Toward the end of 1997 there were two events that established Argox's fundamental business strategy and company culture. In October, a world renowned barcode printer provider began discussions to have Argox design and manufacture a printer on their behalf. The Argox team was energized in the hope that this was the break they were waiting for. Argox engineers worked tirelessly on the project, setting up manufacturing and arranging suppliers. Argox even developed emulation software for the customer free of charge. At the end of two months everything seemed ready to go as the customer praised the speed and quality of the emulation software. But then unexpectedly, the customer broke the news that they had decided to go with another supplier. The team at Argox was deeply disappointed and frustrated as they guessed their company was too new or too small to earn the customer's confidence.

However, this cloud had a silver lining. After two weeks of despair, the Argox team started to appreciate that they were almost chosen to provide design and manufacturing for a world famous company. Gloom turned to inspiration as they realized there must be more opportunities and customers waiting. The project that fell through confirmed their theory that the big international companies could not compete in manufacturing this type of micro-printer. With a good quality product, flexible support, and an advantageous price, the micro-printer business should work the same as the original design & manufacturing (ODM) model used in Taiwan's personal computer industry. The ODM model became the business strategy that Argox decided to follow, confident that their products and services would soon be in great demand.

Quality is the basis of Argox's company culture. In 1997 the founders decided it was time to organize the company. Drawing straws, they chose Tom Wei as their first general manager. Tom, a talented engineer, was not too happy since the general manager is tasked with all the small details of running the company. But he made the best of it. At the time there were only five fulltime employees covering the manufacturing, marketing, and administration functions. With his engineering background, Tom decreed that Argox would implement an ISO quality system. The others in the company asked "why should only five people go to the trouble of a quality system?" But Tom insisted. The rest of the Argox team soon fell into line. Since they all came from Acer, quality system documentation and operation procedures were already second nature. Today, quality is still number one at Argox.

The latter part of 1997 was just the beginning for Argox; but the company had a business strategy and the start of a company culture.