Season 2, Episode 7: PowerPoint

Acquired returns with a classic, delving into Microsoft’s first acquisition ever: Forethought Inc, the makers of PowerPoint. Hate it or love it, you can’t deny the combined companies’ impact: by the early 90’s PowerPoint had transformed the way businesses, educators and governments communicate, ensuring job security for pointy-haired Dilbert bosses everywhere. Sponsors: Sierra: https://bit.ly/acquiredsierra Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentry Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25 Vanta: https://vanta.com/acquired More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes Join the Slack Subscribe to ACQ2 Merch Store ! © Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC Links: Robert Gaskins’ definitive history of building PowerPoint: Sweating Bullets Absolute Powerpoint by Ian Parker Carve Outs: Ben: Mindfulness in Plain English and discussion on Hacker News David: The Birds have landed…