Apple Inc. is one of the most valuable companies in the world. It produces popular digital gadgets we all use today, including Macs, iPods, iPhones, and iPads.
The company is incredibly successful today due to its obsessive focus on the user experience.
Apple is a designer-centric company that likes to build all parts of a product. This has allowed Apple to build some of the most elegant and user-friendly products we use and see today.
The Founders.
The founders of Apple Inc. are Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. The co-founder is Ronald Wayne.
He worked alongside Jobs and Wozniak, providing administrative oversight and documentation. But Ronald Wayne quit his job at Apple after 12 days because he was worried about what he would need to sacrifice for Apple in the beginning.
Apple was still ongoing after Wayne left and had some ups and downs. Years went by and Apple Inc. became incredibly successful.
After Steve Jobs passed away, Tim Cook was chosen as Apple’s CEO in August 2011 and he is still the CEO to this day.
How Apple Was Created.
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple on April 1, 1976, in Los Altos, California, USA. It is widely believed that the company was founded in Steve Jobs' garage.
The objective was to make computers that were user-friendly, as in to make computers small enough to allow people to have them in their homes or offices.
The first logo of Apple was illustrated by Ronald Wayne.
Why Is It Called Apple?
The company is called Apple as it was an easy way to gain customers. Back in the old days where phone books were used, customers would use the phone book to find a certain product and they usually start looking from the letter A.
Other than that, Steve Jobs decided on Apple because he liked apples and in the phone book, Apple was above Atari, a company Steve Jobs used to work at. It was also because no one else had any idea what to name the company.
Therefore, Apple was chosen.
The First Investor.
Mike Markkula was the first investor in the company. He put $250k of his own money in the company in 1977.
He became Apple’s first investor a year after Apple 1 was launched to the public. He provided critical early funding and managerial support to the company
Later on, Markkula joined the company instead of just funding it. He became the second CEO of Apple but he resigned along with the rest of the board in 1997.
The First Product.
The first Apple product was launched on April 11, 1976. It was just a motherboard, with about 60 chips, fully assembled.
It was called the Apple 1. The Apple 1 is a computer designed and hand-built entirely by Steve Wozniak.
The first product did not include any power sources, keyboards, and monitors. Therefore, users had to supply essential parts. The Apple 1 alone cost around $500 back in 1976.
Earlier this year, Apple 1 was up for sale on eBay. The Apple 1 is still in its original case and was on sale for $1.5 million.
The Product Which Made Apple Successful.
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was launched in April 1977.
Once again, designed by Steve Wozniak while Steve Jobs oversaw the development of Apple II's foam-molded plastic case. With the help of Rod Holt, Apple II had its switching power supply.
The reason why this product was successful is because of its user-friendly design and graphical display. Unlike Apple 1, users did not have to buy any essential parts.
But the Apple II was discontinued on October 15, 1993.
Even though Apple was close to bankruptcy, Steve Jobs managed to do an amazing recovery for the company in the early 2000s. Thanks to all the products he has produced, Apple earned $40 billion in profits.