Your Tech Story

Rags to Riches Story: Stan Shih, Founder of Acer

A great man once said, “If you are born poor it’s not your fault. But if you die poor it is your fault”. The one who stands up against all the odds and comes out successfully through the worst of times is bound to achieve the greatest feats of his lifetime. This is the story of Stan Shih, founder of Acer who has achieved the greatest success and is now a billionaire.

Born on 8 December, 1944 in the Republic of China – Taiwan, Stan Shih faced a struggling childhood. The already poor family was in a state of disaster when Stan, at a tender age of four, lost his father. At this small age he joined hands along with his mother in her business of selling eggs. The money they earned from this business helped Stan complete his preliminary education. But, his dream was much more than just completing preliminary. He worked even harder in their business and, with enough money accumulated, he went on to pursue the Bachelor’s and then Master’s program in Electronic Engineering from the National Chiao Tung University. He also successfully completed his honorary PhD in Electronics Engineering in the year 1992.

From an early age, Stan was dedicated towards his interests. He enjoyed every little process about his studies which immensely helped him to launch Acer in 1976. The launch of this company further saw such a tremendous growth that in 2006 it converted Taiwan into a PC-manufacturing powerhouse among the whole world. Today Acer stands as the second largest computer manufacturing company in the world.

Stan started the company along with his wife Carolyn Yeh and five other partners and it was initially named Multitech. Shih, accepted the chairmanship of Multitech in 1987 and it was this year when they decided to rename it to Acer. Beginning his career, in 1971, as a computer engineer at Unitron Industrial Corp. Shih made Taiwan’s first successful desktop calculator. His next major feat was the development of world’s first pen watch which he achieved during his time at Qualitron Industrial Corp., which he helped to establish too.

Stan Shih has shared a major part in establishing three largest PC companies Acer, BenQ and Wistron. He took retirement from the chairmanship of Acer in the year 2004 and has accepted the seat on the Board of Directors at Acer, BenQ and Wistron. Starting Acer with a mere $25,000 back in 1976, the company’s net worth has reached as high as US $22.2 billion. The company ranks at number 4 in terms of total PCs and at number 3 for the total notebooks across the whole world.

Social Responsibility
Shih, in one of his speeches, said, “You have to always look ahead, always be positive. It’s your choice, your destiny. You have to enjoy life but still have a personal social responsibility.” Despite being a billionaire Stan Shih is actively involved with social and public organizations. He was a chairman of the Asia Business Council, he sat on the board of directors of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd, and is also a chairman of the Brand International Promotion Association.

Awards and Honors
The year Acer was founded, i.e. 1976, also earned Shih a place on Taiwan’s “Ten Most Outstanding Young Persons” and just seven years later he was named one of the “Ten Most Outstanding Persons in the World” by International Jacees. Shih has been featured in noteworthy magazines like Asiaweek,  BusinessWeek, Fortune, and was featured in Time magazine’s “60 Years of Asian Heroes” for his achievements. The most precious day in Shih’s life was the day when he was awarded an honorary Doctor of International Law, the highest honor of the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Shih now lives with his lovely wife Carolyn Yeh and three children.