Microsoft didn’t create Powerpoint. He bought the company that created it. This curiosity, probably unknown to many of our readers, joins another very striking thing: the fact that there is an interesting battle to buy this software for presentation. And besides Microsoft, it was none other than Apple that tried to buy PowerPoint, a legendary app for better or worse.

Presentations will rule the world. In 1984, Robert Gaskins and Dennis Austin were working at Forethought Inc. The company began work on a presentation graphics application in August of the same year, following the idea that Gaskins outlined in a two-page document.

Development would end two and a half years later: They presented the software in February 1987, and they did so in the only version originally available: the Macintosh version. This app would be called ‘Server’ but the name was taken, so they named it ‘PowerPoint’.

Apple loved it. The presentation was so successful that John Sculley, then CEO of Apple (yes, Pepsi), appeared in the official announcement and said, “We see presentation software as a potentially larger market than desktop publishing.” Those were big words, especially considering the Macintosh had become the standard for print publishing.

Gates did not see clearly. Microsoft already had plans to do something similar, and they actually valued purchasing a more limited product. Gates was vague when told what PowerPoint developers had accomplished. He said it would be another option in Word, not a separate app.

His staff convinced him, and in late April of that year they met with Forethought officials to see how sales for the Macintosh version were doing. The software was out of stock and Microsoft clearly saw this as a huge opportunity.

The first offer didn’t work. Those responsible for Microsoft offered $5.3 million for the company. They didn’t see this clearly in Foresight: They only wanted PowerPoint, not the whole Insight. Their other great products have claimed that FileMaker Plus for Mac has no place in Windows.

They turned down the offer because they had already received two more interesting offers. Microsoft continued to make offers and actually made an offer to buy Forethought in exchange for 100,000 Microsoft shares, valued at about $12 million at the time. At Forethought they were still not completely convinced.

Apple is interested but not enough. The company had already set its sights on the acquisition of one of the big ones. Apple—without an explicit bid—and Borland and Xerox were also bidding, but for those responsible for Insight, the clearest course was to get a higher bid from Microsoft.

Microsoft won the game. Finally, on June 25, 1987, Microsoft agreed to purchase Forethought for $14 million in cash. The deal was announced on July 9 and marked Microsoft’s “first major acquisition”. From that moment on, Powerpoint became one of the cornerstones of the Microsoft office suite and templates began to dominate our lives.

Visionary employees have also managed to keep working in Silicon Valley. Bob Gaskins, who recently detailed the story, said it was perfect and joked about this deal: “The whole acquisition was a detailed plan we implemented so we could get a job at Microsoft to move to Seattle”.