10 Inspiring Quotes From Billionaire, Philanthropist and Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen The late Paul Allen had some words of wisdom to share.
By Rose Leadem •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
This story originally published on Jan. 21, 2018. It was updated on Oct. 16, 2018.
When you think about Microsoft, Bill Gates typically comes to mind. However, there's another hero to this story. While Microsoft co-founder and childhood friend of Gates, Paul Allen, who died on Oct. 15, 2018, tended to stay out of the headlines, his contributions to the famous tech company -- and humanity -- are impressive.
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Having met Gates back in grade school in Seattle, the two bonded over their love of technology and computer programming. However three years older than Gates, Allen received a perfect score on his SAT and enrolled in Washington State University. Eventually, Allen dropped out of college and became a programmer for Honeywell in Boston while Gates attended Harvard University. Before long, Gates also left Harvard early and the two joined forces to create what would eventually be known as Microsoft.
After falling ill, Allen left Microsoft in 1983 and resigned from the board in 2000, yet continued to own a tremendous amount of shares in the company. Near the time of his death, Allen had a networth of $20.9 billion, was the founder and chairman of Vulcan Inc., the owner of two sports teams (the Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trail Blazers) and the founder of multiple philanthropic foundations including the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and the Allen Institute for Brain Science.
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For more inspiration, here are 10 quotes from the Microsoft underdog.
EntrepreneurOn creativity
"I'm always interested in finding ways to innovate... It's a blend; it's not a point focus." -- Paul Allen
EntrepreneurOn failure
"In my experience, each failure contains the seeds of your next success -- if you are willing to learn from it." -- Paul Allen
EntrepreneurOn motivation
"Any crusade requires optimism and the ambition to aim high." -- Paul Allen
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EntrepreneurOn empowerment
"What should exist? To me, that's the most exciting question imaginable. What do we need that we don't have? How can we realize our potential?" -- Paul Allen
EntrepreneurOn opportunity
"For the most part, the best opportunities now lie where your competitors have yet to establish themselves, not where they're already entrenched." -- Paul Allen
EntrepreneurOn leadership
"From technology to science to music to art, I'm inspired by those who've blurred the boundaries, who've looked at the possibilities and said, 'What if...?'" -- Paul Allen
EntrepreneurOn motivation
"In my own work, I've tried to anticipate what's coming over the horizon, to hasten its arrival and to apply it to people's lives in a meaningful way. The varied possibilities of the universe have dazzled me since I was a child, and they continue to drive my work, my investments and my philanthropy." -- Paul Allen
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EntrepreneurOn hard work
"You look at things you enjoy in your life, but much more important is what you can do to make the world a better place." -- Paul Allen
EntrepreneurOn the future
"The possible is constantly being redefined, and I care deeply about helping humanity move forward." -- Paul Allen
EntrepreneurOn passion
"I enjoy creating new ideas, working on new creative projects." -- Paul Allen
