Triumph of the Nerds Part II

Riding the Bear

In this second part of the documentary entitled "Riding the Bear" we can see the events that follow the Apple's creation by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, which revolutionized the IT and software industry to enter the global market that generates millions of dollars each year.

One of the most interesting facts is IBM's entry into this market, the company that is known for being conservative and rigorous had to choose between an experienced computer PhD and a Harvard drop out, this latter person was the largest software provider in the industry and his name was Bill Gates. At Microsoft, Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates knew the importance of IBM's visit, since at that time were the largest company that dominated the market. Bill Gates always took advantage of the opportunities presented to him, so that might have helped the growth of the company.

IBM created something that revolutionized the world, however, there were soon other companies that would be its competition. Besides that, I think IBM is very focused on being a rigid and conservative company, always concerned about making high-level business unlike other younger and flexibles companies as Microsoft.

I think one of the reasons why Microsoft grew very quickly, is the great vision that Bill Gates has, so despite growing up in a wealthy family, he is an entrepreneur and would not give up so easily. Their need to meet the needs of adolescents and adults inspired much of his ideas.

It was easier to create a new culture with people who are fresh out of school rather than people who came from other companies and other cultures (Charles Simonyi, Chief Programmer at Microsoft)

Finally, I was very surprised by the comments of Bill Gates in the final minutes of the documentary. What he is trying to tell us is that we should not rely on the luck we have, because we do not know how durable our success, there is no guarantee in the software industry to always be number one, so we must be concerned for always be innovating and go away from our comfort zone.

References

Mitchell, J. [Jamila Mitchell]. (2015, may 21). Triumph of the Nerds Part 2. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/124201870