Eagle Computer: The rise and fall of an early PC clone
Key takeaways
- When it comes to 80s computer brands, few flew as high as Eagle Computer flew in 1983.
- Eagle had been a leading producer of CP/M computers, entering the market somewhat accidentally.
- Its first IBM compatible computer became a market leader and led to a $37 million IPO based on that computer s sales and the expected sales of its followups.
When it comes to 80s computer brands, few flew as high as Eagle Computer flew in 1983. The aptly named company was selling 12,000 computers a month and had been doubling sales every quarter under the leadership of a talented CEO. Then Eagle lost its CEO, Dennis Barnhart, in a crashed Ferrari on the day of its IPO, June 8, 1983. In this blog post, we ll explore the reasons Eagle Computer fell, because there was more to it than just the tragic story involving its CEO.
Eagle had been a leading producer of CP/M computers, entering the market somewhat accidentally. They were an offshoot of Audio Visual Labs, who made a product that could double as a general purpose computer. Audio Visual Labs recruited Dennis Barnhart, the vice president of marketing and sales at Commodore, in 1981. Audio Visual Labs spun Eagle off as a separate company soon after, and Barnhart became CEO.
Its first IBM compatible computer became a market leader and led to a $37 million IPO based on that computer s sales and the expected sales of its followups. But on July 30, 1986, just a little over three years later, Eagle Computer went out of business.