From Staff Reports
COCHRAN — Twenty-five years ago, Matt Oxley took $584, built a computer and unintentionally started a business.
This year, Oxley Performance Computers owner Oxley is celebrating 25 years in business — a milestone that began when he was just 15 years old.
Oxley’s interest in computers started years earlier. Before he was 10, an uncle handed down an Amiga computer to him. Without an internet connection, Oxley began teaching himself the basics of computers and BASIC programming. Eventually, curiosity got the better of him, and he began taking computers apart to learn how they worked.
Around age 10 or 11, he received his first modern PC, equipped with Windows 98 and a 56k modem. Internet access opened a new world of information, and Oxley immersed himself in learning about computer hardware, components and the technology industry.
The opportunity to put that knowledge to work came on his 15th birthday.
When Oxley was born, his brothers had placed approximately $500 into a certificate of deposit at a local credit union. By the time it matured 15 years later, it was worth $584.
Oxley used the money to order the parts for his first computer build and purchase a CompTIA A+ study guide.
He carefully researched how to stretch every dollar before ordering the parts from TigerDirect. When the boxes finally arrived, he spent about five hours assembling the computer.
Then came the moment of truth.
He pressed the power button — and it worked.
Oxley had built the computer for himself, but just days later a family friend called asking for help with a computer problem. Instead of repairing the friend’s existing machine, Oxley sold him the computer he had just built.
His $584 investment, combined with his knowledge and labor, became $900.
Rather than spending the money, the 15-year-old used it to build another computer and purchase tools. A business was born.
There is another part of that first sale that Oxley particularly remembers.
Twelve years later, his first customer brought that original computer back after it finally stopped working. The customer purchased another computer from Oxley, which also lasted more than a decade with its original parts.
Twenty-five years later, Oxley said that first customer is only on his third computer — and remains a customer.
Oxley credits his attention to the quality of individual components and his willingness to spend more for better parts as factors in the longevity of the computers his business builds.
For years, Oxley operated the business from a roughly 200-square-foot room in his home while also working full time.
In 2016, after a decade working in information technology with Veterans Affairs, he decided to leave the security of his full-time job and devote himself to the business.
Oxley Performance Computers moved to Cochran at the end of 2024, and Oxley and his family followed, moving to the community earlier this year.
Today, Oxley Performance Computers is located at 123 N. Second St. in Cochran. Oxley and four employees repair and sell computers, phones and other electronics while also providing IT services to small businesses and municipalities throughout Middle Georgia.
Oxley is also co-owner of WebspaceToday, a web design and hosting company serving more than 150 customers in the United States and Canada.
After 25 years, Oxley has learned a few things about running a business. Asked what advice he would give his 15-year-old self, his answer was considerably less technical than the knowledge that launched his career.
“Charge more or this is gonna be a lot harder than it has to be,” Oxley said.
And where does the longtime computer entrepreneur see himself five years from now?
“That’s a secret,” he said.
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