The History of Palm and the Part-time Entrepreneur

Jeff Hawkins, Numenta

Jeff Hawkins, Founder of Numenta, was an early observer of the idea that people wanted their primary personal computer to be in their pocket, thus he launched Palm in 1992. The self-described “reluctant entrepreneur” says that he never intended to launch a mobile computer industry (or any company, for that matter) and he describes how he negotiated a limited, part-time relationship with the company, despite the hopes of his investors. He describes in detail the organization’s first big failure and its first huge success with the Palm Pilot, and a timeline of the company at large.