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Chet Pipkin is the most famous tech mogul you've probably never heard of, even though he came of age in the South Bay.

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Chet Pipkin is the most famous tech mogul you’ve probably never heard of, even though he came of age in the South Bay, and even though you’ve probably purchased some of his products.

In many ways, the arc of his story is familiar, calling to mind that of better- known tech tycoons. Much like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs, Pipkin is a college dropout.

Just as Zuckerberg co-created Facebook in a dorm room, Pipkin, 50, launched his business, Belkin International – now an industry leader in connectivity products – from his parents’ garage in the Hollyglen neighborhood of Hawthorne.

And much as Gates has made philanthropy a full-time obsession, Pipkin now spends a sizable chunk of his working hours on community service projects all over Los Angeles County, from improving squad cars with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department to sitting on the board of the YMCA to serving as president of the board at Da Vinci Charter high school in Hawthorne.

Unlike some of his better-known peers, Pipkin, now a resident of Manhattan Beach, grew up

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How I Made It: For wealthy tech entrepreneur, a timely connection

The gig: Chester J. Pipkin is the founder, chief executive and chairman of Belkin International. He started the Playa Vista company in his parents’ Hawthorne garage in the early 1980s. The company capitalized on the early explosion in personal computing, selling devices that connected computers to printers. Through the years the company has kept pace if not stayed ahead of the changing tech landscape. In 2014, Fast Co. named Belkin one of the 10 most innovative companies specializing in the “Internet of things” thanks to its Wemo line of Internet-connected home accessories.

Growing up with tinkerers: Pipkin’s parents both worked with their hands. His mother moved west to Los Angeles from North Dakota and worked as a machine operator in aircraft factories during World War II. “She was a Rosie the Riveter type,” Pipkin, 54, said. His father was a machinist and worked for various aerospace contractors as part of the Apollo program. “I got exposed to a philosophical outlook that great experiences for people

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Belkin

American consumer electronics and networking company

This article is about the company. For the surname, see Belkin (surname). For the cycling team, see Belkin Pro Cycling Team.

Not to be confused with Belk or Belden (electronics company).

Belkin International, Inc., is an American consumer electronics company headquartered in El Segundo, California. It produces mobile and computer connectivity devices and peripherals for consumer and commercial use. These include wireless chargers, power banks, charging cables, data cables, audio and video adapters, headphones, earbuds, screen protectors and cases, surge protectors, docking stations and data hubs, secure KVM switches and network cables.^[1]^[2]

History

While attending UCLA, Chet Pipkin, who was spending his time in local computer shops, saw the growing need for cables that would connect personal computers to new printers being released for home use.^[3] In the early 1980s, Chet Pipkin founded Belkin in his parents' home in Hawthorne, California, to manufacture computer cables fo