Idea Man: A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft

About the book

Allen recounts meeting Gates at school, founding Microsoft with him in 1975 and the falling-out that followed his cancer diagnosis, when he says Gates tried to dilute his stake. Later chapters turn to his ventures in commercial spaceflight, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, neuroscience and artificial intelligence.

Why read it

Best if you want Allen's portrait of Bill Gates as an edgewalker, a look at refusing to rest on past success, and a warning about overlooking emerging platforms.

Evidence and original sources

Sources: official Founders episodes — #44, #46, #47, #48, #61, #140, #215, #290, #401

The entire episode is dedicated to Paul Allen's memoir Idea Man, named explicitly by the host at the outset.

• A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft — The entire episode is dedicated to Paul Allen's memoir Idea Man, named explicitly by the host at the outset.
• I Love Capitalism: An American Story — David points back to the recent Paul Allen discussion while applying Allen's account of parental support.
• Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way — David points back to Paul Allen's account while comparing parental support in the next autobiography.
• Finding My Virginity: The New Autobiography by Richard Branson — David explicitly attributes the idea under discussion to the Paul Allen book.
• Malcom McLean: The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger — David identifies the Paul Allen book he read and applies its warning about ignoring emerging platforms.
• Bill Gates (the Making of the Microsoft Empire) — David recalls Paul Allen's biography and applies the edgewalker description of Bill Gates.