Bill Gates: How to accelerate history (Part 1)

Masters of Scale

WaitWhat

Startups, Business, Mindset, Management, Bob Safian, Entrepreneurship, Diversity & Inclusion, Reid Hoffman, Jeff Berman

4.6 • 4.4K Ratings

🗓️ 9 August 2022

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

How did Bill Gates scale BOTH a global business and a global philanthropy? He spotted an inflection point in history — and accelerated it. What does that take? A great idea, great timing, and also: Great partners. Because even Bill Gates doesn’t go it alone. In Part 1 of this special two-part episode, Bill reflects with Reid on the founding and growth of Microsoft — how he not only spotted an inflection point (hello, personal computers) but accelerated it to massive scale (forget computers, let's talk platforms). There’s timeless wisdom in Bill’s ability to identify inflection points, build strategic partnerships, and just work harder than everyone else. In Part 2, Bill reflects on scaling the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the different lessons learned between the two.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Real leaders don't back down when the stakes are high. They innovate. They push forward,
0:07.5	and then they take the stage at the Masters of Scale Summit.
0:11.6	Join us in San Francisco, October 7th to 9th to hear from the CEO of the New York Times,
0:17.1	scientists using cutting-edge technology to find cures, the leader of crypto powerhouse
0:22.0	coinbase, a retired four-star general, and many, many more.
0:26.7	Apply now at mastersofscale.com slash apply 25. That's masters ofscale.com slash apply 25.
0:36.9	Is your AI built for everyone, or is it built to work with your businesses' data?
0:42.6	IBM helps you integrate and govern unstructured data wherever it lives, so your business can
0:47.9	have more accurate AI instead of just more of it.
0:51.4	Get your data ready for AI at IBM.com, the AI built for business. IBM.
1:01.4	6,457. You have a hose across the road and every time a car goes over it,
1:14.5	it counts. That's the unmistakable voice of Bill Gates, whose name is as entwined with a history of computing
1:27.0	as Neil Armstrong's is with a history of spaceflight.
1:31.7	Bill is the person who brought us Microsoft, Windows, PowerPoint, Excel, Xbox, and of course,
1:39.8	TRAFO Data?
1:45.0	OK, so Bill's first company didn't have the name recognition of Microsoft.
1:52.4	But it is catchy, like Filo Fish or Wondo Rama.
1:57.3	Bill is taking us back to his high school days.
2:01.0	Like many teenagers, Bill and his best friend Paul Allen were consumed by a love that spilled into obsession.
2:09.1	The object of their affection?
2:11.3	The computer, which had not yet become a household object.
2:15.8	When Paul and I were just messing around with computers, we were looking
	...

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