The HP Way: How Bill Hewlett and I Built Our Company

In the fall of 1930, David Packard left his hometown of Pueblo, Colorado, to enroll at Stanford University, where he befriended another freshman, Bill Hewlett. After graduation, Hewlett and Packard decided to throw their lots in together. They tossed a coin to decide whose name should go first on the notice of incorporation, then cast about in search of products to sell.

Today, the one-car garage in Palo Alto that housed their first workshop is a California historic landmark: the birthplace ...