Inch by inch, share by share, the nerds diluted to gain capital to expand and survive. Eventually, the majority of them lost control of their tiny companies. Many became salaried employees of the company they had helped to found. Much depended on whether they lost control prior to or after a public stock offering, but we needn’t go into that here. Just a few, a very few, held on to enough stock to become immensely wealthy. Ownership is power. Ask Bill Gates of Microsoft or Larry Ellison of Oracle.
