Michael J. Saylor

Michael J. Saylor is an American entrepreneur, co-founder and chairman of MicroStrategy, a business intelligence, mobile software and cloud services company. Saylor is the author of the book Mobile Wave: How Mobile Intelligence Will Change Everything, which he wrote in 2012. He is also the sole protector of Saylor Academy, a provider of free online education. The CEO of MicroStrategy holds more than 40 patents.

Saylor was born on February 4, 1965 in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. He spent his early years at various Air Force bases as his father was an Air Force sergeant. When Sailor was 11 years old, the family settled in Fairborn, Ohio.

In 1983, Saylor entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and received a scholarship to the U.S. Air Force ROTC. There he joined the international student fraternity Theta Delta Chi, through which he met the future co-founder of MicroStrategy, Sanju K. Bansal. Saylor graduated from the university in 1987 with a dual degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics and Science, Technology and Society.

Due to health reasons, he was unable to become a pilot and so in 1987 he took a job with the consulting firm The Federal Group, Inc. where he focused on computer modeling for a software integration company. In 1988, Saylor became an internal consultant at DuPont, where he developed computer models to help the company anticipate changes in its key markets. The modeling predicted that many of DuPont’s major markets would be in recession in 1990.

MicroStrategy

Using funds from DuPont, Saylor, along with another member of his university fraternity, Sanju Bansal, founded MicroStrategy. The company began developing data mining software and then focused on business intelligence software. In 1992, MicroStrategy won a $ 10 million contract with McDonald’s to develop applications to analyze the effectiveness of its promotions. The McDonald’s contract helped Sailor realize that they could create business intelligence software that would allow companies to use their own data to understand their business.

The entrepreneur took the company public in June 1998, offering 4 million shares at $ 12 each. On the first day of trading, the share price doubled. Sailor owned more than 39 521 units of the company worth more than $ 4,804,963. In early 2000, the businessman’s fortune reached $ 7 billion, and the Washingtonian reported that he became the richest man in Washington County.

In 1996, KPMG, a Washington-based auditing firm, named Saylor the High Tech Entrepreneur of the Year. In 1997, Ernst & Young named the co-founder of MicroStrategy the Software Entrepreneur of the Year, and the following year Red Herring Magazine recognized him as one of the 10 Best Entrepreneurs of 1998. In 1999, MIT Technology Review honored him as an Innovator Under 35.

MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor receives the Virginia state flag from Virginia Governor Ralph NorthamSEC investigation

In March 2000, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed charges against Saylor and two other MicroStrategy executives for misstating the company’s financial results for the previous two years. In December 2000, Saylor settled with the SEC. Without admitting any wrongdoing, the company and its executives paid about $ 11 million in fines, more than $ 8 million of which came from Saylor’s personal funds. As a result of the revision of the financial statements, the company’s shares declined in value, and Sailor’s personal capital fell by $ 6 billion.

Investments in bitcoin

In July 2020, at MicroStrategy’s quarterly conference, Saylor announced his intention to explore the possibility of buying bitcoin, gold, or other alternative assets to avoid keeping cash. The following month, MicroStrategy used $ 250 million of its cash reserves to buy 21,454 bitcoins.

In September 2020, MicroStrategy added $ 175 million worth of bitcoins to its assets, and in early December 2020, it bought another $ 50 million worth of BTC. On December 21, 2020, the company announced that its total assets include 70,470 bitcoins purchased for over $ 1 billion at an average price of $ 15,964 per bitcoin.

As of February 24, 2021, the company’s assets included 90,531 bitcoins purchased for $ 2 billion at an average price of $ 23,985 per bitcoin.

Saylor, who controls 70% of MicroStrategy’s shares, dismissed observers' fears that the move would turn MicroStrategy into a bitcoin investment company or exchange-traded fund (ETF).

In October 2020, Saylor reported that he personally owned 17,732 bitcoins at an average purchase price of $ 9,882. As of October 2021, he has not yet sold his own cryptocurrency.

Between October 1 and November 29, 2021, MicroStrategy bought 7,002 bitcoins for approximately $ 414 million in cash at an average purchase price of $ 59,187. As a result, the company’s total assets reached 121,044 bitcoins.

The book «The Mobile Wave»

In June 2012, Saylor released the book The Mobile Wave: How Mobile Intelligence Will Change Everything, published by Perseus Books. The book discusses trends in mobile technology and its future impact on trade, healthcare, education, and global progress. The book appeared on the New York Times bestseller list, where it was ranked seventh among hardcover nonfiction books in August 2012, and fifth among hardcover business books on the Wall Street Journal’s Best Books list in July 2012.

In 1999, Saylor founded the Saylor Foundation (later named Saylor Academy) and is currently its sole protector. In 2008, the foundation launched Saylor.org as a free education initiative. The site now offers about 100 free educational courses supported by content from various universities. Students can access these courses without having to go through the admission process at the educational institutions.

Other information

MicroStrategy’s CEO travels more than 175,000 miles a year, visiting more than 60 cities and 25 countries to share his perspective on enterprise analytics and mobility with technology and business audiences.