Michael Dell was born in 1965 to an orthodontist father and stockbroker mother. He went to Herod Elementary School in Houston, Texas, and applied to take a high school equivalency test when he was only 8 years old so he could enter the world of business sooner. When only still a teenager Dell invested his money earned from part-time jobs into stocks and metals.
Dell purchased his first computer at the age of 15 after playing with one at his local Radio Shack. As soon as he brought it home he took it apart to see how it worked. While attending Memorial High School in Houston Dell sold subscriptions to the Houston Post during his summer vacation. While cold-calling he observed that he was much more likely to sell subscriptions to newlyweds and people moving to new homes. Dell came up with the idea of focusing his calling only on these two demographic groups and collected names from marriage and mortgage applications. During that year Michael Dell actually earned more than his history and economics teacher, $18,000.