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A.Founding of Major Technology Companies

Company	Founded (Year)	Founder(s)	Why It Was Founded	First Product(s)
Microsoft	1975	Bill Gates, Paul Allen	To bring computing to individuals through software	Altair BASIC interpreter
Google	1998	Larry Page, Sergey Brin	To organize and rank the world’s information	Google Search (PageRank algorithm)
Meta	2004	Mark Zuckerberg	To enable online social connection	Facebook (initially for Harvard students)
AMD	1969	Jerry Sanders	To provide second-source and high-performance semiconductors	Logic chips and RAM
NVIDIA	1993	Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, Curtis Priem	To accelerate 3D graphics and parallel computation	NV1 graphics card

Foundational Technology Companies and Their Initial Capital

Company	Founded (Year)	Founder(s)	Initial Funding Source	Why It Matters
IBM (as CTR)	1911	Charles R. Flint	Private capital consolidation (Flint)	Created the corporate model for large-scale computing
AT&T (Bell System)	1877	Alexander Graham Bell	Gardiner Greene Hubbard (family & legal backer)	Built the first global communications monopoly
General Electric	1892	Thomas Edison, J.P. Morgan	J.P. Morgan & banking syndicate	First industrial–financial tech conglomerate
Hewlett-Packard	1939	Bill Hewlett, David Packard	$538 personal savings + Stanford network	Birthplace of Silicon Valley startup culture
Xerox (Haloid)	1906	Joseph C. Wilson	Family-owned capital	Invented modern document technology
RCA	1919	U.S. government–coordinated	Government + GE + Westinghouse	Linked national security with electronics
Intel	1968	Gordon Moore, Robert Noyce	Arthur Rock (venture capital)	First modern VC-backed semiconductor company

Capital Origins - Who Funded the First Tech Companies

Era	Dominant Funding Source	Explanation
1870–1900	Industrialists & bankers	Tech required heavy infrastructure and factories
1900–1930	Financial syndicates & governments	Telecom and electronics were strategic assets
1930–1950	Corporate reinvestment & defense	WWII accelerated electronics funding
1957–1970	Venture capital (emerging)	Risk capital appears for semiconductors

B. Major Oil Companies - Historical Origins

Company	Founded (Year)	Founder / Origin	Why It Was Founded	Early Core Business
ExxonMobil	1870 (as Standard Oil)	John D. Rockefeller	To dominate oil refining and distribution	Kerosene refining
Shell	1907	Marcus Samuel	To establish global oil transport and trade	Oil shipping and trading
BP	1909	British government-backed venture	To secure oil supply for the British Empire	Persian oil extraction

C. Original Bottlenecks Addressed by Each Sector

Sector	Fundamental Problem Solved
Technology	Information processing and computation
Semiconductors	Physical implementation of computation
Energy (Oil)	Energy density, extraction, and distribution
Finance	Trust, credit, and capital allocation

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Zurich

Home and Interior Design Stores – Origins

Store	Founded (Year)	Founder(s)	Background & Notes
Wohnhilfe	1931	Family-owned (Zurich)	One of Zurich’s oldest furniture stores; originally focused on functional Swiss home furnishing, later expanded to European design brands
Schubiger Möbel	1935	Schubiger family	Established as a traditional furniture retailer; grew into one of Zurich’s largest multi-floor furniture houses
Memorie.ch	1999	Private Swiss design entrepreneurs	Founded to focus on design classics (mid-century modern, European icons) and contemporary high-end furniture
Raum Reolon	c. 2000s	Private interior design studio	Boutique interior design practice; founder name not publicly emphasized, typical for Swiss design studios
Wow Props	2010s	Independent Zurich curators	Founded by prop stylists / vintage curators; bridges interior design, film props, and collectible furniture
Einzelstück	2000s	Independent artisans & designers	Concept store for one-of-a-kind handmade furniture and home objects; “Einzelstück” literally means “single piece”
Stadtstube	1990s	Zurich-based collectors	Specialized in restored design classics; founder names are usually secondary to curation
Zürcher Brockenhaus	Late 19th–early 20th c.	Charitable organizations	Traditional Swiss second-hand institutions (“Brocki”), often founded by churches or social foundations