Chapter 47 Microsoft's predicament

Microsoft's initial success with the BASIC interpreter wasn't important at all. You could easily tell if the company had Gates, right? Just as Carter was contemplating how to smoothly go with Paul to the company room, Paul took the initiative to speak.

"These damn leeches are nothing but thieves! They think they can use our hard-developed interpreter for free? They won't even pay five dollars!"

At this point, Microsoft was clearly a small company, or rather, a small workshop. Aside from three microcomputers that Carter didn't recognize and a blackboard that might have been used for meetings, there was almost nothing else. What was crucial was that as soon as Carter entered, he saw a slender figure facing away from him, cursing loudly and frantically typing on a typewriter.

"Hey, Bill, that's enough. Stop cursing. We have a guest, so don't act like this in front of them, okay?"

Right after blowing his own company as the best in the interpreter field, Paul turned around and let Carter see his good friend getting angry over debt collection. Paul seemed extremely embarrassed.

Although his company's assets were not as good as Carter's, Paul had some pride, too. No matter how small the company was, he had founded it himself. Paul had the idea of showing off a bit to Carter, maybe not to show off in front of him, but to express a sense of "I'm not that bad" to him.

"Carter, I'm sorry you had to see this. Actually, most of the time, our situation is fine, and our collections are okay. We even managed to hire an employee recently."

Paul explained apologetically. The pale explanation seemed especially feeble when faced with the flushed and agitated young man. Fortunately, at this moment, his good friend took over the conversation.

"A guest? Who would come here? To buy the interpreter? It's in the disk over there, five dollars each, fair price, no deception! Remember to return the disk after copying. If you don't want to return it, you have to pay extra!"

As the slender young man spoke, he turned his head, and when his face gradually appeared, Carter's heart almost skipped a beat. Yes, it was him! Bill Gates, the future richest man in the world!

But this future billionaire, now, had none of the demeanor of a billionaire. Instead, he looked like an ordinary old lady selling cookies on Douglas Street.

"Hey! Bill, enough already. Carter is my friend. I invited him to visit, so can you stop selling in front of him? Haven't we hit rock bottom yet?"

"My friend? Since when did you know him? Why don't I know? Are you college buddies?"

Hearing Paul's helpless words, Gates also looked puzzled and reached out his right hand.

"Hello, Carter, welcome to Microsoft. Paul and I are classmates from Lakeside School. We were only separated for a few years in college, so I'm a bit curious about when he met you. I don't mean any harm, just curious, you know?"

"I know, I know, it's okay. I don't mind. Instead, I envy the friendship between you two. Speaking of which, I can't even accurately recall the names of my classmates now. Compared to you guys, I'm way behind. I'm Carter!"

Carter had already met quite a few big shots in New York, so he wasn't too nervous facing Gates, the legendary big shot. But his hand was still trembling a bit when he shook hands with Gates.

He was excited!

Whether it was Peter Lynch or George Soros, they were already successful. Joining them was just holding onto their thigh for a flight. As for other well-known companies, almost all of them were big players now, like Coca-Cola, General Electric, Boeing, and so on. There was hardly any chance to get involved.

But Microsoft, the one he cared about the most, was in the worst situation! Hearing the future richest man cursing, wasn't he just pushed to his limits? Was it necessary?! The worse Microsoft's situation, the more excited Carter became. To be honest, Carter was a bit regretful. Why wasn't Microsoft on the verge of bankruptcy?

They were hanging on like this, making it hard for him to make a move! If he suddenly proposed an investment, it would be too abrupt, and they wouldn't believe it. It's a pity!

"That's not okay. Only when you come out can you feel that the student days are the best. I'm starting to regret listening to Paul's nonsense and dropping out of school early!"

"You're pushing it. If you didn't have any ambition yourself, would you come out with me? Alright, don't make Carter laugh. Let me tell you, Carter is amazing. Do you know? He's only 16 years old and has already made hundreds of thousands of dollars in New York. I think you can ask him for advice. Your desperate debt collection letters don't seem to be very effective."

As Paul spoke, his confidence waned. He had warmly invited Carter to visit earlier, giving him the feeling of treating him like a real brother. But how could they be real brothers? They had just met, and almost only exchanged names. How could he be so warm to Carter?

Initially, when Paul saw Carter standing outside their company, he was just thinking whether the person was going to buy their product and went up to talk. Then he noticed Carter's money-making ability. Whether Carter really made hundreds of thousands of dollars was irrelevant; it was an opportunity. Being able to freeload a revenue plan from Carter and make a big profit, even if he couldn't freeload, he wouldn't lose anything.

But when he really said it out loud, Paul felt a bit embarrassed, as if he was using Carter's friendship. But he still said what he had to say. Paul was very clear in his mind.

"Carter, don't get me wrong. I just want to ask you for some advice, but I..."

"It's okay, Paul. You can introduce your products to me first, as well as the market situation and your current revenue. Then I'll think of some ideas for you. But I have to say upfront that what I suggest might not work, because I made my money in the stock market. In the computer field, I'm a layman."

Carter waved his hand indifferently, indicating Paul to introduce himself. If you can use me, it's okay. He had been enthusiastically getting close to Paul; didn't he also have a utilitarian heart?

The ancestors said, the world is filled with profit, and profit moves everything. Carter was very open-minded about this. It's okay to use oneself; the premise is that you also have something I can use. That's mutual benefit. Carter also wanted to understand Microsoft now.

"Okay, no problem. I just want to hear some advice and guidance on profitability. So, let me tell you, our main product now is..."

Paul spoke, and Bill assisted. In no time, Carter understood the current situation at Microsoft. Their current product was extremely single-minded. Since the founding of Microsoft in 1975, their products had revolved around the development of software in the basic language.

Initially, they were just computer enthusiasts, like other enthusiasts, developing basic programming software and interpreters for the love of it. Later, after receiving an order from MITS to write a BASIC language interpreter for the Altair, they dropped out of school to establish Microsoft and had a stable income. But good times didn't last long; this year, MITS went bankrupt, and they lost their only major customer.

So, in a panic, Bill Gates started to betray his original intention. He started charging for the BASIC interpreter that they had previously shared with other enthusiasts for free. And this guy was quite cunning!

Unlike the interpreters made by other amateur groups, they had been outsourcing for MITS for several years, their technology was more mature, and their product was much more polished than many interpreters made by individual enthusiasts. After Microsoft's interpreter entered the market, its products spread very quickly.

When many people had Microsoft's interpreter installed on their computers, Bill started charging!