Re: IPO? Investor? Sell the business? or what?

In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Rich
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> My question is better asked this way... How did Dell start out? How did
> Apple, Microsoft, Pepsi, etc. start out? in a garage perhaps - whatever, it
> must have been a humble beginning.

Michael Dell sold PC's out of his college dorm.  He used saved up
school money to buy his parts, and used the sales to buy yet more
parts.  He built up quite a business selling generic clones before
they started doing their own machines.

Apple started as Steve & Steve built boards in their garage.
They had an investor get interested in them, Mike Markkula, who
raised capital and eventually took them public.

Microsoft got started when Gates and a few college buddies wrote
a version of Basic for the computers that were available at the
time.  They then sold a product that they didn't have to one of
the leading PC vendors, took the money, moved to New Mexico, and
later delivered the product.  They repeated this task by selling
an O/S that they didn't own to IBM, and then later delivering the
product in time for the launch.

Pepsi - I don't know for sure, but similar companies got started
selling their medical wonder elixer from a horse drawn cart.

The common theme?  None of them had seed money.  All bootstrapped
their business, and all worked extreme hours until after the payoff
hit.  Finally, all had a unique idea that was at the right place at
the right time.

-john-

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John A. Weeks III            952-432-2708         [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Newave Communications                       http://www.johnweeks.com
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