This narrated essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Pete Ballmer, 29stand-up comedian and former product manager in San Francisco, and one of the sons of billionaire and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. It has been edited for length and clarity.
When I was a kid, I loved computers. I subscribed to PCWorld magazine because I liked reading about new products. I took computer science classes in high school and really enjoyed them.
I studied computer science at Stanford, with a specialization in human-computer interaction. A lot of people told me I was doing what my father, Steve Ballmer, did, but he wasn’t a programmer. He was a businessman who knew the subject well, but he didn’t push me to do it.
My father always told my brothers and me that he just wanted us to do what we were passionate about. He made it clear that he didn’t have any specific expectations for what we would achieve, but he was very emphatic about working hard and doing your best. He always said, “If you’re going to do a job, do it. And if you’re not going to do a job, don’t do a job.” The rhetoric was: If you’re going to do something, do it to the best of your ability.
I did some internships
The summers after my junior and senior years in high school, I interned as a software engineer at a small startup called Dashwire.
I then did a software engineering internship at Expedia the summer after my freshman year of college. I hated it. I was a good programmer, but I wasn’t the best, and I learned that I didn’t like programming.
During my second year, I heard a friend talk about his internship in product management. The nature of the position appealed to me: it’s a people-oriented job that’s also analytical and creative.
The following summer, I landed a product management internship at a startup called Travelnuts, which I loved. After my sophomore year, I interned at TripIt.
I never considered not working full time after college.
In my sophomore year, I was told I would inherit a six-figure sum from my grandfather when I turned 25. When I graduated from college at 22, I didn’t have that money yet and needed a job.
I had done a bit of stand-up comedy in college and knew I wanted to do more, but I also knew my chances of “making it” were slim. I didn’t have a lot of material, and the material I did have wasn’t very good, so trying to dedicate myself to comedy full-time would have been a very risky move.
My parents paid for my college education, and there was no way I wouldn’t get a full-time job after graduation. They could never afford to live in San Francisco and do open gigs. Neither my brothers nor I ever asked my parents for a large sum of money, and our parents never gave us a large sum of money.
I applied and was hired as a rotational product manager at Zynga, the company that made games like Words with Friends and Farmville. I was thrilled to have a high-paying product manager job.
Working at Zynga was fantastic. It was a really fun environment with smart people, a great culture, and happy hours all the time with homemade beer. I respected my boss and loved the nature of my job.
I think there are two ways to thrive in a job: either the day-to-day work is enjoyable (which I did), or you have a long-term sense that what you do matters. I knew I wasn’t having a huge impact on the world by making Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells games, but I wasn’t looking to get that from my job, so I was fine with that.
I had all my jobs without connections
I got all my internships and all my jobs — I think it’s important for me to say this — without resorting to my family connections.
My father went to Stanford, but I don’t think I would have gotten in if he hadn’t, because I was a good student, but not exceptional. I didn’t want my family connections to influence my college admission, but I also really wanted to go to Stanford. I couldn’t escape the fact that my connections helped me, so I decided to make the most of them.
I agree, it’s a bit pathetic of rich kids to use their connections to get everything they have. My parents had money, I went to good schools, and I was given enough gifts that I was able to do something with it on my own.
I heard about my internship opportunity in high school from a friend of my mom’s, but my boss specifically told me that I was the strongest candidate they had and that I didn’t receive preferential treatment because of my family.
I wasn’t fully qualified for my position at Expedia, but my high school internship boss, who had joined Expedia, spoke highly of me because he enjoyed working with me and I did a good job.
There were a few people at Expedia who would make comments about my family, like, “Did he really deserve this job or was he just hired because of his dad?” It was frustrating because I felt like I didn’t deserve this job, but it wasn’t because of my dad. It sucked.
I didn’t know anyone at Zynga before I got the job, so I got it without any connections. Once I started at Zynga, some of my coworkers would make little comments like, “Oh, you use a Mac!” every now and then, but not a lot. No one made me feel uncomfortable.
I decided to focus on comedy in 2021
After four years at Zynga, I had been promoted twice, the game I was working on was doing well, and I had accomplished enough in product management that I felt like I could go back and do it again if I wanted to. By that point, I had also inherited some money from my grandfather.
I was doing comedy on the side, performing at open mics after work, and producing a few shows. I used to think of myself as a product manager who does comedy at night, but a comedian who works as a product manager during the day.
In 2021, I quit my job to pursue comedy full-time. I am now a paid regular at some comedy clubs in the San Francisco Bay Area. I do about five shows a week and one or two open mics. I have also performed at a few festivals and produced Don’t Tell Comedy shows.
I have no trouble writing jokes that resonate with everyone. I joke about gossip, my dog, being colorblind, and high school. It’s all part of the human experience.
My family history is always part of my perspective, so I have a few jokes about growing up rich or inheriting money. Once I have an audience that explicitly comes to see me at a show, I’m happy to do a stand-up about growing up as the son of a billionaire because I have a unique perspective.
My biggest fear is failure without excuses
It’s sad that some people have to stop doing comedy to make money elsewhere, but at the same time, they can ask themselves, “Who knows what would have happened to my comedy career if I hadn’t had to stop?”
I don’t have that option.
My money allows me the luxury of having the time and choice to pursue my passion, but it also allows me to fail completely. At some point, I may stagnate or stop progressing, and I will have to choose to quit because I am simply not good enough.
I’m not saying my situation is any worse than being a stand-up comic with no financial backing, but it would be really hard to fail that badly.
My father told me that by the time you’re 35, your career path is already mapped out. I’m 29 now, so the idea that in five years I’ll be expected to know roughly where I’m going to go is a bit haunting.
Would I ever be a product manager again? Maybe, but at the same time, I don’t know if I would choose to work 40-60 hours a week in a job that didn’t require me to make money, even if I enjoyed it enough.
I’m pretty confident in my sense of humor, so I’m going all in on my acting. I’ve continued to improve and I don’t see any reason why I wouldn’t continue. I’ll continue to do this as long as I continue to hone my skills and move up the ranks.
If you have had a unique experience growing up with money and would like to share your story, email Jane Zhang at janezhang@businessinsider.com.
