks for power-management components and 38 weeks for the microcontrollers the auto industry needs."

Both uncertainty and unknown unknowns are present. Complexity. Image
"Some buyers trying to place new orders are getting delivery dates in 2024... The smartphone industry will grow by just 6% year-over-year, or half the initial forecast from earlier this year, because of chip woes, according to Counterpoint Research."

Complexity is increasing. Image
Read 5 tweets
31 Oct
1/ "In the second quarter, McDonald's said its prices were up by 6% compared to 2020. In the latest earnings call, executives confirmed they anticipate the increase to stay at that level for the rest of the year." eatthis.com/news-mcdonalds…
2/"Employee wages at McDonald's have been steadily increasing this year, with a total increase of about 10% so far in 2021. At company-owned stores, wages are up a 15%."

amp.ft.com/content/b53a99… Image
3/ "Costco has raised its minimum U.S. wage to $17 an hour, and Starbucks will raise its starting pay to $15 an hour. As of August, retailers had 1.2 million unfilled jobs, while restaurants and hotels had 1.5 million." npr.org/2021/10/28/104…
Read 4 tweets
26 Oct
What business is this? Image
Clue: Image
Another clue: Image
Read 4 tweets
24 Oct
1/ This acquisition worked out pretty good.

"Microsoft, moving to solidify its dominant position in the market for software for the popular Apple Macintosh personal computer, on Thursday acquired Forethought Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., for $14 Milton." latimes.com/archives/la-xp…
2/ JULY 31, 1987: "Microsoft has been especially successful at penetrating the Macintosh market where, according to the research firm InfoCorp, Microsoft publishes the three top-selling business programs."

blog.zamzar.com/2016/06/10/dea…
3/ "Microsoft is the company that made the first commitment to the Mac.  It has invested the most in the Mac. Our Mac products do super well.” MacWeek, January 31, 1994

“Macintosh has a bright future.”
Letter to Spindler,  April, 1995

Bill Gates
Read 5 tweets
23 Oct
2/ What business is this?
1/ Clue
3/ What type of business is able to go public spending ~ 50% of revenue on sales and marketing?

Is that gross margin typical of this type of business?

Do G&A and R&D match the usual and customary profile?

Do you understand the unit economics?

What are churn and CAC?
Read 4 tweets
20 Oct
1/ "You sometimes hear an entrepreneur say: ‘Oh, we’ll just make it viral.’  As if virality is something you can choose to add in after the product is baked – like a spell checker. If virality was easy, there would be no advertising industry.” Josh Kopelman.
2/ "Virality is something that has to be engineered from the beginning…and it’s harder to create virality than it is to create a good product.  That’s why we often see good products with poor virality, and poor products with good virality." Josh Kopelman.
3/ "Most viral acquisition is built around incentives. Users are incentivized either explicitly (with a clear dangling carrot) or implicitly (through product mechanics) to invite other users.” Sangeet Paul Choudary.
Read 4 tweets

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