# Dell Computers: Michael Dell (2018)

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2020-01-06
- Length: 46m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-01-06-dell-computers-michael-dell-2018

## Summary

Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computers, explains how he launched the company from his UT Austin dorm room in 1983 by selling PC upgrade kits, specifically hard drive subsystems and memory, to universities and state contracts. He details the strategic decision to bypass retail channels for a direct-to-customer model, which allowed Dell to offer faster, cheaper computers than IBM by maintaining an efficient supply chain and offering on-site service. The episode covers the company's rapid scaling, its 1988 IPO, and the eventual rise to become the world's largest PC seller by 2001, while also acknowledging early missteps like the failed Dell Unix project and the Olympic engineering program.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-01-06-dell-computers-michael-dell-2018#t=0) Introduction: Michael Dell and the Dorm Room Origin
- [3:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-01-06-dell-computers-michael-dell-2018#t=211) Early Entrepreneurship: High School Sales and Direct Mail
- [11:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-01-06-dell-computers-michael-dell-2018#t=672) The IBM PC Opportunity and Hard Drive Upgrades
- [19:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-01-06-dell-computers-michael-dell-2018#t=1173) Forming Dell Computer Corporation and Direct Sales Model
- [24:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-01-06-dell-computers-michael-dell-2018#t=1491) Supply Chain Efficiency and Beating IBM on Price/Speed
- [31:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-01-06-dell-computers-michael-dell-2018#t=1894) Regulatory Challenges: The FCC Letter and Compliance
- [33:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-01-06-dell-computers-michael-dell-2018#t=2024) The 1988 IPO and Global Expansion Strategy
- [37:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-01-06-dell-computers-michael-dell-2018#t=2262) Early Mistakes: Dell Unix and the Olympic Project
- [39:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-01-06-dell-computers-michael-dell-2018#t=2367) Market Share Decline, CEO Stepping Down, and Comeback
- [44:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-01-06-dell-computers-michael-dell-2018#t=2647) Post-Script: Jaju Pierogies and Product Market Fit

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Quality & yield](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/quality-and-yield)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)

## Most relevant to

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

## Mentioned

- Dell Computers (company)
- IBM (company)
- Compaq (company)
- Texas Instruments (company)
- Apple 2 (product)
- IBM PC (product)
- Jaju Pierogies (company)
- FCC (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [The Rise and Fall of DEC](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-06-14-the-rise-and-fall-of-dec) (Oxide and Friends)
- [Ep. 26 | Microchip's Steve Sanghi on How to Bring a Company from Debt to Billions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2021-06-08-ep-26-microchips-steve-sanghi-on-how-to-bring-a-company-from-debt-to-billions) (Moore's Lobby)
- [An Interview with Clint Cole of Digilent](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-06-10-an-interview-with-clint-cole-of-digilent) (The Amp Hour)
- [Silicon Cowboys](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2021-06-01-silicon-cowboys) (Oxide and Friends)
- [An Interview With Chuck Peddle - Charismatic Chipmaking Coryphaeus](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-03-20-an-interview-with-chuck-peddle-charismatic-chipmaking-coryphaeus) (The Amp Hour)

## Citing this page

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