Bill GatesEARLY LIFE/EDUCATION- William Henry Gates III was born in Seattle, Washington, on October 28, 1955. He was the middle son of William H. Gates II, a prominent Seattle lawyer, and Mary Gates, who worked as a teacher before having children. Bill had an older sister, Kristi, and a younger sister, Libby. When Bill turned thirteen, his parents sent him to Lakeside Preparatory School hoping it would prove more of a challenge for him. It was at Lakeside that Bill met his future business partner Paul Allen. He was also introduced to computers at Lakeside. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay ENTREPRENEURSHIP HISTORY - In 1975, Gates left Harvard to start a software company with Paul Allen called Microsoft. The company was doing well, but it was in 1980 that Gates made a deal with IBM that would change computing. Microsoft has reached an agreement to provide the MS-DOS operating system on the new IBM PC. Gates sold the software to IBM for a fee of $50,000, but retained the copyright to the software. When the PC market took off, Microsoft also sold MS-DOS to other PC manufacturers. Soon, Microsoft became the operating system for a large percentage of computers around the world. NEEDS/WANTS BUSINESS SATISFACTION AND TARGET MARKET - In 1985, Gates and Microsoft took another risk. They released the Microsoft Windows operating system. This was Microsoft's response to a similar operating system introduced by Apple in 1984. Initially many people complained that Microsoft Windows was not as good as the Apple version. However, Gates continued to support the open PC concept. Microsoft Windows could run on a variety of PC-compatible machines, while Apple's operating system only ran on Apple machines. Microsoft won the operating system battle and was soon installed on nearly 90% of the world's personal computers. INTERESTING FACTS - Like most successful entrepreneurs, Bill Gates' success comes from a combination of hard work, intelligence, timing, business acumen and luck. Gates constantly challenged his employees to work harder and innovate, but he also worked harder than the people who worked for him. Gates also wasn't afraid to take risks. He took a risk when he left Harvard to start his own company. He also took a risk by changing Microsoft's operating system from MS-DOS to Windows. However, his risks were calculated. He had confidence in himself and his product. Gates married Melinda French in January 1994. They have since had three children, including two girls and a boy. In 2000, Gates and his wife founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Today it is one of the largest charitable foundations in the world. Gates has personally donated over $28 billion to charity. Born in Seattle, Washington on October 28, 1995, William Henry Gates III. He was the middle child. When he turned 13, his parents sent him to Lakeside Prepatory School hoping it would give him the opportunity to prove himself. While attending school she met her future partner Paul Ellen. Not only that, but there he became passionate about computers. William Henry Gates III was born to William H. Gates II, a lawyer, and Mary Gates, a teacher before having children. Her siblings were Kristi, an older sister, and a younger sister Libby. When he turned 13, his parents sent him to the lakeside preparatory school. While Bill attended Harvard, he dropped out in 1975 to found Microsoft with Paul Allen. Microsoft was successful, but Bill Gates made a deal with IBM that would improve i.