Series Premiere. Attending an elaborate launch party, Richard and his computer programmer friends--Big Head, Dinesh and Gilfoyle--dream of making it big. Instead, they're living in a communal Hacker Hostel owned by former programmer Erlich, who gets to claim 10% of anything they invent there. When it becomes clear that Richard has developed a powerful compression algorithm for his website, Pied Piper, he finds himself courted by his egomaniacal corporate boss Gavin Belson, who offers a $10 million buyout by his firm, Hooli. But Richard holds back when well-known investor Peter Gregory makes a counter-offer.

Richard and Erlich discover that they must deliver a viable business plan; Gilfoyle and Dinesh prove to be essential to the company.

Richard must negotiate when he discovers the name "Pied Piper" is already registered to a sprinkler company; Erlich tries to come up with a new company name; Peter Gregory becomes elusive.

While at a party, Richard promises to make Erlich a board member; Big Head finds others who have made careers out of doing nothing; Richard struggles to put Pied Piper's vision into words.

Erlich convinces a graffiti artist to create Pied Piper's logo; Jared works to make the company more efficient; Richard learns that he has eight weeks to prepare for a live demonstration.

Richard feels threatened when the team hires a hacker; Jared seeks Peter Gregory's signature; Erlich and Dinesh compete for the attention of Gilfoyle's girlfriend; Dinesh faces a sexual dilemma.