Garage to the Boardroom - A Myth or Reality

Abstract

Silicon Valley began with a garage (or so the story goes). In a small garage in Palo Alto, California, in 1938-1939, William Hewlett and David Packard experimented with numerous electronic devices, including a prototype for an audio oscillator. That oscillator eventually enabled the pair of entrepreneurs to launch Hewlett-Packard (HP), one of the largest high-tech companies in the world today. Over the next 50 years, numerous technology companies—including Apple, Cisco, and Intel—would be founded in Silicon Valley, the world’s foremost high-tech region. In 1989, the garage at 367 Addison Avenue was designated California Historic Landmark Number 976 and a sign board declaring “Birthplace of Silicon Valley” was placed at the front of the garage. The HP garage is the most celebrated example of a popular belief in the United States—that it is common for entrepreneurs to start companies in garages. Indeed, U.S. and other countries business history offers numerous stories of successful entrepreneurs (e.g., Walt Disney, Steve Jobs) whose garages served as early workshops for the products and services that eventually launched prominent U.S. businesses. However, the garage signifies more than just a commonly perceived locus of entrepreneurship. Rather it is a symbol that invokes up some common images of entrepreneurship, including the stimulating generation of innovative ideas, old-fashioned hard work and boot strapping resources to chase a dream, a rejection of the status quo, and the freedom of working for oneself. This article explores the authenticities of the entrepreneurial garage by addressing two main questions. First, myth about garage belief & its accuracy? Secondly, why is the garage belief prevalent and why does it continues?