The Steve Jobs Legacy

Steven Paul Jobs was born on 24th February 1955 to Syrian born Abdulfattah Jandali and Joanne Carole Schieble, an American of Swiss and German descent.  The two were studying at the University of Wisconsin at the time.  Schieble's father refused to let her marry Jandali.  She was taken to California until the birth, whereupon the baby was given up for adoption.

Subsequently, Schieble's father died; she and Jandali married.  The couple went on to have a little girl called Mona, Steve Jobs' full biological sister.  Nevertheless, their firstborn son had been adopted by Paul Reinhold Jobs and Clara Jobs, whom Jobs stated in his autobiography he regarded as his parents, "100%".

Paul and Clara Jobs went on to adopt a daughter, Patty.  The family lived in Mountain View, California.  Paul Jobs was a mechanic and carpenter by trade and taught Steve rudimentary electronics, showing him how to take apart and reassemble electronics such as televisions and radios.  It was thus quite early on that Steve Jobs became interested in tinkering with technology.

Clara Jobs worked as an accountant.  She taught Steve to read before he attended school.  Steve Jobs attended Cupertino Junior High followed by Homestead High School where he met and became friends with Bill Fernandez, a neighbour who shared Jobs's interest in electronics.  Bill Fernandez introduced Jobs to Steve Wozniak, nicknamed "Woz", an electronics whiz kid.  Wozniak showed Jobs a computer board he and Fernandez had started building in 1969 which they had named the "Cream Soda Computer" (owing to Fernandez's addiction to the beverage).  Steve Jobs became very interested in the duo.

After graduating High School in 1972, Steve Jobs enrolled at Portland, Oregon's Reed College.  His parents Paul and Clara could ill afford to send him, but an assurance that Jobs would attend college was a stipulation of his biological mother when she gave him up for adoption.  As it turned out, Jobs dropped out of college after just six months, spending the next 18 dropping in on creative courses including a calligraphy glass.  Jobs recalled later in interview having spent many nights bedding down on the floors of friends' dorms, returning Coca Cola bottles in exchange for money and food, relying on free meals from the local Hare Krishna temple.  Steve Jobs cited the calligraphy class he dropped in on at Reed College as being instrumental in his idea from multiple typefaces and proportionally spaced fonts in the development of the Apple Mac.

By 1972, Wozniak had developed a video game computer board - his own version of the classic game Pong.  Wozniak asked for Jobs' help.  Jobs approached Atari.  Atari thought Jobs' had built the computer board himself and promptly gave him a job as a technician.  Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell later remembered Jobs as a difficult but valuable employee, citing that Jobs was very often the cleverest guy in the room, and had no issue with letting everyone know it.

In 1974, Jobs travelled to India to visit Neem Karoli Baba, in search of spiritual enlightenment.  When he arrived with friend (and latterly Apple employee), Daniel Kottke, they found the Karoli ashram virtually deserted, Neem Karoli Baba having died in September of the previous year.  They travelled around India, spending much time in Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.  Jobs left India ahead of Kottke seven months later, returning to the United States a convert from the Lutheran faith to Zen Buddhism.

Upon his return to the US, Jobs began working for Atari once more, working on a circuit board for the arcade game, Breakout.  Atari offered a $100 bonus for every TTL chip Jobs could successfully eliminate.  Jobs struck a deal with Wozniak to split the fee 50/50 if Wozniak minimised the number of chips, Wozniak being somewhat of an expert in compiling circuit boards.  To the amazement of Atari's team of engineers, Wozniak reduced the total number of TTL chips to just 46, albeit with a design too tight to be recreated on a mass assembly line.  Wozniak and Jobs continued to work together on the "Blue Box", a low cost digital box designed to manipulate the telephone network, allowing free long distance calls.  Clandestine sales went well, Jobs citing the success of the Blue Box as being a pre-curser to Apple, showing the duo that they could take on large companies and beat them.

Jobs and Wozniak formed the Apple Computer Company in 1976, named after Jobs' favourite summer job picking the fruit.  They started out in business selling circuit boards.

On 11th April 1976, the duo released the Apple I, a somewhat rudimentary forefather to today's Apple products, featuring a homemade wooden computer case.  The price was fixed at $666.66, largely on the basis of Wozniak's liking of repetitive digits combined with the 1/3 mark up on the wholesale price of $500.  Jobs struck a deal with the Byte Shop of California for 50 computers.  Apple delivered their first order within 10 days.  Approximately 200 Apple Is were manufactured.  Today there are a reported 63 still in existence, with a working example fetching a hammer price of $365,000 at Christie's in 2014.

Steve Jobs made many mistakes throughout his career.  He made several well documented blunders.  Nevertheless, it is for his brilliance; for the things he got spectacularly right - the Apple Mac, the iPhone, the iPod and the iPad - that Steve Jobs is remembered today.  Apple's contribution to the technological world has been game-changing.  There really is an App for everything.  From shopping to ship navigation to corporate consumers like Tony Freeman, Jobs changed not only the way we use technology, but the way we live our lives today.

Startup Business FAQs

When calculating the funding needs of a business, two different types of funds will need to be considered: start-up costs and working capital.

Start-up costs are one-off payments made in starting the business, like set-up fees, premises renovations, utility down-payments and equipment.  This outlay will include furniture, fixtures and fittings and machinery as well as location and admin and legal expenses.

Working capital is the float required to take care of day-to-day running expenses of the business like advertising, taxes, insurance premiums, utilities, salaries and all other costs associated with the running of the business.  When starting out, it's prudent to ensure that funding is in place to cover all of the start-up costs together with working capital to cover at least the first 6-12 months of the business.

Founding a business first starts with an idea.  It may be a product or an invention.  This is known as "intellectual property".  It is prudent to check whether the idea has already patented or registered and, if it hasn't, seek legal advice about patenting your idea so that no one can steal or copy it without your permission.

Once you have your initial idea, market research is imperative in assessing whether the proposed product or service is saleable and there is a genuine demand.  It is at this stage that problems can be identified and fixed, or if the idea is a non-starter, the prospective business person may move on without having wasted too much time, money and effort.

Market research is tackled by identifying potential customers and approaching them to find out their needs.  If it is a product that is to be sold, this is where a prototype would prove invaluable (though only once patents and registration of intellectual property has been dealt with), thus allowing potential customers to see the product you intend to market and give feedback as to whether it meets their actual needs.  The product can be tested and any faults identified and fixed.  Pricing points can be tested to see what potential customers would be willing to pay for it.  It is at this point that the prospective business person will gain a real insight as to whether the business is likely to be profitable or not.  Another vital component to bear in mind at this point is market competition.  Entering a market with high consumer demand for a product is a very different proposal to entering a saturated market where competitors are slashing their prices.

The next step is developing the concept, taking into account feedback on the product or service from potential customers.  This is where any identified problems can be ironed out including in the branding, manufacture and selling.  It is wise to return to potential customers for feedback on the updated product.  Once you are confident that the product/service meets their needs and is profitable, the next step is drawing up a business plan.

A business plan is imperative when setting up any business.  This will be the road map guiding the future of your firm or company.  It should include clearly stated goals.  A well drawn up business plan is critical in obtaining investment and loans, providing potential investors with the information they need to decide whether your proposal appears viable or not.  A business plan will provide organised, specific information about your business and how you intend to repay investments.  Basic components of a sound business plan should include:

1.     A business concept.

2.     An executive summary.

3.     Details of the products and/or services the firm or company proposes to sell.

4.     Market research and analysis. 

5.     A marketing plan.

6.     Details of the business's operations.

7.     A breakdown of the ownership, management and organisational plan.

8.     Financial data and projections.

9.     Details of critical risks to the business.

10.  Appendices and/or exhibits.

A business plan is an invaluable tool in attracting investors and convincing potential partners and funding sources of the viability of the business.

The next step is looking at potential partners, premises and suppliers.  Many businesses are started by a sole trader from their own home.  You will need to check that your proposed business falls in line with any legal obligations, for example Health and Safety regulations.

Where a partnership or limited company is to be set up, it's important to consider whether your co-founders are reliable and possess the requisite skills.  There could potentially be weighty legal and financial implications for founders personally if the business fails, so it is advisable to seek independent professional advice from lawyers and/or accountants.

Potential suppliers can be identified and approached via online searches and business research.  It's good practice to draw up a short list and approach them to begin to develop business relations, gain a sense of which suppliers are trustworthy and reliable and enter into pricing negotiations.  Consideration will need to be given to their trade credit stipulations, i.e. how long you have to pay their invoices and whether they offer discounts for buying in bulk etc.  It is then time to look at how you're going to attract potential customers and get your product to market.  Whether you work with a distributor, retailer or plan to build your own website, these are all good business practices borne in mind by experts like Tony Freeman.