Bob Cringely charmed everyone he met—but he really wanted to be a startup founder
My Friend Bob Cringely
Paul Tyma recounts a 30-year friendship with Bob Cringely, the tech writer and TV host who died recently. Cringely cold-called Tyma in 1996 after reading his Java book, then hired him to build Pronto, a system for delivering print magazines via dial-up. Tyma joined two more of Cringely's startups and received 320 emails of ideas. He argues Cringely's real gift was on camera, not as a founder.
He wasn’t a “nerd” but if, like me, you were; he understood you and he made it OK. In fact, at times, he even made it look glamorous.