@theventure: Charlie Ergen ran Dish on a brown-bag lunch. The billionaire was known for bringing a sandwich and a Gatorade from home every day. Dish's travel policy had staff share hotel rooms on business trips, and Ergen shared too. He didn't fly first class, and he kept a tight hold on spending, often signing the company's checks himself. The company was built the same way. Making its own receivers instead of buying them is what let Dish sell its setup for $199 when DirecTV's cost $600, and being the cheapest is how it reached a million customers in two years. Follow @theventure for the greatest founder stories ever told!