The Ledger
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Canion: Compaq legally reverse-engineered IBM's ROM without infringing patents
“You know, we had reverse engineered the ROM following advice from top notch intellectual property lawyers. So we were very careful around that. Their product was not protected by patents in any other way.”
The original IBM PC was unprotected and legally reverse-engineered by Compaq
“And I knew that the IBM PC Was relatively unprotected. It would be a challenge, but it could be reverse engineered legally, and we could make our computer run the same software.”
A fierce disagreement over Asian outsourcing led to Rod Canion's ouster
“The chairman of the company, Ben Rosen, thought we ought to move very quickly and so quickly that, in fact, we ought to go buy a product from a Taiwanese or a Japanese or a Korean supplier. And my argument was, look, it's not what it seems. We can get to marke…”
By late 1984, Compaq outsold IBM's competing portable computer 7-to-1
“I think by the end of the year, we were outselling it seven or eight to one.”
Canion: Compaq doubled sales to $1.2B with desktop 3x faster than IBM
“The thing that took us from six hundred million in 86 to 1.2 billion in sales in 87, we came out with our own desktop, which was, ah, essentially three times faster than IBM's desktop for about the same price and began to establish ourselves as not only the po…”
Canion: Compaq generated $111 million in sales in its first year
“We sold one hundred and eleven million dollars worth of compact computers.”
Canion: Ben Rosen wanted Compaq to outsource low-cost PCs to Asia
“The chairman of the company, Ben Rosen, thought we ought to move very quickly and so quickly that, in fact, we ought to go buy a product from a Taiwanese or a Japanese or a Korean supplier. And my argument was, look, it's not what it seems. We can get to marke…”
Canion: Compaq tripled revenue to $329 million in its second year
“And, ah, we tripled to three hundred and twenty-nine million in our second year.”
IBM's 1987 PS/2 computer launched without running any existing PC software
“Because this thing not only didn't run all the software, it didn't run any of the software.”
Raz: Compaq sold 53,000 computers in 1983 compared to IBM's 750,000
“Compaq sold about 53,000 computers. And that same year, IBM, they sold 750,000 computers.”
Canion: Compaq engineered its first portable PC to survive drops
“One of our key engineering talents was to build it so that it, when you dropped it would survive.”
Canion: Compaq tripled revenue to $329 million in 1984
“We tripled to three hundred and twenty-nine million in our second year.”
Kleiner Perkins agreed to invest in Compaq after a single morning meeting
“So we basically flew out to Silicon Valley, and we went in to meet with John Doerr, and we spent a good morning, probably three or four hours, being questioned, and sure enough, about a week later, we got a call that they were willing to invest, and so it was …”
Compaq's orders froze when IBM previewed its own portable computer
“They, you know, in February of 1984, IBM introduces their own portable into the market. Now, our order stopped because before it actually was introduced, they were showing it to dealers and customers, and they just stopped ordering ours.”
Compaq reached $1.2 billion in 1987 with a faster, cheaper desktop
“The thing that took us from six hundred million in 86 to 1.2 billion in sales in 87, we came out with our own desktop, which was, ah, essentially three times faster than IBM's desktop for about the same price, and began to establish ourselves as not only the p…”
Compaq demanded exact internal compatibility to run IBM software perfectly
“You had to be exactly the same in order to run the software from an internal standpoint, and so they came to work for us right away and began first reverse engineering the product and then designing our own.”
Gonzalez: Brand-Name PCs Cost More Than Custom Builds in 1990
“You know, because I think that it was more expensive to buy an HP or a Compaq back then.”
Compaq sold 53,000 computers in 1983 compared to IBM's 750,000
“Compaq sold about 53,000 computers. And that same year, IBM, they sold 750,000 computers.”
Compaq's first portable computer listed for $2,995 in 1983
“It was listed for 29 95 for a single floppy.”
Compaq founders drafted a four-page business plan in under two weeks
“I mean, it was very quick from the ninth of January to when the idea came up to the 22nd of January when we met with the venture capitalists. We basically put together a very short, a four-page business plan and prepared to meet and discuss it with them.”