Founder Flair: Steve Jobs

Table of Contents

• Apple I, II & III

• Apple Lisa

• Macintosh

• Apple & Microsoft Part 1

• Leaving Apple

• NeXT & Pixar

• Returning to Apple

• Apple & Microsoft Part 2

• The iPod

• Legacy

• Deep Dive

Steve Jobs was an enigmatic entrepreneur and individual. The phrase "creative genius" should be used cautiously and with great conviction, but Steve Jobs deserves nothing less than this description. With a visionary outlook, he recognized the importance of the personal computer in the mid-1970s and led its revolution.

Apple I, II & III

Steve Jobs, along with his long-time friend Steve Wozniak, known as Woz, started Apple Computer in his parents' garage in 1976. Ronald Wayne was a third co-founder but sold his stake in the company early on. Jobs and Woz created the Apple I, a very basic device without a graphical user interface (GUI), keyboard, or mouse, requiring users to supply their own essential parts. Realizing the limitations of the Apple I, they set out to create a more user-friendly machine that the ordinary person could easily use. The result was the Apple II, released in 1977, which became the company’s first fully realized consumer product and its first true commercial success. Over time, the Apple II series expanded to include models such as the Apple II Plus, Apple IIe, and Apple IIc, among others.

The Apple III, released in 1980 and targeted at business users, suffered from overheating and chips coming loose from their sockets due to a lack of air vents and fans. As a result, the Apple III was largely seen as a failure and was discontinued. A variation called the Apple III Plus was later released, but it also saw little commercial success.

In 1979, Jobs and a small group of Apple engineers visited Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center) to see the Xerox Alto, a computer system developed by Xerox PARC. Jobs and his team recognized the revolutionary potential of the Alto's graphical user interface, which the PARC staff did not fully appreciate. Jobs then instructed his engineers to integrate what they had seen into the ongoing Apple Lisa and Macintosh projects.

Apple Lisa

The Apple Lisa was the first mass-market personal computer operable through a graphical user interface (GUI). At the time of its release in 1983, there was speculation that it was named after Jobs' daughter, whom he initially denied as his child. Jobs later confirmed to Walter Isaacson, the author of his 2011 biography, that the Apple Lisa was indeed named after his daughter. The Apple Lisa was an important stepping stone to the Macintosh, though it was expensive and primarily used by small to medium-sized businesses. Despite its significance, the model was considered a commercial failure.

Even before the public release of the Apple Lisa, Jobs had been removed from the project by the board of directors. Jobs then took over the Macintosh project from Jeff Raskin, an Apple employee, and added some of the advanced features from the Apple Lisa to the Macintosh. Apple attempted to develop more models of the Apple Lisa after seeing the success of the Macintosh, which shared some of the same features. However, this did not boost sales of the Apple Lisa, as people seemed to prefer the cheaper Macintosh model. Eventually, the development of the Apple Lisa ended, and the Apple Lisa 2/10 was rebranded as the Macintosh XL, a higher-end model in the Macintosh series.

Macintosh

The Macintosh was released in 1984 as the first model with a graphical user interface (GUI) and a mouse. This model truly revolutionized the personal computer industry and the world. It was the first all-in-one PC, featuring a built-in screen, GUI, and mouse, which was revolutionary at the time. The Macintosh was an instant hit and a major commercial success. It used 128KB of RAM and ran on the System 1.0 operating system (OS).

Apple & Microsoft Part 1 

In the early 1980s, Microsoft was making applications for Apple products, and Steve Jobs and Bill Gates worked together amicably. The relationship began to sour when the two companies started creating competing operating systems. A famous moment occurred when Jobs confronted Gates about allegedly stealing the GUI from Apple for use in Microsoft's OS. Gates responded, “I think it's more like we both had this rich neighbor named Xerox, and I broke into his house to steal the TV set and found out that you had already stolen it.” This referenced the fact that Jobs had initially obtained the GUI idea from Xerox and had not entirely come up with the concept himself. Apple attempted to sue Microsoft for copyright infringement in 1988. In 1989, the judge ruled that any infringement claims by Apple were covered by the existing license between Microsoft and Apple.

Leaving Apple

John Sculley joined Apple from PepsiCo Inc. in 1983, where he served as president. He became the third CEO of Apple, following Michael Scott (1977-1981) and Mike Markkula (1981-1983). Sculley was recruited by Jobs with the famous question, "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugar water, or do you want a chance to change the world?" Sculley saw running Apple as a great opportunity and took the job. The plan was for Jobs, as chairman, to run the company alongside Sculley as CEO. However, tension between the two quickly arose.

With differences in the overall vision and direction of the company, especially concerning the Macintosh and Lisa projects, the strained relationship between Jobs and Sculley came to a head when the situation was presented to the board. The board sided with Sculley, and depending on the account, Jobs was either effectively fired or resigned. Jobs was formally ousted from Apple in 1985, the same year Microsoft released Windows 1.0.

NeXT & Pixar

After leaving Apple, Jobs started NeXT, where he focused on building computer workstations for education and businesses over the next 12 years. NeXT machines were instrumental in developing CERN’s WorldWideWeb, the first web browser. Additionally, pioneering PC games such as Doom and Quake were developed by id Software on NeXT machines. In 1986, Jobs acquired the graphics division of Lucasfilm Ltd and renamed it Pixar Animation Studios. As CEO and majority shareholder, he grew the company substantially. Pixar went public in 1995, making Jobs a billionaire. In 2006, Pixar was acquired by Disney for over $7 billion, making Jobs the largest individual shareholder of Disney at the time with a 7% stake.

Returning to Apple

In the years following Jobs' departure from Apple, the company was credited with creating desktop publishing but struggled with a lack of new ideas. Recognizing the need for change, CEO Gil Amelio initiated the acquisition of NeXT. On December 20, 1996, Apple announced its intention to acquire NeXT, finalizing the purchase on February 7, 1997, for $429 million and 1.5 million shares of Apple stock. Jobs was rehired in an advisory role that same year. He then persuaded the board that Amelio was not the right fit for the CEO role. Jobs was made interim CEO shortly after and became permanent CEO soon thereafter.

Apple & Microsoft Part 2

After becoming CEO of Apple, Jobs realized the company needed outside help and reignited his relationship with Microsoft and Bill Gates. This move surprised many who had observed the previously hostile relationship between the two, especially given Jobs' harsh criticism that Microsoft had no "taste" and lacked creativity. However, Jobs declared that the era of competition between Microsoft and Apple was over and that they should work together. Gates and Jobs struck a deal that included making Internet Explorer the default browser on Mac, developing Office for Mac, and Microsoft investing $150 million in Apple.

The iPod

In the early 2000s, Apple sales were declining. In early 2001, Apple had just released its new iTunes software and needed a music player for it. Tony Fadell was working on his own startup, trying to develop an MP3 player, when Apple approached him to create prototypes of a digital music player. Fadell agreed, created prototypes, and presented them to Apple. Steve Jobs liked one of his prototypes, which eventually became the iPod, and asked Fadell to join the company. After some consideration, Fadell joined Apple and led the team that developed the iPod. The iPod launched to great success, revolutionizing the concept of having thousands of songs in a small handheld device. The iPod's significance extended to the development of the iPhone and iPad. Apple has since introduced other innovative devices, such as the Apple Watch.

Legacy

Jobs sadly passed away in 2011 after an eight-year battle with pancreatic cancer. He is survived by his wife, Laurene Powell Jobs, and his four children.

Jobs' personality could be characterized as quality-obsessed, fierce, and unrelenting. He was hard on the people who worked at Apple, pushing them to their intellectual and creative limits. However, his innovation and approach to entrepreneurship served as valuable lessons and inspiration for generations of entrepreneurs. And let's not forget his signature black turtleneck, which many entrepreneurs have since worn in an attempt to emulate him. 😃

Deep Dive

Movies

Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)

This made-for-TV movie directed by Martyn Burke stars Noah Wyle as Steve Jobs and Anthony Michael Hall as Bill Gates. It portrays the early days of the personal computer revolution and the rivalry between Apple and Microsoft.

Jobs (2013)

Directed by Joshua Michael Stern, this biographical drama stars Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs. It chronicles Jobs' life from his college days to the creation of Apple and his return in the late 1990s.

Steve Jobs (2015)

Directed by Danny Boyle and written by Aaron Sorkin, this film stars Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs. It is based on the biography by Walter Isaacson and focuses on three significant product launches.

Books

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson (2011)

This is the authorized biography based on numerous interviews with Jobs, his family, friends, colleagues, and competitors.

Quotes

"The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do."

“I’m convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.”

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do."

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Founder Flair: Steve Jobs Discover the incredible journey of Steve Jobs, the mastermind behind Apple. From his early innovations in a gara... See more

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