Who would have thought two computer geeks working out of one of their parents' garage would change the tech world as we know it. This is how Apple went “From Side Hustle to Empire”....
In 1976 Steve Jobs was working at Atari and Steve Wozniak at Hewlett Packard, when the two tech gurus decided to start building personal computers in their spare time in Job’s childhood home in Los Altos, California. Jobs was just 21 and Wozniak 26.
In order to get their company off the ground, Wozniak sold his prized calculator for $250 and Jobs sold his Volkswagen bus for $1,500 to co-found Apple. In case you’ve ever wondered where the name comes from, Jobs was inspired by an apple farm he visited while he was on a fruitarian diet. He felt the name Apple sounded “fun, spirited and not intimidating,” so they rolled with it.
The company’s first product was Apple I, which was simply just a motherboard and processor with little to no memory. It didn’t have a keyboard or case, and Wozniak had to build each one by hand, but it was only intended for hobbyists. Jobs on the other hand was in charge of running the day-to-day operations, while trying to convince investors that the personal computer market was on the brink of explosion.
By 1977, Apple II was introduced which forever changed things for the struggling tech geeks. The groundbreaking Apple II software made it possible to sell to the business customer directly. By 1978 Apple had a home office with employees and production lines and things skyrocketed from there.
In 1984, Apple became a household name after they released a TV commercial during the Super Bowl XVIII. Unfortunately, by 1985 both Jobs and Wozniak left the company due to differences with Apple executives. Jobs returned however in 1997 after the company hit a 12 year low and hired him back.
Under Jobs leadership the company bounced back and created arguably their biggest achievement in 2007, the iPhone. Today, Apple has become the first $1 trillion company in history.
