The Road Ahead
Recent Microsoft press releases might include layoff talks, AI outbreaks, or earnings calls. But what about deeper insights into the original vision of Bill Gates and Paul Allen? You can find those in The Road Ahead by Bill Gates. Published in November of 1995, The Road Ahead is an autobiography about Gates' childhood dreams of computer programming and his foresight into the Information Age. Bill's book begins by detailing his experience playing in the sandbox of computers at the Lakeside School in Seattle, Washington. In 1968, 13-year-old Gates, alongside Paul Allen, wrote his first software program to play tic-tac-toe using BASIC (Beginner’s All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code).
Playing with computers was fun, but Gates had a simple problem. Computer time cost money in the late 60s. This challenge could have stopped Bill, but he saw an opportunity instead. Unlike today, most computers were built with individual software programs that only worked with specific hardware. Bill could use his knowledge to help local businesses fix or rewrite their software programs. He continued to finance his experiments this way up until 1972. Leveraging teenage ambition, 17-year-old Bill Gates and 19-year-old Paul Allen founded their first company, Traf-O-Data.
Inspiration for Traf-O-Data came to Paul Allen after he read an edition of Popular Electronics Magazine and discovered Intel's new 8008 microprocessor chip. He contacted Intel to request a manual that could be used to write additional programs compatible with the chip. Unfortunately, 8008 chips were not very adaptable due to a low number of transistors. They could, however, be used to transmit information from traffic monitors to local governments. At the time, analyzing traffic data involved cars crossing over a rubber hose that punched holes into paper tape stored in a metal box at the end of each street. Traf-O-Data would use computers with 8008 chips to efficiently process data from tapes. Despite high hopes, Paul and Bill struggled to make sales so Traf-O-Data shut down just in time for Gates to attend Harvard.
the Altair 8800
During Gates’ junior year, the world's first personal computer, the Altair 8800, was launched. When paired with the VT-100 video terminal, the Altair brought computers into people’s homes. However, no software program existed that could run on Altair. This is where Gates identified the opportunity of a lifetime. If he and Paul could write a versatile program for the Intel 8080 chip that worked on the Altair, they would have enough to found Microsoft!
Fascinating details on Microsoft's journey from a dorm room to bringing home $245 billion in annual revenue are outlined in The Road Ahead by Bill Gates. The Road Ahead dives into Microsoft's early partnership with IBM, MS-DOS, the release of Windows 1.0, and the profound vision that inspired Gates in his youth. Support us by ordering your copy with one of the links in this article or signing up for Audible. Subscribers get one free credit each month that allows you to listen to any book in Audible’s vast library. You can also follow our socials or tune into regular episodes of the Serenity Saga to hear about the intersection of Buddhism and Business.
Bibliography:
Gates, Bill. The Road Ahead. Viking, 1995.
"Altair 8800." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 25 May 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altair_8800.
Lunduke, Bryan. "Traf-O-Data: The Company Before Microsoft." Lunduke Substack, 20 Mar. 2023, https://lunduke.substack.com/p/traf-o-data-the-company-before-microsoft.
Microsoft Corporation 2024 Annual Report. Microsoft, 2024,https://www.microsoft.com/investor/reports/ar24/.
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