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An Interview With The CEO of Compugen Education
Recently we sat down to interview our CEO, Steve Glover, who spoke about his long history in the refurbished computer industry and what makes Compugen Education stand out from the crowd.
You’re no stranger to computers. When did you start working in the computer industry?
Actually I’ve been working with computers since 1974. My first job was in the data center of a major bank – the Royal Bank. I was right out of school at the time. Those were the days of mainframe computers, before PCs were invented!
Tell me about the computer scene in 1992 when you founded CDI.
In 1992, when I founded CDI, PCs were just coming on the market. We were buying and selling refurbished high-end mainframe computers. As that market was diminishing we realized we had to get into the emerging personal computer market. In those days a refurbished PC would sell for as much as $1500. And of course when you look at the processing speed and memory – everything has changed light years to where it is today.
Recently, I was invited to present at a Microsoft convention in New York City. I showed a photo of a memory pack that would be mounted on a drive connected to a mainframe. It was huge and looked like a large curling stone, and probably weighed a few pounds. It held a total of 200-megabytes of data. Then I pulled out of my pocket a little USB stick that holds 64-gigabytes. It’s been exciting to be in an industry that changes so fast, so consistently.
CDI was really influential at the beginning of the refurbished computer market. Can you tell me about what you saw in refurbished computers?
We were the pioneers. Very quickly after we got into the business we developed the capability to refurbish computers and make them like-new. Then we had to ask ourselves – where do we sell them? Who would be interested? We tried different avenues. We tried selling them to retail channels, for example through Sears. They would put a flyer in their mailer. You would get your bill, and there would be a flyer offering a refurbished computer. You could order a computer for three easy payments of $350 over three months. [laughs].
What was your legacy at CDI and why did you ultimately leave?
I grew CDI from 3 employees to 110. A US company made an offer to buy us and it was an offer I couldn’t refuse. I took it and then I retired for a few years. But I decided I wasn’t ready to retire so I started up a new company. That company is Compugen Education. We’ve been doing this part—refurbished computers—for about 8 years now.
Since joining Compugen, what have been your biggest challenges and biggest successes?
You know, we’re always challenged to provide differentiation. If you’re selling a commodity, why are you any different or better than anybody else? That’s been the biggest challenge. But the success is that we’ve managed to do that.
Compugen Education has a unique position in the market, including product availability and rigorous quality testing. Our differentiators are what put us above the rest. These are:
- Ensured quality through rigorous testing. I’ve spent the last 20-some years refurbishing computers and developing systems to ensure quality, so I can stand behind each computer that we send out.
- A great lifetime warranty, supported by the longevity and overall financial strength of the company. We’re part of one of the biggest IT companies in North America, Compugen Inc. That’s a $600-million company. We’ll be around to service our warranties for a long time!
- Access to the product, which ensures on-time delivery. We uniquely have our own extensive leasing portfolio. It’s like car leases – we know exactly when each computer is coming back. So we don’t have to go searching for the computers that we’ve promised to our clients.
It also seems that Compugen stands out because of its charitable programs, can you tell me about that, too?
Yes, that’s the other thing that sets us apart. It’s not just that we try to get great, inexpensive computers into schools – it’s really the charitable part of the business as well. Our signature asset disposition program, Green4Good, has generated $2,000,000 that has gone directly to charities. So we’re not just selling computers to educators and washing our hands afterwards. We’re bigger than that. We feel that we have a bigger social responsibility. That’s why we work with customers to find the value in their aging technology and in turn to give that value to charities.
When you’re not helping to run one of the biggest computer companies in North America, what do you like to do?
I’m a family guy – my wife and I have kids and grandkids. That’s a huge part of our life of course. But one of the benefits of running the Green4Good program is that you get to know the charities personally and you attend events that are fun and interesting. So we’ve gotten to know a lot of really good people through the philanthropic part of the business and been able to share those new relationships with our kids and grandkids too.
Where do you see the future of the refurbished technology market?
I think there will always be a market for refurbished technology. The equipment being made is robust and it will last if it’s properly handled and put through a rigorous refurbishing process. As markets evolve, you have to stay one step ahead and evolve too. No matter how the technology changes – Chromebooks, iPads, etc – there will always be a market for resale. This has been going on for almost 50 years! I’ve been told so many times over the years that the refurbished market is dying. People ask how can you make money selling a computer for 200 bucks. But it’s all about efficiency. If you can do it well, you can do it.
