Michael Saylor

Updated January 30, 2023
By cukuwotu

“My formula for success is rise early, work late, and buy Bitcoin.”

Michael J. Saylor is a renowned entrepreneur and business executive with an impressive resume of accomplishments, including co-founding MicroStrategy – one of the top providers of mobile software, cloud-based services and business intelligence solutions. He served as CEO until 2022, when he transitioned to Executive Chairman while continuing his leadership; under his guidance, it has become one of the largest corporate investors in Bitcoin on record, holding over 130k bitcoin by September 2022 along with Saylor’s personal investment totalling 17K BTC at that time.

Biography

Michael Saylor began his journey to success at a young age. Raised in a military family, he lived on U.S Air Force bases worldwide before settling near Dayton, Ohio – known as the birthplace of aviation and home of the Wright Brothers. A high achiever even then, Michael graduated first in his class with honors during school and was voted most likely to succeed by peers upon graduation. Today he is an acclaimed entrepreneur-executive-inventor-author & philanthropist, having achieved enormous successes across each field!

Michael Saylor was a force to be reckoned with at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), attending on an Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship and becoming involved in his fraternity, Theta Delta Chi. During his time there, he earned dual degrees – one in aeronautics and astronautics as well as science, technology & society – while pursuing other passions such as playing the guitar for a rock band or learning glider flight techniques. His interest is piqued by computer simulation technologies’ effects on public policy & business strategies, Michael Saylor studied system dynamics at MIT Sloan School of Management, writing about “A Mathematical Model Of A Renaissance Italian City State” for his thesis along the way!

After graduating with the highest honours from MIT in 1987, Michael Saylor began his career as a commissioned Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force Reserve. He then made a name for himself by helping companies such as DuPont and Exxon utilise computer simulations for strategic decision-making purposes through consulting work. In 1989 at just 24 years of age, he established MicroStrategy – an innovative venture that could help organisations gain intelligence anytime, anywhere – fulfilling his dream of transforming how businesses shape their future through technology advancements..

Microstrategy

MicroStrategy has soared to success with a cutting-edge approach to business intelligence since going public in 1998 (NASDAQ: MSTR). Leveraging the power of graphical operating systems and client-server computing, as well as their pioneering relational online analytical processing (ROLAP) platform – they have become an international leader in enterprise analytics & mobility software delivery. With thousands of customers worldwide under their leadership, MicroStrategy continues its impressive growth trajectory.

As an esteemed inventor, Saylor has over 40 patents to his name and is credited with pioneering relational analytics, as well as ushering in the age of web-based cloud computing, mobile identity services and IoT through MicroStrategy. His past entrepreneurial endeavours include creating Alarm.com – one of the first home automation & security companies – which found success on NASDAQ:ALRM, followed by Angel.com; a premier cloud-IVR provider sold for $110 million in 2013 to Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, frontrunner of cloud-based interactive voice response service providers.

Saylor pioneered insight into the revolutionary effects of mobile, cloud and social networks with his seminal work: The Mobile Wave: How Mobile Intelligence Will Change Everything. Published by Perseus Books in 2012, this dynamic exploration predicted far-reaching economic and political upheaval spurred on by tech giants such as Apple, Amazon, Facebook & Google – all buoyed to global success that transgressed traditional boundaries across industrial and political realms alike. Revered for its prophetic accuracy, Saylor’s book went beyond expectation, being featured as a Best Seller on both The New York Times & Wall Street Journal’s esteemed lists, respectively!

Cryptocurrency Involvement

In a move that shook the industry and made headlines, MicroStrategy announced in 2020 its decision to explore alternative assets for their treasury investments. This resulted in purchasing over 21,000 bitcoin – an unprecedented gamble amid market turbulence caused by COVID-19. The firm has continued making large Bitcoin investments since then – even taking on debt where necessary to bolster future holdings.

As a dedicated Bitcoin pioneer, Saylor has spearheaded the entrance of institutional investors into cryptocurrency. His advocacy for and active involvement in promoting the digital asset has been credited by experts with aiding its surge of popularity over 2020-2021. Although MicroStrategy stock subsequently underwent severe market downturns throughout 2022, even resulting in his resignation as CEO that August; this staunch proponent remains an unwavering advocate and investor in bitcoin to this day.

Michael Saylor tweeted: “Bitcoin is a bank in cyberspace, run by incorruptible software, offering a global, affordable, simple, and secure savings account to billions of people that don’t have the option or desire to run their own hedge fund.”

Observers raised red flags over MicroStrategy’s bitcoin activity, which appeared to be straying into investing firm and ETF territory. CEO Michael Saylor was quick to defend the company by tweeting a dismissal of those concerns, “Per the SEC, #BTC isn’t a security. Ergo, holding BTC doesn’t cause MicroStrategy to become an IC (investment company).”

Saylor has been a vocal advocate of cryptocurrency since 2021, turning to unconventional methods – such as selling company debts- in order to raise funds for Bitcoin. His bold moves have paid off; the current stock market movement reflects almost exactly with that of Bitcoin’s price. Saylor is confident that within ten years, bitcoin could surpass gold and possess an incredible market capitalisation of $10 trillion! This maximalist stance will likely continue long into the future.

He tweeted, “Bitcoin is digital energy. With this technology we can deliver any amount of power, at any frequency, anywhere in time and space, with nearly zero friction. It is smarter, faster, and stronger than mechanical energy, chemical energy, or electrical energy. It is the future,”.