By Heather McLean, 23 May 2002 17:15
NEWS Michael Dell spoke in London today about his company's meteoric rise over the past 18 years. The founder of Dell Computers said his organisation's challenging targets and its focus on supply chain efficiency have helped give it its current market value of $36bn. Dell started up with $1,000 in a bedroom in Texas at the age of 19. Speaking about the changes in the start-up market since then he said: "If it's a really good idea you don't need much capital. "We created a business that didn't really need capital. One of the biggest problems over the last few years is start-ups have had too much money - if you have money you shouldn't start to do dumb things. "Find a really large, incredibly successful business and find a new business model that revolutionises it. We didn't win because we had better economies of scale. We won because we had the better business model." Dell said he is still hungry for more market share. "I'm having a great time. It is a hell of a lot of fun and I see enormous potential [in Dell] because it's only an 18-year-old company. We can make this so much larger and more successful." However, he added that life at the top of the industry is not taken for granted. "We live in fear we'll miss something, or some new technology will come along, or our competitor will gain a lead on us." Michael Dell was speaking at the Institute of Directors. silicon.com competition winner Emma Wier - who won the chance to put a question to Dell - asked what advice he could give young managers striving to become business leaders. Dell said: "Fix your problems as fast as you find them." He added: "We definitely believe in setting very challenging goals."
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