Dell Computers: Michael Dell

How I Built This with Guy Raz

Guy Raz | Wondery

Business

4.8 • 31.1K Ratings

🗓️ 29 January 2018

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Before it became fashionable to start a tech company in your dorm room, Michael Dell did exactly that. In 1983, he began selling upgrade kits for PC's out of his dorm at UT Austin. A few months later he gave up his plan of being Pre-Med, and dropped out of school to focus on the PC business. At age of 27, he became the youngest CEO to head a Fortune 500 company. Today, Dell has sold more than 650 million computers. PLUS for our postscript "How You Built That," how Hannah England turned a common parenting problem into Wash. It. Later. — a water-tight bag for soaking soiled baby clothes before they stain. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, Prime Members, you can listen to how I built this early and ad-free on Amazon Music.
0:07.0	Download the app today.
0:09.0	New Year's is here, and with it brings the possibility of change.
0:13.0	As one behavioral scientist put it, first starts are really powerful.
0:17.0	So as you head into 2023, LifeKit is a great resource to help you plan your life and tackle changes, both big and small.
0:24.0	Listen to the LifeKit podcast from NPR.
0:28.0	Hey, really quickly, before we start the show, some of you have been asking about our Columbus Ohio show coming up on February 8th that's supported by American Express Open.
0:38.0	That show is with Jenny Britton Bauer, the founder of Jenny's splendid ice creams.
0:42.0	The show was sold out, but good news.
0:45.0	We're going to be releasing a few more tickets.
0:48.0	You can get them at nprpresence.org.
0:51.0	Alright, here's the show.
0:53.0	You know, here I am, supposed to be going to college, and I've got this thriving business in my dorm room.
1:00.0	I was buying computers and souping them up with more, you know, capability, and then reselling them.
1:10.0	So I advertised, I bid on state contracts.
1:17.0	How did you do all that?
1:20.0	You know, I don't really remember how I figured that out, but I somehow figured it out.
1:31.0	From NPR, it's how I built this.
1:33.0	A show about innovators, entrepreneurs, idealists, and the stories behind the movements they built.
1:42.0	I'm Guy Ross, and on the show today, how a college freshman turned a dorm room side hustle into Dell,
1:49.0	one of the biggest computer makers in the world.
1:59.0	Long before anyone heard of the tech wonderkins, like Mark Zuckerberg, or Evan Speegle, or Katrina Lake,
	...

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