David L. Steward is an African American entrepreneur who founded World Wide Technologies and is its current Chairman. His net worth is $3.7 billion according to Forbes and he is the second richest black American in the United States.
David is a self-made billionaire and although he is from a humble background, he worked his way up the ladder of success to become one of the richest black Americans in the United States today.
In this article, we will look at the nature of his business and how he raised startup funds.
David Steward and World Wide Technology
David Stewart is the CEO of World Wide Technology, a dominant ICT Company in the American space. He grew up in segregation and was at one point, the only black boy in his school.
His breakthrough business, World Wide Technology Inc. is a privately-held technology service provider based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company provides support services to government bodies and the private sector.
The company has an annual revenue of $13.4 billion and employs 7,000 people.
How David raised money for his business
David Steward employed a business funding model called bootstrapping. This practically means starting a business with little personal capital, no investors, no inheritance, just good old starting from the scratch.
In 1990, he started his breakthrough business, World Wide Technology with his meagre savings. The company had only 7 employees and was in $3.5 million debt after few years. David often went months without a paycheck.
The company’s breakthrough came when David was advised to go into partnership with government bodies and top private firms. Today, the company has recorded over $12 billion in sales.
What you should know
Bootstrapping means building a company from the ground up with nothing but personal savings, and with luck, the cash coming in from the first sales. The term, bootstrap refers to a business an entrepreneur does with little or no outside cash or other forms of support.
David Steward slugged it out the good old fashion way, putting together a fraction of his own money to start a business. This model is quite common with many African Americans because they have the least wealth and capital compared to other groups in the country. The African American group also doesn’t have sufficient inheritance from earlier generations.