Steve Jobs

Executive Statement

Upon my research of Steve Jobs, I discovered a man who is much more than the co-founder and CEO of Apple, Inc., Jobs began as an adopted child that dreamed of building a personal computer system that the world would demand. He started his journey of entrepreneurialism as many do with the exception of his drive, which led him to continue to pursue to success. He leveraged himself by befriending colleagues that understood his vision and working for the leading computer company at the time HP to gain experience and further develop his knowledge of computers. The decisions that he made led Apple, Inc. to becoming separate from other companies, which meant he owned the products and therefore he financially benefited from its development and growth. His story is one of perseverance and dedication that has led future entrepreneurs to not only follow their dreams but to stand on the confidence that it is possible for ideas to become viable businesses.

Introduction

Entrepreneurs are best described as men or women who take on risk to enter new financial ventures. In order to achieve success, the business plan must be viable and the product or services should be within a niche that can handle growth or that is so new that there is few competition. Steve Jobs took another route to success with Apple, Inc., by developing and offering a new technology to the market, which created demand for products and services that did not exist. His interest in electronics was evident in High School upon his enrollment in an electronics class where his passion for electronic development led him to contact Bill Hewlett co-founder of Hewlett Packard to obtain spare parts for homework assignments as well as obtaining a summer job at the plant to gain a better understanding of components of the latest computers. These remarkable characteristics were beginning to show themselves.

Jobs' very first business venture was in 1972 with a fellow colleague named Stephen Wozniak. This ventured was extremely risky because it involved the creation of an illegal device that hacked into AT&T's long distance phone service and allowed the user to make free calls. The two sold the devices door to door in the dormitories of Berkeley University. It did not last long and was shut down before the local authorities got involved.

By 1974, Jobs dropped out of traditional classes at Reed University in Oregon and began to audit classes that he was unable to take when he was enrolled. He survived by selling soda caps, which is another testament to his drive to succeed on his terms. In a moment of desperation for financial means, he applied for a job at Atari. It is said that Steve was inspired to start Apple through the inspiration of the founder of Atari, Nolan Bushnell. This year also marked the beginning of a job opportunity for Stephen Wozniak with Hewlett Packard (HP). As his interest in computers grew, Stephen joined the Homebrew Computer Club, which provided a place for him to meet with other hobbyists and share ideas. Wozniak developed a keyboard and a screen and showed it to his best friend Jobs whom then planted the first entrepreneurial seed. Jobs encouraged Wozniak to start "their own company" on the premise that even if they lose money they will still have ownership in their ideas rather than giving them away to what Jobs described as competitors.

The Development Stage

The birth of Apple, Inc. began as an early-stage venture as it had no previous operating history. In the development stage, the two men had an idea to start their own computer business separate from those that already existed. Steve selling his Volkswagen van and Woz selling his HP 65 calculator raised the seed money of $1,000. This method of funding seed financing is idea for new ventures particularly in a market such as technology due to the risk involved as many computer companies were being started at the time. Because Woz was an employee of HP at the time the protocol was their property. Upon presenting the computer ideas to the company, Woz was told that they were not interested therefore he was released to use it as his own.

The Start-up