Lucent , where is that Carly?
The 1999 Internet Bubble had nothing to do with HP
Both Mr. Hewlett and Parkard died as some richest men in the World
Lucent and its major competitors all started goosing sales by lending money to their customers. In a neat bit of accounting magic, money from the loans began to appear on Lucents income statement as new revenue while the dicey debt got stashed on its balance sheet as an allegedly solid asset It was nothing of the sort. Lucent said in its SEC filings that it had little choice to play the so-called vendor financing game, because all its competitors were too.
And both of them started their business in a garage, by making a signal generator as their first product.
How many businesses today start out in a garage, or a basement?
How many manufacture a physical product, and not just contract out to a chinese supplier?
Is that even allowed by financiers in today's business climate, manufacturing items domestically? Do investors even consider domestic manufacturing? Or is off to china and mexico right off the bat?
Hewlett left HP in 1987, Packard in 1993.
Good timing in the PC market world. :)