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1-Page Summary of Becoming Steve Jobs

Overview

Steve Jobs is a symbol of the tech industry’s daring and creativity. He has become an almost mythical figure—a knight crusading for innovation and immaculate design. As CEO of Apple, Jobs created one of the most valuable companies in the world and, along with it, amazing products such as iPhones.

However, who was the real Steve Jobs? Some people saw him as a genius and visionary leader, while others thought he was a pompous jerk. He could be stubborn, but some say that’s what made him so successful. This book will tell you how Steve Jobs became the man we know today.

You will also find out what role Pixar played in Steve Jobs’s comeback to Apple; how he made some of his best products while fighting death.

Big Idea #1: Steve Jobs had an early knack for technology.

Steve Jobs was born on February 24, 1955. His biological mother put him up for adoption shortly after his birth. As a result, he grew up as the son of Paul and Clara Jobs, who were working class.

Jobs was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs when he was one year old. His father was a car mechanic who built furniture, so there were tools in the garage that Jobs could use to learn how things worked and take them apart. This education served him well later in life; for example, when showing the iPod to an author, Jobs talked about his father’s advice of working hard on all parts of something, not just the outside.

Jobs was also smart and intelligent. He skipped sixth grade and enjoyed math and science. His intelligence allowed him to be accepted into the Explorers Club, a group of kids who worked on electronics projects at Hewlett-Packard (HP). It was there that Jobs used a computer for the first time.

He was clearly very bright, so it’s no surprise that he founded Apple when he was only 21 years old.

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak met when a friend introduced them to each other. They decided that they could make a better computer for home use, so they began working on the Apple 1 in Jobs’ parents garage. Kids from the neighborhood assembled it, and soon they had an assembly line going. They named their company Apple because of its associations with both Eden and an orchard in Oregon where Jobs used to hang out after high school.

Big Idea #2: Apple quickly churned out a second computer, and the company became one of the fastest growing start-ups in history.

Steve Jobs founded his own company and designed the Apple 1. He also convinced a local business owner to sell those computers. Soon enough, he was selling a dozen computers every few weeks. Fewer than two hundred units of this first model were ever sold, but that success was still exciting for him.

After the success of their first computer, and with Wozniak’s promise to build a better machine, the two men went back to work on their second computer.

Wozniak wanted to make a computer, but he needed money. Jobs had the connections and convinced Markkula to fund them with $92,000. They moved out of Steve’s parents’ garage into an office in Cupertino, California. With their new funding they were able to focus on making a personal computer that would be faster than others at the time. In 1977 they released the Apple II which was more powerful than other computers at the time because it came with an audio amplifier and speaker as well as inputs for a gaming joystick.

But it was more than just a technological breakthrough. It was the first computer that didn’t sound like an industrial machine and came in a single, manageable box. These features made it popular with consumers.

Pretty soon, Apple was one of the fastest growing start-ups in history. In fact, they were selling 500 computers a month! They went from $7.8 million to $48 million in sales between 1978 and 1979. However, their financial success masked some issues that you’ll learn about next.