In 1981, Rod Canion had to make a decision, and fast. He could either continue at his day job, plugging away for the next two years on a project he knew ultimately wouldn't succeed in the current marketplace. Or he could take a risk and dive into the deep end, quickly. In the computer industry's formative years, any time wasted could be the difference between long-term success and constantly coming in last.

Ultimately, Canion decided this time was too valuable to waste.

"There's a stage in your career where you really don't know whether something is right or wrong, but you do it because your boss asked you to do it," Canion said. "But at some point, you begin to have enough understanding, visibility of what's going on in the world."

So Canion and two colleagues from Texas Instruments stepped out of their comfort zone and left to start Compaq, a computer company that forever altered the tech industry not from the innovation mecca of Silicon Valley, but thousands of miles away from their home base in northwest Houston.

To get there, Canion and co-founders Jim Harris and Bill Murto benefitted greatly from pragmatism and some good timing. They decided to stay in Houston not only because of their families, but also because they already knew people who could join their startup team. Also, the oil bust of the 1980s proved to be an undeniable advantage for Compaq when it came to recruiting and hiring top engineering talent that otherwise wouldn't be available.

More Information TIMEline 1982:Compaq develops its first portable computer, clocking in at 28 pounds. 1983:The company hits $111 million in sales in one year, a record first. 1986:Compaq lands on the Fortune 500, after four years. 1988:Along with 60 other companies, Compaq pushes for an extension to industry standards for computer architecture, halting IBM's push for a proprietary model. 1991:Compaq sees its first quarterly loss, a record $70 million that led tolayoffs and theeventual ousting of CEO Rod Canion. 2002:HP purchases Compaq. 2012:Compaq celebrates its 30th anniversary at Minute Maid Park.

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Canion and team knew to not only tread water but rather snatch up the same market share of industry sharks such as IBM, their product would have to stand for something more. It had to be portable, and more importantly, compatible with software made for IBM products, the current industry standard.

"This was like the early days of the auto industry," Canion said in a recent interview from his home in River Oaks. "Everyone was out there, with no barrier to entry." Startups were fast forming in garages, buying parts and piecing together their own modified take on a computer. Computers were becoming the way of the world. Instead of choosing someone as TIME's "Man of the Year," the magazine chose the computer, giving it the "Machine of the Year" distinction.

So Canion's idea to create a portable version that could run spreadsheets and other software written for an IBM PC immediately felt right. He knew that the practical approach would be the answer. Now all they had to do was figure out how to make it.

First, the team met at a computer store along Westheimer Road near the Galleria to check out the Osborne, a portable computer with a 5-inch screen and strap to help lug around the 24.5 pound mound. Aesthetically, it was the exact opposite of what Canion was going for.

"It's ugly," Canion said. He wanted something smooth, curved and eye-catching that looked like it would belong in an office.

After the field trip, they walked across the parking lot to House of Pies to talk things over. They sat down at a booth for a cup of coffee, only to realize no one had a pen or paper handy. So, they borrowed a pencil from a waitress, flipped over the paper menu and sketched out a preliminary vision of what the Compaq portable could look like. The keyboard had to look exactly like the IBM PC, they insisted. They wanted smoother edges made out of molded plastic, less of a utilitarian look compared to the existing Osborne portable. Think less Jeep and more Audi.

That paper menu eventually became one page out of their original four-page business plan, touted around to secure investors in business meetings.

Within weeks of that House of Pies brainstorming session, the company was up and running in early 1982.

Compaq resembled the standard definition of a startup with the expected fast pace and rapid growth, but with a more practical flair that came from more than a decade of professional experience.

Founders Canion, Murto and Harris all worked on projects at TI, where they developed basic business know-how, including how to market, forecast and consider all aspects before finalizing a decision. Within their first year, Compaq made a record $111 million in sales.

"The truth is, you can't go from 0 to $111 million in 12 months without a lot of planning," Canion said. "The PC business overall was growing rapidly, with a lot of demand. The ability to get manufacturers to even agree to sell us this many parts took a lot of work."

Murto and Canion took their portable computer to retailers for show-and-tell, all of whom loved the concept, Canion said.

"When they found out it ran IBM software, they almost did backflips," he said. "They really wanted them right then."

While Compaq achieved several milestones in its early days, with record sales and a quick ascent to the Fortune 500 in four years, Canion considers their lead in establishing an industry standard key to the company's legacy. When IBM wanted to switch to a proprietary model where it would sell licenses for other companies to use its software, Compaq rallied the ever-growing number of computer companies to challenge the tech giant's will.

"We also knew IBM's brand was so powerful. If we just went up against them, they would win," Canion said. Instead, Compaq and 60 other companies teamed up in 1988 to support an extension of the industry standard for software rather than IBM's preference. It worked.

That's why it's Mac or PC today, and not Mac or IBM, he explained. It also would've severely limited the pace of technological growth.

"If we had lost in the '90s, would we have iPads and iPhones today?" he asked a stadium full of former Compaq employees at the company's 30th anniversary party at Minute Maid Park in 2012.

Consequently, the industry standard that Compaq fought for also leveled the playing field for its competition, too. By opening up the doors to dozens of companies to develop cheaper computers, Compaq limited its own dominance. Eventually, its record pace for sales and growth slowed down, at the hands of newer computer companies such as Dell with direct-to-customer sales models and lower price points.

In late 1991, the company saw a record $70 million quarterly loss and its first ever instance of layoffs. Shortly after, Canion was replaced as CEO.

In 2002, HP purchased Compaq, in theory relegating its story to only Compaq insiders. Canion had different plans. He's since written a book on his time at the head of his company, which then became a documentary called "Silicon Cowboys." He may be drawn by equal parts nostalgia and pride for what he and his team created, but it's also about the legacy that lasts until today.

"Everybody thinks of it as a Silicon Valley story, and to a degree it was," he said. "But no one knew what Compaq had done, the things we did that molded the industry."