Microsoft - Acquired  ## Metadata - Author: **Acquired** - Full Title: Microsoft - Category: #podcasts - URL: https://share.snipd.com/episode/c1b448e7-1880-4f4e-8a77-76a700640509 ## Highlights - Investing in Future Technologies for Ecosystem Growth Summary: Microsoft Research was founded to explore future technologies as all personal and business applications had already been adapted for personal computers. The creation of a research division was seen as a way to drive the ecosystem forward after exhausting all immediate opportunities for development. The emphasis on capital efficiency in startups enables founders to retain control over their company's destiny, rather than selling off significant portions to achieve their goals. Transcript: Speaker 2 And there's all this stuff we miss. Like I didn't mention Microsoft Research. Microsoft Research was a lot of people and a lot of money. Right. Speaker 1 Microsoft tried to buy into it too along the way that got canned. Speaker 2 Actually, the start of research is interesting. I'll say this real quick. In 91, Nathan Mirvil started Microsoft Research and the logic is fascinating. Basically, everything Microsoft had done until that point was taking things from mainframes and mini computers and adapting those tasks, those jobs to be done for personal computers. And at some point, they kind of looked around and said, all right, well, we did it. All the personal and business applications can now be run on personal computers. So we have to come up with uses for future technologies in order to continue to drive the ecosystem forward. There's no more low hanging fruit. And I thought that was an interesting thesis of why to spin up a research division at that point in history. Yes. Speaker 1 Let's move into analysis. OK, great. Speaker 2 So playbook, the big interesting one that I want to start with. And it actually involves a chapter from the story that we just sort of glossed over is capital efficiency allows founders to control their own destinies in a way that you just don't get When you're selling off huge chunks of the company in order to accomplish your mission. Speaker 1 Oh, yes, I love this. ([Time 3:29:54](https://share.snipd.com/snip/10a8df00-e591-416e-a633-06f4aea23382))