Hardware Podcasts

Compaq Computers: Rod Canion (2019)

How I Built This · 25 Mar 2019 · 39m

What this episode covers

Rod Canion, who co-founded Compaq with Jim Harris and Bill Murto, explains how they reverse-engineered the IBM PC to create the first portable IBM-compatible computer, the Compaq Portable. Canion details the strategic decision to keep building inventory when IBM launched its own portable, which ultimately allowed Compaq to outsell IBM's entry. He also discusses the company's rapid scaling to Fortune 500 status, his ousting by the board, and the eventual merger with HP that erased the brand. In a postscript, Danica Lause describes turning a knitting hobby into Peekaboos Ponytail Hats, solving a design problem for ponytails by creating hats with strategic holes and later engineering a custom knitting machine to scale production.

Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies, companies scaling up and large enterprises

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Compaq, IBM, Texas Instruments, Kleiner Perkins, HP
Products
Peekaboos Ponytail Hats, Osborne, PS2

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