002: A Start on My Own

Having left Bell Labs to strike out on his own, William Shockley had some important decisions to make:  Who would be the backer for his fledgling company?  Who would be on his staff?  And where would it launch?

In this episode, William Shockley begins to assemble the key pieces of the company that would become Shockley Semiconductor, including its investor, Arnold Beckman, and the its soon-to-be-famous research staff.

We are also learn how close Silicon Valley came to being located in Pasadena, and how a few quirks of fate (and a certain Stanford professor) made all the difference.