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Steve Jobs
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Steve enrolls at Reed College
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Steve drops out of Reed College
"After six months, I couldn’t see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made." -
Steve returns to California
In autumn 1974, Jobs returned to California and began attending meetings of the Homebrew Computer Club with Wozniak. He took a job as a technician at Atari, a manufacturer of popular video games, with the primary intent of saving money for a spiritual retreat to India. -
Apple is formed
Steve and Steve Wozniak, a colleague at Atari, formed their own company. They called it Apple Computer Company, in memory of a happy summer Jobs had spent picking apples. They raised $1,300 in startup money by selling Jobs's microbus and Wozniak's calculator. -
Apple II is launched on the market
The Apple II went to market, rendering Jobs a profit of $2.7 million. The company's sales grew to $200 million within three years. "I think we're having fun. I think our customers really like our products. And we're always trying to do better." - Steve Jobs -
Apple III is launched in the market
However, Apple III suffered technical and marketing problems. It was withdrawn from the market, and was later reworked and reintroduced.
Steve realized that people wanted innovation, and since there was so much room for novelty in that unexplored field, he kept launching new versions of his products. "Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations." - Steve Jobs -
Macintosh is introduced
In 1984 Apple introduced a revolutionary new model, the Macintosh. The on-screen display had small pictures called icons. To use the computer, the user pointed at an icon and clicked a button using a new device called a mouse. This process made the Macintosh very easy to use. The Macintosh did not sell well to businesses, however. It lacked features other personal computers had, such as the IBMs. -
Steve gets fired! ):
After the apparent failure of the Mac, Steve Jobs was forced to resign from Apple, a company he had created. “Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.” -
Steve Jobs joins PIXAR
The following year Jobs purchased an animation company from George Lucas, which later became Pixar Animation Studios. Believing in Pixar's potential, Jobs initially invested $50 million of his own money into the company. Pixar Studios went on to produce wildly popular animation films such as Toy Story, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. Pixar's films have netted $4 billion. The studio merged with Walt Disney in 2006, making Steve Jobs Disney's largest shareholder. -
NeXT
Steve Jobs founds his new company, NeXT, especialized in software building. The company wasn't initially very successful. -
Apple buys NeXT
Steve gets his job back, after Apple buys his company for $500 million. He becomes CEO again. -
Revolutionizing Apple
Steve begins his process of changing and redesigning Apple. With a self-imposed salary of $1 a year, he focused on design of his new computers, bearing in mind what people would always want: novelty. “My job is to not be easy on people. My job is to make them better.” -
Innovation cycle
Steve enters Apple into a new technological era. “You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.” “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” -
Tumor
Steve Jobs finds out he has euroendocrine tumor, a rare but operable form of pancreatic cancer. Instead of immediately opting for surgery, Jobs chose to alter his pescovegetarian diet while weighing Eastern treatment options. For nine months Jobs postponed surgery, making Apple's board of directors nervous. -
Surgery
Steve finally has a surgery to attempt to remove his tumor. The surgery was a success (: -
Apple's international billionaire success
2007, Apple's quarterly reports were the company's most impressive statistics to date. Stocks were worth a record-breaking $199.99 a share, and the company boasted a staggering $1.58 billion dollar profit, an $18 billion dollar surplus in the bank, and zero debt. “I was worth over $1,000,000 when I was 23, and over $10,000,000 when I was 24, and over $100,000,000 when I was 25, and it wasn’t that important because I never did it for the money.” -
Steve Jobs resigns
With the return of his pancreatic tumor, Steve Jobs announced his resignation as Apple's CEO. He is still part of the board of directors of the company,
