It's been over two weeks since Steve Perlman left Microsoft, but the multimillionaire isn't sipping cocktails on a tropical beach or even getting much rest. Last nights, he didn't get to sleep until 4 a.m. Yet Perlman, one of the founders of WebTV, which Microsoft bought in April 1997 for $425 million, isn't complaining.
"It is so much fun," he says, looming relaxed and not at al tired. What's keeping him so busy? Rearden Steel. Ayn Rand fans will know that Hank Rearden is a character from Atlas Shrugged who invents a metal that's lighter but better than steel. He's also a super rich entrepreneur who is hated for his wealth and defiance. (He sells his metal against the rules of society and goes on trial. Anyway, read the book.)
If you ask about any similarity between the company's name and the book, Perlman won't comment. How about any similarities between his leaving Microsoft and Rand's objectivist philosophy, which favors individual thought and responsibility over blind faith and group rule? Hmm. He has nothing but good things to say about Microsoft.
"My leaving was in the works for a long time," he says, as we sit on a bench outside Peet's in Palo Alto. I ask if he's and objectivist. Answer: Not to the extreme of some people who are finding his website and writing to him, saying things like: "I don't know what you're doing, but I've wanted to work for Rearden Steel all my life!" (Don't bother looking - Reardensteel.com is mostly a teaser page that doesn't tell you what Perlman is really up to.)
What is Rearden Steel then? It's a holding company, much like Artemis Research was during the germination of WebTV. Through it, he's working on several ideas. The biggest, riskiest one is something he's been thinking of since high school. "If it works, it could change the entire computer industry," he says. But he doubts venture capitalists would fund it. It's a little too sci-fi. But what is it? Perlman is coy. He doesn't want to let on too much.
Then he tells me he just came from a meeting at another Palo Alto coffee hangout, where he sat down with a prospective engineer to talk about his plans. "He said it's the most interesting thing he has heard in his entire career," Perlman says, getting more jazzed. "He also said it probably won't work."
As he talks over his leaving Microsoft and what he hopes to do with his new company, Perlman gets revved up - and it's certainly not from the peppermint tea he's sipping. He's clearly psyched about starting something new. "Rearden Steel is definitely about innovation," he goes on. The more he talks the more it sounds like that kind of innovation was hard to do at Microsoft. Ironic, because Microsoft has its research arm, employing about 400 scientists and big thinkers. (What's really come out of it? That's probably a topic for another column.) Perlman wants more than to innovate, though. He wants his innovations to be used by lots of people - hence, Microsoft's acquisition of WebTV. More than a million units have been sold, and through that, he's helped change the way regular Joes access the Internet.
But WebTV grew to employ more than 700 people; meaning Perlman was spending more time managing than tinkering. In fact, he just spoke with WebTV co-founder (and new president) Bruce leak, who had to board a plane to Tokyo to "put out a fire." If Perlman hadn't left Microsoft, he would have been on that plane, instead of staying up till 4:00 Tuesday morning and seeing something awesome on his computer screen. It sure beats corporate politics, where you're worried that your actions will unintentionally step on someone's toes. As far as large companies go, Microsoft is better than most, Perlman adds. However, if you're not doing what you love, you can get al the sleep in the world and still feel exhausted. When you're being creative, "It feeds your soul," he says. "I'm walking on a cloud right now."
Perlman and his wife are about to take some time off in Tahoe, but until then, he's interviewing prospective engineers, meeting with patent attorneys, and building his South of Market laboratory. Next time he gets bogged down with corporate politics, he wants to remember this state, to remind himself what it's all about.