Comics: Microsoft Founded - Two teenage coders build software for fun — and a future company is born

Lakeside Beginnings

Two teenage coders build software for fun — and a future company is born.

Bill: Paul, imagine a world where computers aren't just for universities— they're for everyone.

Paul: First let's make BASIC do tricks. Then we can worry about world domination.

Bill: Same thing, different scale.

Harvard & Hobby

College labs, stolen time, and a stack of ambitious punch cards.

Bill: If we can get BASIC on every microcomputer, they'll buy the whole platform around it.

Paul: I'll write the interpreter. You smile at investors.

Bill: I can smile like it's a product demo.

Microsoft Founded

A name, a small office, and a lot of caffeine.

Paul: Microsoft. Minimal, punchy, business-ready.

Bill: And now we make software people actually want to use. Step one: ship reliable BASIC.

The IBM Moment

A risky deal with a giant that changes everything.

IBM Rep: We need an OS for our new PC. Can you deliver?

Bill: Deliver? We'll invent the category and then deliver.

Paul: Also—let's not mention we bought an OS from someone else to resell. Marketing calls it 'fast collaboration'.

Windows Dream

Graphical interfaces, overlapping windows, and bold ambitions.

Bill: People shouldn't need to memorize commands. They should click, explore, and not panic.

Paul: Clickable, delightful, and just a tiny bit addictive. Exactly our target.

Steve: Developers! Developers! Developers!

IPO & Scale

From scrappy startup to global software powerhouse.

Bill: We grew faster than our code comments. Investors love momentum.

Paul: Remember when it was just us and a shared dream (and one tiny apartment)?

Bill: I remember the bugs. They stayed with us longer.

Legacy & Impact

Software changed how people work, learn, and create — and the story continues.

Narration: From teenage tinkering to a platform used by millions, the Microsoft story is part hustle, part luck, and a lot of relentless iteration.

Bill: Build something people can't live without. That was the goal.

Paul: And don't forget to have fun while you're doing it.

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