How a Calculator and a VW Bus Launched Apple

At age 21, Jobs sold his Volkswagen bus for $1,500, while Wozniak sold his Hewlett-Packard calculator for $500. Together, the sales provided the funds for their initial venture.

With this capital, Jobs and Wozniak embarked on producing the Apple I, introduced on April Fools Day in 1976. A local computer dealer placed a substantial order for 100 units for $50,000, a significant milestone for the fledgling company.

To meet this demand, they purchased parts on credit, giving them a tight timeframe of one month to fulfill the order.

Leveraging the support of family and friends, they completed the order, earning their first revenue and narrowly managing to pay off the parts suppliers with just a day to spare. They later met Armas Clifford "Mike" Markkula, a former manager at Fairchild Semiconductor International and Intel, who played a crucial role in the company’s development.

Markkula assisted in crafting a business plan and invested $92,000, in addition to helping arrange a $250,000 credit line. The Apple I, marketed for $666.66 each, earned the company around $774,000. Following the launch of the Apple II, Apple’s sales skyrocketed to $139 million, three years after its release.

The pivotal moment for Apple came in 1980 when it became a publicly traded company. On its first day of trading, Apple’s market value reached $1.2 billion. By the end of the day, the market capitalization stood at $1.8 billion, a remarkable achievement considering the company started in Jobs' garage. In 1983, Jobs recruited John Sculley from Pepsi-Cola to be CEO of Apple. The following year, they released the Macintosh, marketing it as part of a counterculture lifestyle.

Despite its positive sales and superior performance to IBM's PCs, the Macintosh struggled with compatibility issues with IBM systems. Because of internal disagreements and strategic differences, Jobs was eventually phased out of the company he co-founded and left Apple in 1985. Jobs returned to Apple as CEO in 1997.

He played a pivotal role in reviving the company, which was facing financial turmoil and was said to be on the verge of bankruptcy. Over the years, Apple transformed from a personal computer company to a leader in cutting-edge digital products.

By the time of Jobs’ death in 2011, Apple had achieved a market value of $391 billion.

Conclusion

The story of Apple is one of vision, risk, and resilience. From selling a Volkswagen bus and a calculator to fund their first venture, to building a multi-billion-dollar tech empire, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak’s journey is a testament to the power of entrepreneurship and innovation. With the critical support of individuals like Mike Markkula, the duo overcame obstacles and created a company that continues to change the world. Today, Apple stands as one of the most valuable and influential companies in history, but it all started with two friends in a garage.