The $20 Million Story Of Dell Computers

Here’s the story of a technology pioneer by the name of Michael Dell who made $20 million.

Michael Dell, Founder of Dell Computers, is an American pioneer and businessman.

Not only that, but he’s also a:

– Business magnate
– Investor
– Philanthropist
– Author / Writer

Here’s how he made his fortune:

Dell’s First Step:

Dell was born on February 23, 1965, in Houston, Texas to an orthodontist and a financial consultant and stockbroker.

His parents hoped that he would consider studying medicine, but Dell showed an early interest in technology and business.

Dell’s Second Step:

As a teenager, Dell work as dishwasher at a Chinese restaurant so that he could save money for his stamp collection.

Shortly after, he started working for a newspaper to bring in more subscribers – which earned him $18,000 in one single year.

Dell’s Second Step:

Fascinated by the expanding world of computers, Dell purchased an early Apple computer and disassembled it to see how it worked.

Familiarizing himself with the computers components he was able to create his own computer – the Dell Computer Corporation.

He started a company from his dorm room at the University of Texas and quickly blossomed into a giant computer company.

Dell’s Third Step:

The PC world was still young and Dell realized that no company had tried selling directly to customers.

Bypassing the middleman and the markups, Dell tapped his savings account for $1,000 and started building and selling computers for people he knew at college.

Dell later dropped out of school and focused all his efforts on his business.

Dell’s Fourth Step:

In 1984, Dell’s first full year in business, he had $6 million in sales.

By 1992, just eight years after Dell was founded, Michael Dell was the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

Dell’s Fifth Step:

Success almost seemed to chase after him at that point.

In 1999, Dell published a best-selling book about his success, Direct from Dell: Strategies That Revolutionized the Industry.

In 2000, Dell became a billionaire and his company had offices in 34 countries and employee count of more than 35,000.

Dell’s Fifth Step:

In 2004 Dell stepped down as the CEO of the company, but he remained chairman of the board.

He served on the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum and the executive committee of the International Business Council.

Also, he served on the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and sat on the governing board of the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad.

Dell’s Sixth Step:

However, not everything seems smooth for Michael Dell or his company.

The company suffered a $300 million charge to fix the faulty machines which were poorly built.

This resulted in Dell losing its top perch atop the industry.

Dell’s Sixth Step:

In 2007, Dell returned as the CEO of the company in an effort to correct things, but the results have been mixed.

Poor products continued to plague the company, and despite Dell Computer’s efforts to play down the issue, documents later revealed that employees were well aware of the issues affecting millions of its computers.

Dell’s Sixth Step:

In July 2010, Michael Dell agreed to pay more than $100 million in penalties in order to settle charges of accounting fraud that had been filed by the Security and Exchange Commission.

According to the charges, Dell Computer inflated its earning statements by counting rebates from the chip maker Intel that were issued to Dell to encourage the company not to use chips from Advanced Micro Devices in its computers and servers.

By padding its statements, investigators claimed, Dell Computer had misled investors about its actual earnings.

Dell’s Seventh Step:

In February 2013, Dell announced that he would be taking his business private again, in a move to help rebuild the company he founded.

He reached an agreement with Silver Lake Partners, a private equity firm that specializes in technology, and computer software giant Microsoft to launch a buyout of all outstanding shares of Dell.

This deal has been valued between $23 billion to more than $24 billion, making it one of the biggest buyouts in recent history.

Dell’s Seventh Step:

Apart from the business aspect of Dell Computers, Dell also contributed his wealth to many philanthropic projects.

He started the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, which had sent out millions to people who suffered from the tsunami in southern Asia.

In addition, he donated $50 million to the University of Texas.

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Dell did almost everything right as an entrepreneur, however due to a lack of diligence on his end, his company was deemed unreliable and faulty at one point.

His employees weren’t screened right, and the result of that was his company lost over $300 million USD.

Are you being diligent with your business?

If so, comment below.