He is the founder and CEO of Monster Inc. Lee graduated from California Polytechnic State University with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and subsequently did work in laser fusion for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Sales improved as retailers witnessed audio demonstrations and saw that his Monster-branded cables offered better profit margins than other electronics products.
[1] Lee attended San Francisco City College, then California Polytechnic State University, where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering in 1971.
[5] Noel Lee's first job out of college was as a laser fusion design engineer at a government-run nuclear research center called the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
[6] Lee continued doing solo gigs for six months after that, before returning to the Bay Area for an engineering job with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
The company, while still best known for audio wiring, now carries 6,000 different products, such as headphones and home theater components.
[5][10] According to Lee, Pacific Stereo was the first electronics retailer to give him a chance to sell Monster cables in their store.
[10] Lee spent $50,000 in personal savings to demonstrate the cables at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Chicago in 1979, using a borrowed portion of someone else's exhibit area.
[7][8] Lee was met with resistance, because the audio industry at the time didn't believe cables made any appreciable difference in the sound[3][9] and wire was generally provided for free.
[2] Lee demonstrated the difference between Monster cables and zip cord to convince consumers that expensive equipment was wasted on cheap wiring.
[10] In connection with his background as a musician, Lee founded the record label Monster Music in 1999,[1] signing Van Morrison's daughter Shana.
[3] Lee and his son worked with Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine to collaborate on the Beats brand of headphones, which was later acquired by Apple for $3 billion in 2014.
[5] His son Kevin Lee, sometimes referred to as "Little Monster",[5] started working for the company[13] and developed the M-Design product line of high-tech furniture.
[14] Lee has a degenerative nerve disorder that prevents him from walking without a wheelchair or Segway, which he says was caused by exposure to toxic doses of radiation when he worked as a fusion engineer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
[3] Lee is also known for throwing large parties at the Consumer Electronics Show and spending time with celebrities at the event.