It depends on what kind of company you want to start(& where in the world you want to start it).
For instance a Web-based start-up along the lines of Facebook,Group-on,etc can very easily be started with initial investment of USD 27000 today(you would need more funding later on,for expansion but thats where the VC and Angel Investor industry comes in).
Yes,if you want to start a manufacturing firm then 27000 does not go a long way. I agree.
But then when HP was started all those years ago,what were their Key products? They had only one and used to make them by hand(initially).
Assembly line production entered a lot after 1938..
At the same time if you want to start a start-up in the manufacturing space in Africa then USD 27000 is enough for the first six months or so.
So I return back to what I said earlier,USD 27000 is more than enough to get things going ,if you target the right areas/avenues.
Allow me to say that as a former professional and home user of HP laptops, I was quite disappointed with the declining quality of the goods. They simply do not last. I have seen 3 laptops fail badly (motherboards had to be replaced) at my workplace within one month. Similar thing happened at home with the HP laptop. That too went belly up. The worst part of it all was the service had no clue what was wrong with it. they said that they would charge me $400 to find out what was wrong with it but they could not give any guarantees to fix it ! How ridiculous is that?
Also, a few words on HP printers... Has anyone also experienced the bad failures with the scanner function on HP multi-function printers? Apparently, they almost come as standard these days! I had the same scanner problem with the two HP printers of different models in the last 2 years. I recall having a similar problem with Brother printers but because Brother was smart enough to include a built-in SD card slot which you could use to capture the scanned images, you had a chance to work around such driver/firmware problems. HP does not even give this opportunity to its users by only hav,ng a USB connection. Let me also mention that the HP online support and driver updates do not resolve this issue either.
If HP wants to bounce back, this is certainly not the way to achieve it. I personally stay away from
That 538 in 1939 dollars is equivalent to 27000 Dollars today.
But for a company of the size of HP today,that amount is not of much significance.
The problem is the entire culture of a company changes when it evolves from a Start-up(which HP was in 1939) to a Corporation (which it is today);Entrepreneurial nature typically takes a massive dip here as the risk takers are over-whelmed by layers and layers of bueracracy.
So no,it won't make much difference,unless they decide to build some sort of a incubation centre and isolate it from the parent business...Now that could be worth something,What do you think??
@Tvotapka, thanks for the sharing this piece of history. Its really amazing to see how HP started with just $538. Unfortunately the company is struggling now. I feel HP should have continued with their tablet business rather than closing it.
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
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Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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