Bill Gates has had a busier life than most of us could ever imagine. So busy, in fact, that he’s writing not one, not two, but three memoirs just to get it all down on paper. Source Code is the first installment, covering his early years—his school days, his first geeky encounters with computers, his Harvard stint, and, of course, the birth of Microsoft with his buddy Paul Allen.
It’s a classic underdog-meets-destiny story, but with a twist. Gates wasn’t exactly an underdog—he came from a well-to-do family—but what he lacked in hardship, he made up for in sheer, obsessive brainpower. This is the tale of how a scrawny, nerdy kid with a high-pitched voice and a love for strategy games transformed into one of the most influential figures in tech.
The Game of Life (Literally)
In the Gates household, games weren’t just fun—they were training grounds for mental domination. And the reigning champion? His grandma, Adelle “Gami” Thompson. Bill was convinced she had supernatural card-playing abilities—until one evening, she spilled the beans. Her secret? She could track every move, spot patterns, and predict plays like a Vegas-level card shark.
Bill, ever the sponge for knowledge, took notes. He studied her strategies, lost countless games, and eventually started winning. And thus, his lifelong addiction to figuring things out was born.
School Daze: Young Bill Gates Meets World
Young Bill wasn’t exactly thriving in school. Being younger than his classmates (and not exactly a football star) made him prime bully bait. His solution? Becoming a class clown. This did not impress his mother, Mary, who had a way of making “disappointment” feel like an Olympic-level guilt trip.
But Gates had bigger fish to fry. His parents, recognizing that their son was both brilliant and borderline impossible to manage, enrolled him at Lakeside, an elite private school. Initially, he considered failing the entrance exam just to rebel. Thankfully, he changed his mind, or we might not have Microsoft today.
Enter: The Computer (and the Dumpster Diving)
At Lakeside, a small notice about a computer rental changed everything. The school had secured access to a Teletype machine linked to a timeshared computer. Bill was hooked. His first program? A tic-tac-toe game. From that moment, computers became his world.
Gates, along with his new tech-obsessed friends—Paul Allen, Ric Weiland, and Kent Evans—formed an informal coding club. The problem? Renting computer time wasn’t cheap. Enter dumpster diving. No, really. They rummaged through Computer Center Corporation’s trash, salvaging discarded code printouts like treasure hunters. One night, they struck gold—a stack of machine-language instructions for the PDP-10. For most people, this was gibberish. For Bill and Paul? A doorway to the future.
From Pranks to Paychecks
Gates didn’t just tinker—he schemed. One day, he discovered a loophole in the PDP-10’s security that let him log in as an administrator. The thrill was short-lived; when the company found out, they banned him. Oops.
But he bounced back, scoring a gig writing a payroll program for Information Sciences, Inc. His first real software job. Meanwhile, he and Kent were building a computerized scheduling program for Lakeside—until tragedy struck. Kent died in a mountain-climbing accident. Devastated, Gates pressed on, enlisting Paul Allen to help finish what Kent had started. It was a turning point—the moment Gates realized that software wasn’t just a hobby. It was a calling.
College (AKA the Warm-Up Act for Microsoft)
Despite his coding prowess, Gates still aimed for a “normal” path—so he went to Harvard. Kind of. In reality, he spent most of his time buried in the computer lab, barely scraping by academically. Paul Allen, now working at Honeywell, lived nearby, constantly buzzing with ideas about microprocessors. Then, in 1975, the Popular Electronics cover story on the Altair 8800 changed everything.
They saw the future: personal computers. The only thing missing? Software.
Micro-Soft: The Garage Band of Tech
With a little creative rule-bending (like using Harvard’s PDP-10 to develop a commercial product—whoops), Gates wrote Altair BASIC. Paul flew to New Mexico to demo it, and it worked like a dream. MITS, the company behind Altair, was sold. Just like that, Bill and Paul had a deal.
Now they just needed a name. Paul suggested combining microprocessors and software. Thus, “Micro-Soft” was born (the hyphen later got the boot).
Of course, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Harvard found out about Gates’ unauthorized use of their resources, leading to some intense discussions. But he wriggled out of trouble, took full responsibility, and continued building what would soon become the most powerful software empire in the world.
The Birth of a Tech Revolution
As hobbyists and engineers caught on to the Altair 8800’s potential, Gates and Allen found themselves at the center of a movement. The Homebrew Computer Club was buzzing. The idea of personal computing was no longer a sci-fi fantasy—it was real. And Gates knew that the key to its success wasn’t just hardware. It was software. High-quality, scalable, indispensable software.
With each new project, each new deal, and each new challenge, Micro-Soft (soon Microsoft) grew into something bigger than they’d ever imagined. It was the beginning of a revolution. And Bill? He was just getting started.
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