Those 1980's were quite messy too. Larry picked a robust solution (SQL) to build upon, something the market desperately needed and he somehow grasped it better

Those 1980's were quite messy too. Larry picked a robust solution (SQL) to build upon, something the market desperately needed and he somehow grasped it better in the smoke and noise of the day. Of course this is not the only ingredient for them to rise above the heap. The company I worked at that time was a Sybase shop and Sybase SQL performed so much better than Oracle then. An ability to sell aggressively, staying power in improving a good technical vision, etc. is also needed just as it is today.