Plot
 What is Hooli? Excellent question. Hooli isn't just another high tech company. Hooli isn't just about software. Hooli...Hooli is about people. Hooli is about innovative technology that makes a difference, transforming the world as we know it. Making the world a better place, through minimal message oriented transport layers. I firmly believe we can only achieve greatness if first we achieve goodness.
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| — Gavin Belson |
Kid Rock plays to an unenthusiastic crowd at a party in Silicon Valley where four nerds -- Richard Hendricks, Nelson Bighetti, Dinesh Chugtai, and Bertram Gilfoyle -- meander around in awe of a celebration for [a company acquired by Google for $200 million. Gilfoyle eats liquid shrimp made by Wylie Dufresne that costs $200 a quart. The guys’ landlord at the Hacker Hostel, Erlich Bachman, appears and tells them they need to network with the dozens of tech power-players around them.
At the Hacker Hostel, Bachman talks to Hendricks about his project, Pied Piper, which he originally pitched as “the Google of music.” Bachman says he needs to get the project moving, like Bighetti has done with NipAlert. Later, while on the bus to their day jobs at Hooli, Bighetti and Hendricks watch a video of the company’s chief innovation officer Belson talking about Hooli achieving greatness through goodness. At Hooli, a couple of “brogrammers” tell Hendricks they’ll help him with Pied Piper, but intend on mocking him.
Hendricks and Bighetti listen to tech investor Peter Gregory as he gives a Ted Talks presentation about how college has become a “cruel joke on the poor and middle class.” Afterward, Hendricks approaches Gregory to pitch Pied Piper, to which his assistant Monica Hall tells him, rather unconvincingly, that she’ll look it up as Peter drives away in his mini car.
At Hooli, the brogrammers are stunned at how lossless the compression is on Pied Piper. The news gets back to Belson, who’s intrigued and sets up a meeting with Hendricks. Gregory is also interested in the algorithm, creating a bidding war. Belson ultimately offers $10 million, while Gregory goes in a different direction and offers Richard $200,000 for five percent of Pied Piper. Hendricks ends up taking Gregory's offer after being talked into by Hall.
End music
The end music used is Minimum by Green Day.
Trivia
- In the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards (2014) Mike Judge was nominated for "Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series" for this episode, but lost to Gail Mancuso for Modern Family.
- According to the DVD commentary, T.J. Miller adlibbed the line, "They're all a bunch of assholes, especially Radiohead."
Quotes
- "Somebody make some motherfucking noise in here! [silence] Fuck these people."
- ―Kid Rock
- "What do you got?"
- ―Erlich
- "What the hell are you eating?"
- ―Dinesh
- "It's amazing how the men and women at these things always separate like this."
- ―Richard
- "Everyone involved in the music industry is either stealing it or sharing it. They're all a bunch of assholes, especially Radiohead."
- ―Erlich
- "It's weird. They always travel in groups of five. These programmers, there's always a tall, skinny white guy; a short, skinny Asian guy; fat guy with a ponytail; some guy with crazy facial hair; and then an East Indian guy. It's like they trade guys until they all have the right group."
- ―Gavin
- "'[sticks his middle finger up at Dinesh] How does this translate into Farsi?"
- ―Gilfoyle
- "Richard, if you want to live here, you've got to deliver. I can't have dead weight at my incubator, OK? Either that, or show some promise for fuck's sake. Like NipAlert, Big Head's app. It gives you the location of a woman with erect nipples. Now, that's something people want."
- ―Erlich
- "'(watching Peter Gregory drive away in a tiny car) That is a narrow car."
- ―Richard
- "Hi, Monica. I work with Peter Gregory. We met outside the TED..."
- ―Monica
- "I am the founder of Aviato. And I own a very small percentage of Grindr. It's a men to men dating site where you can find other men within 10 miles of you interested in having sexual intercourse in a public restroom."
- ―Erlich
- "When I sold my company, Aviato, I wanted to give back. That's why I started this place, to do something big. To make a difference. You know, like Steve."
- ―Erlich
| Season One Episodes | ||
|---|---|---|
|
1. "Minimum Viable Product" |
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| Season One • Season Two • Season Three • Season Four • Season Five • Season Six | ||
