They served together on the board of United Way; they weren&#x27;t just random acquaintances. The social proof conditions necessary for Bill and Paul Allen to make their pitch to him had been satisfied both through their parents&#x27; credentials, social connections and the fact that they both went to Harvard. Not to take anything away from Gates&#x27; technical skills and business savvy. But this goes to the crux of a lot of startup stories. It could all have been very different if even one of those &#x27;background variables&#x27; had been different and the meeting with IBM never happened.