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bgC3, the Microsoft that never was?

According to an article on Todd Bishop’s Microsoft Blog:

Just months after his Microsoft farewell, Bill Gates is quietly creating a new company — complete with high-tech office space, a cryptic name and even its own trademark.

Public documents describe the new Gates entity — bgC3 LLC — as a “think tank.” It’s housed within a Kirkland office that the Microsoft co-founder established on his own after leaving his day-to-day executive role at the company this summer. 

Is this Bill Gates’ next big business? A Gates insider gives an emphatic no  — saying it’s not a commercial venture but rather a vehicle to coordinate the software mogul’s work on his business and philanthropic endeavors. 

However, bgC3 will also oversee Gates’ personal pursuit of breakthrough ideas in science and technology. The insider said the goal isn’t necessarily to create new companies, although ideas could be passed along to Microsoft, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation — or others – as it makes sense.

Whatever the ultimate role of the company, the circumstances surrounding its creation provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the new era of Gates’ life.

State records show that the company, originally called Carillon Holdings, was established in March 2008. It formally changed its name to bgC3 in early July, 10 days after Gates left his full-time job at the company he built into an industry giant. He remains Microsoft’s chairman and continues to work part-time on projects.

The records describe bgC3 as a “holding company” headquartered in Kirkland –a relatively short, picturesque drive from Gates’ home on Lake Washington.

Federal trademark filings provide more clues – describing bgC3 as a think tank, under a generic trademark classification that corresponds broadly to areas including “scientific and technological services,” “industrial analysis and research,” and “design and development of computer hardware and software.”

But what does bgC3 mean? The logical assumption might be “Bill Gates Company Three” – his third enterprise after Microsoft and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. But that’s only partially right, according to the Gates insider. 

The “bg” is Bill Gates, the insider says, but the “C” stands for “catalyst.” The idea is that Gates will play that role as he brings together new people and ideas. The “three” reflects the notion of a third place, apart from Microsoft and the foundation.

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We all know that Bill Gates is visionary.  For years he was trumpeting the coming of a computer in every home and on every desk, when that came to pass he moved into talking about devices that were always aware, and always connected.  As we move from 2008 to 2009, we can see devices like the iPhone, and software like Google’s Android OS, bringing some of that vision to pass.  Unfortunately, none of those products carving Bill’s vision of the future into reality are from his own company, Microsoft.

Continue reading after the jump:

I think it’s safe to say that Bill has realized that Microsoft has gotten too big to be forward thinking.  It is too focused on it’s past successes and the amount of red-tape it requires to get anything really good done, makes the effort almost not worth it.  Microsoft’s massive SIZE and HEFT are the main reasons why we have seen such misfires from them in the past few years.  They simply are too big to be able to keep up with the competition, let alone Bill’s vision.   Not to mention the fact that Microsoft products today are marked with suspicion and, most of the time, brushed off by the media.

Take a concept like Microsoft’s Surface.  It’s a fantastic platform, and a revolution in collaborative computing.   But I think the problem with it, at least in the public eye, is the fact that it’s a Microsoft product.  Microsoft is kind of like an automaker that shows off a sexy concept car at the auto show, but leaves you disappointed when the car finally makes it to the showroom after being dumbed down by committee.  Not much comes out of Microsoft without going through a LOT of committees, thus leading to what usually becomes an extremely dumbed down product, or no product at all.

When Gates left Microsoft earlier this year, I think it was obvious to most, that he wasn’t done in the technology field.  While his philanthropic efforts will solidify his place in history, Bill is a geek through and through.  And like any good geek, R&D and new technologies, get his ideas flowing like nothing else.  We all knew it was a matter of time before he’d be back in the tech fold, working on new ideas.  He’s a man who simply can not stop working.

Though did any of us think he would ditch Microsoft so badly?  I certainly didn’t.  Personally, I was hoping that he would try his best to reinvent the company from outside, but it appears as though he thinks it simply can’t be done anymore.

His new company bgC3, if these reports are accurate, is a think tank.  If there was any more of a perfect place for Bill Gates to be, I can’t think of one.  Here Bill will really be able to play to his strengths, coming up with visionary ideas.  Without having to worry about the red tape of getting anything done at Microsoft, he will be able to shop his ideas around, and hopefully get a lot more done than when had to sit in a boardroom.

While I no longer believe in Microsoft as an innovative company, I certainly DO believe in Bill Gates.  The man has perfectly predicted the rise of computing, and from that, used his business skills to make himself at one point the richest man in the world.  

I don’t think any company, Apple included, would say no if Mr. Gates and the bgC3 team knocked on the door talking about a great new idea.  I certainly wouldn’t.