FORTUNE Michael Dell's son built a $13 billion home battery business

Zach Dell, the son of Michael Dell, Dell Technologies' fifth richest man in the world, founded Base Power. It's a unique concept. You pay $695 to install these batteries. You're essentially leasing them from Base. You're giving power back to the grid when demand is low, that helps keep your electricity rates lower, and then Base is your electricity provider on a monthly basis from there on out. And you also pay, like a Costco $19 a month membership, $19 a month to maintain that service. From installing just a battery a couple of years ago to over 100 batteries a day, today. The valuation has gone from $4 billion 9 months ago to $13 billion today. Zach Dell told me that they're really focused on rapid growth right now. I mean, they just opened their first battery manufacturing facility. That means they're making their own batteries, not using third-party batteries anymore. There's, of course, a big challenge Dell is facing as he grows his young company. They're paying a lot of money investing, to build up that manufacturing to move into new markets. But the customers, they don't pay a lot upfront. It's how much they're paying over time. So it's that long-term commitment where Base is going to really prove itself. The question is, with that long-term commitment, how fast can Base grow into a profitability model and not just look for scale? For more on Dell's battery business, you can check out my full article at Fortune.com.