Michael Dell: the story of a talented businessman
Michael Dell is the founder of Dell, a company known for making laptops and monitors. The key to his success is the ability to adapt to new circumstances. Dell also believes in loving what you do and constantly improving your approach.
Michael was born in Houston, Texas, in 1965. His hobbies included entrepreneurship and electronics. As a teenager, he began earning money and investing in stocks. At the same time, his passion for technology never waned. At 15, Michael bought one of the first Apple computers, but not for regular use. He decided to take it apart to see how it worked.
In high school, Dell became seriously interested in the stock market. His natural talent for analysis helped him. After identifying a promising market niche, he grew his capital to US$18,000 in one year.
Own business
After school, Michael went to university, where, in his first year, he started his own business. He sold disc drives that he extracted from non-functioning computers. Over time, this activity grew into a full-fledged business – in 1984, Dell registered a company. When the company began to generate revenues of US$80,000, the young man dropped out of university. The company developed rapidly:
1. Michael was the first to sell computers over the phone.
2. Technical support services appeared in 1986. The company provided it free of charge, which was unprecedented in the market.
3. To attract customers, the company offered a 10% discount.
4. Dell assembled computers from components of failed PCs.
5. The number of products matched the number of orders, allowing the company to profit at a low service price.
In 1988, the growing company transformed into Dell Computer. The company soon went public and raised US$30 million in funding. Dell was just 23 years old at the time.
Dell Computer Corporation
The funds raised allowed the company to scale up and expand internationally. Assembly plants appeared in Europe, Australia and Asian countries. At the same time, Michael kept up with the latest trends. He started trading online in 1996 when nobody believed in it. Without advertising, the company’s website could sell 30-50 PCs a day. By 2000, Dell had made a profit of US$18 million. This made it the most successful computer manufacturer in the world.
But Michael did not stop there. He set up an investment company that backed small innovative projects. By 40, Dell’s fortune stood at around US$20 billion. The businessman gave part of this to his charitable foundation.
In 2004, Michael stepped down as chairman of the company. In 2007, however, the company lost its position in the market, and he returned. Now, Dell has retired from the business. He is investing in real estate and trying new things.
