The path to a career in technology often begins with a particular machine, an influential text, an early encounter with a complex problem, or the nudge of a mentor. Capturing these moments gives us valuable insight into how technical curiosity develops into lifelong professional commitment. Our oral histories preserve the richly textured personal narratives that inspired major careers in science and business. Interviewees describe formative experiences from their youth, ranging from taking apart household radios to gaining rare access to university computers. These technical and personal origin stories document the diverse environments that sparked a generation's imagination, illustrating how individual curiosity aligned with the broader dawn of the computer revolution.