When we think of Steve Jobs and Apple, we picture a billion-dollar international company at the forefront of technology. Research has suggested that over half of all American homes will feature at least one Apple product, and with the release of the iPhone 5S and 5C, this figure will only increase. However, what most of us don’t know is that the company wouldn’t have existed at all, had a young Steve Jobs not taken the risk that is starting a business.
Jobs showed a passion for technology during his high school years, where he boldly telephoned the president of Hewlett-Packard, asking for components for a school project. Not only did Jobs receive the parts for free, he was also given an internship at HP. Here he was able to further indulge his interest in computing, and also met future Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.
Following his high school education, Jobs attended Reed College for only a semester, before dropping out and focusing his efforts on computers. While he originally just tinkered with hardware, Jobs and Wozniak soon saw the financial and social benefits of widespread personal computing, and set about developing their business ideas.
Wozniak sold his HP calculator for $250, and combined with $1,000 from Jobs’ Volkswagen van, the pair used their shoestring start up to build the first prototype of the Apple I in 1975. They worked in the basement at Jobs parent’s house, naming the company Apple and setting sights on revolutionizing personal computing. Their second computer, the Apple II, was released two years later with color graphics and a full keyboard. These developments were early signs of Apple’s trademark technological innovation, and demonstrated how Jobs brought his ideas into fruition with only hard work and perseverance. The risk paid off too, as the Apple II earned over $200 million in only two years – a 200,000% increase on the initial small business investment!
Unfortunately for Jobs, despite his business ideas he was forced to leave Apple, and sold all but one of his shares. Things weren’t looking particularly optimistic for Jobs, as can often be the case for entrepreneurs starting a small business. However, he continued to work hard and focus on innovation. His business ideas and entrepreneurship would earn him success with Pixar Animation Studios, and by 1997 he was again the CEO of a struggling Apple.
Since then, Jobs became one of the biggest names in computing, a long way from the young entrepreneur who was wondering how to start a new business and struggling to get money together. He turned Apple around with an aggressive sense of innovation and development, key attributes for young entrepreneurs with a business idea and the drive to succeed.
Apple has since released the iPod, the iTunes Store, the iPhone, and the iPad. Their products are instantly recognizable and used by people of all ages across the globe. All of this began with a single individual’s vision and initial investment, with Jobs starting a business on a shoestring instead of completing his college degree or finding full-time employment.
If you’re wondering how to start a new business, and fancy yourself as becoming the next entrepreneur made in America, why not develop your business ideas and take the plunge? Several decades down the line, you too could be worth billions of dollars.
