# Dynasty Computer

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{{Infobox company
| name=Dynasty Computer Corporation
| logo=
| type=Private
| industry={{ubl|Computer|[Multi-level marketing](/source/Multi-level_marketing)}}
| founder=Larry Hagerty
| founded={{Start date and age|1980|04}} in [Dallas](/source/Dallas), Texas, United States
| defunct={{End date and age|1983|11}}
| fate=Dissolved
}}
'''Dynasty Computer Corporation''' was a short-lived American [multi-level marketing](/source/multi-level_marketing) company active from 1980 to 1983 and based in [Dallas](/source/Dallas), Texas. The company exclusively sold [home computer](/source/home_computer) systems through [door-to-door](/source/door-to-door) demonstrations (a la [Avon](/source/Avon_Products)) and was the first company to sell computers via [direct selling](/source/direct_selling).<ref name=burrough /> Dynasty's line-up of computers comprised only two systems: the Smart-Alec II, a [rebadged](/source/Badge_engineering) [Exidy Sorcerer](/source/Exidy_Sorcerer); and the Smart-Alec Jr., a rebadged [VTech Laser 200](/source/VTech_Laser_200). Dynasty went defunct in November 1983 amid mounting competition from [IBM](/source/IBM) and their upcoming [PCjr](/source/IBM_PCjr).

==History==
Dynasty Computer Corporation was founded in April 1980 by Larry Hagerty in [Dallas](/source/Dallas), Texas.<ref name=burrough>{{cite magazine | last=Burrough | first=Bryan | date=July 29, 1982 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/134745044/ | title=Selling Home Computers Door-to-Door | work=The Wall Street Journal | publisher=Dow Jones & Company | page=21 | via=ProQuest}}</ref> Hagerty previously worked as an attorney in Texas before working for Ideal, Inc., a [multi-level marketing](/source/multi-level_marketing) (MLM) company  also based in Dallas that did [direct sales](/source/Direct_selling) of cosmetics, for six years.<ref name=push>{{cite news | last=((''Dallas Morning News'' staff writer)) | date=May 26, 1983 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-central-new-jersey-home-news-2-firms/181367893/ | title=2 firms push home sales of computers | work=The Central New Jersey Home News | page=40 | via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name=programming>{{cite magazine | last=Benoit | first=Ellen | date=May 23, 1983 | url=https://archive.org/details/forbes131aprforb/page/n877/ | title=Programming a personal future | work=Forbes | volume=131 | issue=11 | pages=76–82 | via=the Internet Archive}}</ref>{{rp|76}} The increasing popularity of [home computer](/source/home_computer) systems during the turn of the 1980s inspired Hagerty to found Dynasty to perform direct sales of computers to households.<ref name=programming /> On its foundation in April 1980, Dynasty was the first MLM dedicated to computers.<ref name=push /> After recruiting several hundred resellers by 1981, Dynasty began operating in July 1981, with its resellers selling computer hardware and software [door-to-door](/source/door-to-door) in the [Dallas–Fort Worth area](/source/Dallas%E2%80%93Fort_Worth_metroplex).<ref name=push /> The company made $1&nbsp;million in sales in its first year.<ref name=programming />{{rp|76–78}}

{{Multiple image|direction=horizontal|total_width=440|image1=Exidy Sorcerer (retouch).jpg|caption1=An [Exidy Sorcerer](/source/Exidy_Sorcerer), which Dynasty resold as the Smart-Alec II|image2=Disk smith vz200 front.jpg|caption2=A [Laser 200](/source/VTech_Laser_200) (in this instance rebranded by [Dick Smith](/source/Dick_Smith_(retailer)) as the VZ 200), which Dynasty resold as the Smart-Alec Jr}}
Dynasty's first complete computer system was the Smart-Alec II, a [rebadged](/source/Badge_engineering) version of the [Sorcerer](/source/Exidy_Sorcerer), a [CP/M](/source/CP%2FM)-based home computer originally marketed by [Exidy Systems](/source/Exidy_Systems).<ref name=dingdong>{{cite magazine | last=Needle | first=David | date=September 6, 1982 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CDAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA30 | title='Dingdong, Micro calling' | work=InfoWorld | publisher=IDG Publications | volume=4 | issue=35 | page=3 | via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name=starfire>{{cite news | last=Starfire | first=Brian | date=September 29, 1982 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-francisco-chronicle-multi-level-mark/181367964/ | title=Multi-Level Marketing for Home Units | work=San Francisco Chronicle | page=FF4 | via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Exidy stopped marketing the Sorcerer in 1981 after selling the rights to the Biotech Corporation, a venture capital company based in [Richardson, Texas](/source/Richardson%2C_Texas).<ref>{{cite magazine | last=Markoff | first=John | date=February 22, 1982 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ez4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1 | title=Exidy splits from Silicon Valley | work=InfoWorld | publisher=IDG Publications | volume=4 | issue=7 | pages=1, 5 | via=Google Books}}</ref>{{rp|1}} The computer's sub-assemblies continued to be manufactured in California, where Exidy was based, with final assembly performed in Dallas close to Biotech and Dynasty.<ref name=push /> After selling the rights to the Sorcerer to Dynasty, the latter extended its hardware to support 64&nbsp;KB of [RAM](/source/Random-access_memory) and an 80-column text mode.<ref name=collectible>{{cite book | last=Nadeau | first=Michael | date=2002 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WXZNAAAACAAJ | title=Collectible Microcomputers | edition=Illustrated | series=Schiffer Book for Collectors | page=156 | publisher=Schiffer Publishing | isbn=9780764316005 | via=Google Books}}</ref>

By mid-1983, Dynasty had sold 3,000 units of the Smart-Alec II to its resellers, who operated in 28 states across the U.S.<ref name=programming />{{rp|76}}<ref>{{cite magazine | last=Carlson | first=S. | date=November 28, 1983 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A535579/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=30b19279 | title=Door-to-Door Computer Sales Still a Hard Knock | work=Micro Marketworld | publisher=IDG Communications | volume=6 | issue=21 | pages=57–58 | via=Gale}}</ref> Its resellers sold the computer via door-to-door sales and [party plan](/source/party_plan)s, a la [Amway](/source/Amway) and [Avon](/source/Avon_Products).<ref name=burrough /><ref name=starfire /><ref name=dingdong /> Resellers who wanted to join Dynasty had to pay the company a $25 license fee.<ref name=profits>{{cite book | last= Schmidt | first=Allan H. | date=1984 | url=https://archive.org/details/computingforprof0000schm/page/41/ | title=Computing for Profits | publisher=Collier Books | pages=40–41 | isbn=9780020087601 | via=the Internet Archive}}</ref>{{rp|41}} Hagerty described the average reseller as "a [45-year-old] man with two children and a $45,000 income".<ref name=profits />{{rp|40}} The company's MLM approach was met with skepticism from traditional computer marketers, who predicted an early collapse due to the lack of [comparison shopping](/source/comparison_shopping) inherent in MLM and the resellers' inability to tailor the computer's hardware to the specific needs of individuals.<ref name=push /><ref name=dingdong />

In early 1983, the company their second and final computer system, the Smart-Alec Jr., which was a rebadged version of the [Laser 200](/source/VTech_Laser_200) from [VTech](/source/VTech).<ref name=collectible /> Intended as a "starter" computer, it featured a [Zilog Z80](/source/Zilog_Z80) microprocessor and an [chiclet keyboard](/source/chiclet_keyboard) (as opposed to the [mechanical keyboard](/source/mechanical_keyboard) of the Smart-Alec II, née Sorcerer).<ref name=programming />{{rp|76}}<ref name=buy25>{{cite magazine | last=Staff writer | date=November 7, 1983 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0C8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA36 | title=Buy 25, get one computer free | work=InfoWorld | publisher=IDG Publications | volume=5 | issue=45 | page=36 | via=Google Books}}</ref> Resellers could have bought just the computer itself or a bundle with 25 pieces of software for the same price.<ref name=buy25 />

Amid mounting competition from [IBM](/source/IBM) and their upcoming [PCjr](/source/IBM_PCjr), Dynasty stopped accepting new resellers in November 1983 and collapsed shortly thereafter.<ref name=collectible />

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book | last=Churchill | first=Gilbert A. | author2=Neil M. Ford | author3=Orville C. Walker | date=1985 | orig-date=1981 | edition=2nd | url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sales_Force_Management/GJBXkZWhO3UC | title=Sales Force Management: Planning, Implementation, and Control | publisher=R.&nbsp;D. Irwin | pages=239–246 | isbn=9780256031843 | via=Google Books}}

Category:1980 establishments in Texas
Category:1983 disestablishments in Texas
Category:American companies established in 1980
Category:American companies disestablished in 1983
Category:Computer companies established in 1980
Category:Computer companies disestablished in 1983
Category:Defunct computer companies of the United States
Category:Defunct computer hardware companies
Category:Defunct computer systems companies
Category:Defunct multi-level marketing companies
Category:Defunct computer companies based in Texas

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dynasty Computer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynasty_Computer) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynasty_Computer?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.