比尔·格罗斯1973年的能源危机期间开始了他的第一家公司，太阳能设备，在高中。他售出超过10000套，并计划对太阳能产品在大众科学杂志的后面，帮助他通过加州技术研究所，在那里他与机械工程学士学位，1981年毕业于虽然在加州理工学院，格罗斯专利支付他的方式和销售高端扬声器。毕业后，他创建为Lotus 1-2-3电子表格，然后由Lotus收购自然语言界面。In 1991 he started Knowledge Adventure, making multimedia educational products, becoming the 3rd largest in the educational software market before selling to Vivendi in 1995. In 1996, filled with ideas and inspired by Thomas Edisun’s research lab, Gross founded Idealab, an incubator whose mission is to challenge the status quo and tackle big ideas that others will not. Idealab just celebrated its 20th anniversary, and in that period, has started more than 100 companies, with more than 40 successful IPO’s and acquisitions. Among Idealab’s successes is GoTo/Overture, where he is recognized as inventing the CPC (cost-per-click) business model that powers most of the monetization of the internet. He licensed the technology to Google and sold the company to Yahoo in 2003. Gross has also started many solar energy companies, including eSolar, Energy Innovations (acquired by Suntech), RayTracker (acquired by First Solar), and Thermata (acquired by Solar Reserve). Today he runs Edisun Solar Microgrid, a company with a breakthrough solution to make baseload solar power practical and scalable. Edisun is pioneering a radical cost-reduction in solar energy with a new method of closed-loop concentration and a patented Rock-Air thermal battery. In addition to serving as Chairman of the board of both Edisun and Idealab, Gross is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Caltech and of the Art Center College of Design.