In 1984, Michael Dell was a student at the University of Texas at Austin. With just $1000, he founded the Dell Co. from his on-campus dorm room under its first name, PC Limited. He did this by taking stock components and turning them into IBM-compatible computers, which he sold directly to his customers. By doing so, he felt that he could better understand the needs of the consumer and provide the best possible computing solutions to those consumers.
In 1985, the company produced the first computer of its own design, which they called the Turbo PC. Through magazine advertisements, they sold their computers directly to the consumer and did so by custom building each unit. This allowed them to price their computers lower than those of national brands. Their style of doing business was a success and in that year, Michael Dell dropped out of school and led the company to profits of $6 million in its first year.
English: The Round Rock, Texas, United States.
Michael Dell, Founder of Dell
English: Michael Dell, founder & CEO, Dell Inc.In 1987, PC Limited saw there was a lack of qualified local retailers who could act as service centers for their products so they set up their own on-site-service programs to make up for this. That same year, the company expanded their operation into the United Kingdom. Over the next four years, the company continued to expand into eleven additional international operations. In 1988, the company made its first initial public offering and profits grew from $30 million to $80 million. It was in this same year that they changed their name to Dell Computer Corporation.
In 1990, the company continued to grow by focusing on sales made directly to the consumer rather than by selling to warehouse clubs or computer stores. In 1992, Fortune ranked Dell as one of the world's 500 largest companies. In 1999, Dell outsold...