| Dear Prosperity Insider,
The year was 1981 — and America looked like it was falling apart.
Inflation was out of control. Interest rates were north of 15%.
Unemployment was rising.
The country was still reeling from a deep recession, and everywhere you looked, the story was the same: America’s best days were behind it.
Most people were paralyzed by fear.
They tightened their belts, played it safe, and hoped things wouldn’t get worse.
But not Michael Dell.
That same year, a teenage Dell took apart his brand-new IBM 5150 — and what he saw changed everything.
Inside the machine?
Nothing from IBM. Just off-the-shelf parts: Intel chips, Microsoft software, and components you could buy at RadioShack. He Didn’t Wait for the Economy to Recover —
He Built a Fortune Instead Dell had a realization most people missed: you didn’t need to be IBM to build a better PC — you just needed the vision and the drive.
And that moment lit the spark.
Dell saw the writing on the wall — the PC revolution wasn’t going to be led by the giants of the past.
It was wide open for someone with smarts, speed and the guts to challenge the status quo.
A few years later, at just 19, Michael Dell was a freshman pre-med student at the University of Texas.
While his classmates were buried in textbooks, Dell was busy building a business from Room 2713 in the Dobie Center dorm.
He started selling PC upgrade kits to students — no funding, no team, just hustle, brains and a belief that he could do it better.
That little dorm room business — PC’s Limited — would eventually grow into Dell Technologies, a global powerhouse worth nearly $60 billion today.  Source: Wikimedia Commons Michael Dell is the 17th wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of $100 billion. And here’s the lesson: Dell didn’t wait for perfect conditions.
He launched a business in the middle of economic uncertainty.
He focused on what he could control — creating value and serving customers.
That’s exactly what great entrepreneurs and great investors do. Markets Are Panicking — We’re Buying Great Businesses at Bargain Prices Fast forward to today…
Since April 2, the stock market has been thrown into chaos.
President Trump’s return to tariff policies has created a wave of uncertainty.
One day, it’s broad tariffs. The next day, Apple and electronics get a carve-out.
And just yesterday, the White House said China is facing up to a 245% tariff on imports to the U.S. "as a result of its retaliatory actions."
Headlines change by the hour, and Mr. Market is doing what he always does when he’s scared — selling first and thinking later.
If you’re new to this, it can feel overwhelming.
But if you’ve been with us for a while, you already know how we handle moments like these. Stick to the Playbook That Builds Wealth We don’t panic. We don’t make predictions. And we don’t trade based on fear.
Instead, we follow the Alpha-4 Approach — a time-tested strategy focused on buying great businesses, run by outstanding leaders, at attractive prices.
It’s the same philosophy echoed by legendary investor Terry Smith, who summed it up perfectly:
Buy good companies. Don’t overpay. Do nothing.
Simple. Powerful. And proven.
Right now, Mr. Market is handing us that opportunity.
Great businesses are selling at bargain prices — not because anything is wrong with the companies themselves, but because the market is scared.
History shows us that these are the moments when real wealth is built.
In 1987, during Black Monday, many investors ran for the exits. But those who bought high-quality businesses were richly rewarded in the years that followed.
After the dot-com bubble burst, Amazon was left for dead. Today, it’s a trillion-dollar company.
During the 2008 financial crisis, panic ruled the day — but those who stayed calm and bought great companies saw some of the best returns of their lives. The S&P 500 is up close to 8X.
This tariff-driven selloff is no different.
You don’t need to predict the bottom.
You don’t need to know what the next headline will say.
And you definitely don’t need to chase hype.
You just need to follow the playbook: Buy great businesses when others are afraid.
That’s how Michael Dell turned a dorm room into a global empire. And that’s how we’ll keep building wealth — one great business at a time.
Regards, 
Charles Mizrahi
Founder, Alpha Investor
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