ENGINEERING

Dell has announced the global expansion of its Take Your Own Path (TYOP) campaign, which features pioneering entrepreneurs and showcases their use of Dell technology to help make their businesses successful.

Take Your Own Path distinguishes entrepreneurs as “heroes,” and is being introduced in the U.S., Japan, Germany, China and the UK following its initial successes in India and France. The campaign celebrates these entrepreneurs with joint local, national and global exposure through a variety of advertising and PR initiatives, including billboards, print advertisements and broadcast efforts. It is also being integrated with Dell’s online marketing efforts, expanding on its Small and Medium Business Solutions Center and engaging in conversations on social media fronts such as Direct2Dell, Twitter and Facebook. In addition, the TYOP heroes are sharing their success stories at various small business events worldwide.

“Dell has always believed that it takes an extraordinary person to launch and run a business. We understand the potential of medium and small businesses to transform the global economy and the Take Your Own Path campaign underscores Dell’s commitment to supporting individuals with a big idea,” said Paul-Henri Ferrand, VP of global marketing for Dell Small and Medium Business. “Today, Dell celebrates the many achievers and dreamers who dare to forge ahead in their own way with a view of how they could change the world, pushing boundaries and ultimately, leading the global economic recovery.”

The TYOP heroes have taken innovative approaches to building their businesses, with Dell technology being a key enabler of their success.

“Our primary focus is on supporting high-impact entrepreneurs around the world,” said Linda Rottenberg, CEO and co-founder of Endeavor. “Dell clearly understands the needs of entrepreneurs who take risks and bet big on business success. We’re excited to participate in this one-of-a-kind campaign.”  

Intel and Microsoft are committed to entrepreneurs’ success and have joined Dell in supporting the Take Your Own Path campaign.

“The Take Your Own Path campaign reflects the entrepreneurial spirit of both Dell and Intel. We are proud to honor the Heroes who are part of the campaign through our support of this innovative marketing campaign,” said CJ Bruno, vice president and general manager, Intel Americas.

“Microsoft is proud to work with Dell on the Take Your Own Path initiative,” said Rich Reynolds, general manager of the Windows Business Group’s commercial marketing at Microsoft. “Time is money, and businesses are telling us that they save time, which means real money, with Windows 7 Professional. Together, Microsoft and Dell have engineered our products to assure out-of-the-box compatibility designed to help small and medium businesses achieve their goals.”

U.S. Take Your Own Path Heroes include:

• Cakelove, Warren Brown – Warren is the founder of Cakelove, a retail baked goods company and café. A successful entrepreneur that graduated from law school but left the field to follow his real passion for baked goods, Warren since had his own show on the Food Network and has been listed as one of Inc. Magazine’s ‘Top 26 Entrepreneurs That We Love’.
• Endeavor, Linda Rottenberg - Linda is the CEO and co-founder of the non-profit group that identifies and supports high-impact entrepreneurs in emerging markets. Endeavor has helped its entrepreneurs generate more than 96,000 high-quality jobs and in 2008 alone, $3.15 billion in revenues. In 2008, Linda was named one of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best American Leaders.”
• LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman – Reid is the Founder/CEO of LinkedIn, a business-oriented social networking site founded in December 2002 that is mainly used for professional networking. As of May 2009, it had more than 40 million registered users, spanning 170 industries and 200 countries. A new member joins LinkedIn approximately every second and executives from all Fortune 500 companies are LinkedIn members.
• Lonely Planet, Tony Wheeler – Tony is the Founder of Lonely Planet guidebooks. In 1972, after a six month Asia overland trip from Europe, Tony and his wife Maureen arrived in Sydney with 27 cents left. In late 1973, they started Lonely Planet Publications to publish Across Asia on the Cheap, the story of their trip from London to Australia. Since then, Lonely Planet has grown to become the world’s largest independent guidebook publisher with more than 500 titles in print, over 400 staff and offices in London and Oakland as well as the head office in Melbourne.
• SewWhat, Megan Duckett – Megan is the Founder/President of this visual design workshop for custom-sewn theatrical draperies and fabrics specializing in the entertainment and special event industries. With no formal business training, Megan turned a gift for working fabrics for the stage into a model of business creativity. She saw early that investing in powerful hardware and custom workflow software could set the stage for a significant business capability and rapid growth. Megan’s innovative use of technology led Dell to award her its 2007 Small Business Excellence Award.
• TecAccess, Debra Ruh – Debra is the Founder/CEO of TecAccess, a provider of accessibility consulting and staffing solutions. Using her successful career in information technology and drawing inspiration from her daughter with Downs Syndrome, Debra has grown TecAccess into a profitable multi-million dollar company that is the most awarded provider of professional accessibility and usability testing and training, workforce solutions, targeted marketing solutions, focus groups and usability studies in the world. For TecAccess, technology is an equalizer and enabler that allow companies to look at people as potential employees regardless of disability. In addition, the company utilizes a one-of-a-kind telecommuting model that allows employees, many of whom have disabilities ranging from intellectual, mental health to physical disabilities, to work from their homes, rehab facilities, and hospital rooms.
• Thinkwell Design, Joe Zenas – Joe is one of the co-founders of Thinkwell Design, a firm that specializes in the turnkey design and production of one-of-a-kind experience-based theme parks, resorts, destinations, attractions, museums, exhibits, live shows and environments. The nature of their creative-focused business means that Thinkwell relies heavily on the most effective and reliable hardware, the most powerful machines with the most advanced features. Through their partnership with Dell they are able to acquire custom built, pinnacle performance machines at a factory direct value price.

Additional information can be found at www.dell.com/takeyourownpath.