I started working at a young age. When I was 12 years old, I washed
dishes at a Chinese restaurant. When I was 16, I sold newspaper subscriptions
over the phone. By doing chores around the house—like washing windows—I
earned allowance money.
When I started Dell, I was a 19-year-old sophomore at the University
of Texas in Austin. It was 1984, and I saw an opportunity to create a different
business model—a different way of delivering, servicing, and selling computers.
I started selling upgrade kits for computers, and then started designing and manufacturing
our own computers.
What inspired me to start Dell was the chance to be a part of an
exciting new industry and to lower the cost of computers—to see these products
change societies, how work gets done, and how students learn in education.
When I was in seventh grade, my math teacher Mrs. Darby at Johnson
Junior High School had this teletype terminal—one of the first to access
computers in the Houston independent school district. She got me interested in
computers. And in high school, I had a physics teacher who took complicated concepts,
made them interesting, and applied them to things that we could understand in
the real world.
I was always interested in math and science—in machines that
could calculate and compute. I saw that computers could enhance human capability.
We have our own creativity and ideas, but then we also need powerful tools. When
we combine those resources wonderful things can happen.
I believe that every child should have access to a computer, and
that’s why we are getting more computers into homes and schools and introducing
the Tech-Know program. We want to ensure that all students have access to computers.
I now have four children. My older kids are 12 and 14, and they use
the computer to do instant messaging, presentations in Power-Point, and spreadsheets;
write papers in Word; go on the Internet and do research; play games; listen to
music; and send pictures to their grandparents. They attend a wired school.
It’s exciting to see how computer products are more affordable
and accessible to people worldwide. We’re seeing amazing growth. The personal
computer is creating opportunity for everyone, and as the prices come down, more
computers are going into more homes and schools.
When I travel, I see what people are doing with our products to leapfrog
ahead. It’s inspiring. Often the young people who come into our industry
come up with innovations. We’re adding new people all the time, because
we want those new ideas that will improve the way we live. PE
