Following graduation from Stanford University in 1934, electrical engineers Dave Packard and Bill Hewlett went on a two-week camping and fishing trip in the Colorado mountains. On this trip, they discovered strong similarities in their attitudes toward many things and became close friends. Within a few years, and with the encouragement of Stanford professor and mentor Fred Terman, the two decided to start a business "and make a run for it."

1938

• Bill and Dave begin part-time work in the garage in Palo Alto with $538 in working capital, consisting of cash and a used Sears-Roebuck drill press.
  
  
• Bill Hewlett’s study of negative feedback results in Hewlett-Packard’s first product—the resistance-capacity audio oscillator (HP200A), an electronic instrument used to test sound equipment. The oscillator uses an incandescent bulb as part of its wiring scheme to provide variable resistance, a breakthrough in stability in oscillator design.

1939

• Bill and Dave formalize their partnership January 1, 1939. They decide the company’s name with a coin toss.
  
  
• Eight HP 200B audio oscillators are used by Walt Disney to test sound equipment in creating the groundbreaking sound system used in twelve specially-equipped theaters to show Disney’s innovative movie “Fantasia” in 1940.

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