John Walker's tale of the rise of Autodesk ought to be required reading for every entrepreneur starting a company. Period. While it is true that most start-ups do not have the intellectual depth of the founders of Autodesk, they have to contend with the same problems. While it may be apocryphal, I remember another Autodesk friend saying that John regretted the day that Autodesk had to hire its first employee with an IQ under 200.

And while you are reading it, take a look at the other stuff at http://www.fourmilab.com.