Michael Dell is to the computer world what fast-food is to lunch – except higher quality. He simply makes darn good PCs, sells them like hot cakes, straight into your hands with whatever toppings you want, pronto.
One of the business world’s most straightforward thinkers, Michael Saul Dell, born 23 February 1965 in Houston, Texas, began selling PCs in 1984 from his university dorm in the ‘go get ‘em’ style characteristic of the decade.
Dell made two observations about the PC market which formed the backbone of the business model that would catapult him into the entrepreneurial stratosphere. First, by selling through middlemen, manufacturers were selling PCs at a higher price than was necessary. And second, consumers were limited in choice, having no control over the constituent parts of the machines they bought.
Dell set up PC’s Limited and revolutionised the industry by selling built-to-order computer systems directly to end users. His direct sales strategy negated the need for component inventories and vastly simplified the PC trade.
By the time he was 19, Dell’s company had become successful enough for him to drop out of his medical studies to run it full-time. In 1987, PC’s Limited changed to the Dell Computer Corporation, went public in 1988 and after achieving the status of most profitable PC manufacturer in the world, became Dell Inc in 2003.
Consistently profitable, Dell Inc’s no-nonsense sales made $47.3bn in 2004, while IBM sold off its PC business and Hewlett-Packard’s PC margins slid below 1%. And, true to form, Dell’s printer line achieved a third of the market share of HP, the industry leader, in its first 18 months.
Having handed over the CEO title in 2004 to become chairman, Dell ranked fourth in 2005’s Forbes 400, and was listed as the fourth richest man in the US and 18th in the world. His assets were valued at $18bn.
Like Albert Einstein and Richard Branson, Dell performed poorly at school and was told by one of his teachers that he “probably would not go anywhere in his life”.
“You know in today's business world, if you get behind in your e-mail you fall out of touch very quickly.”
“Twenty years and $40bn: They seem like good round numbers.”
“There are a lot of things that go into creating success. I don't like to do just the things I like to do. I like to do things that cause the company to succeed. I don't spend a lot of time doing my favorite activities.”
“Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking: what's in it for me?”
“As important as school was, I found that it could be very disruptive to a steady income.”
