Apple was an iconic company from the get go. Steve Jobs, an opportunist, came across his friend Steve Wozniak who had built one of the first personal computers for his own use in 1976. This computer was more or less a way to type on a TV rather than a typewriter. Most would look at this with little intrigue or possibility, but Steve Jobs, however, saw the potential within.
Through some hard work and overcoming countless no’s, they eventually found a buyer for this new device and started production of the first Apple computer in a garage in 1976. Apple’s success exploded after that as the fast growing group continued to improve on the design and sell more computers. Apple owned the PC market up until 1985, when the company decided Steve Jobs didn’t have a place there anymore. Jobs was hard to work for and expected nothing but the best, “it seems ok” or “working fine” was not good enough for Jobs. His expectations were nothing short of perfection, but the new management group didn’t share his passion, thus starting the decline of the company through the 1990’s.
To say the least, Apple struggled through this decade. With low sales the company was on the brink of bankruptcy. When Steve was brought back in 1996 to the now struggling company, he was quickly promoted to CEO. His vision was quickly re-established with the introduction of the iMac in 1998. With simplicity in mind, the iMac helped bring the company back from the brink. Then in 2001, the company launched the first iPod. MP3 players had already been in market for a while, however they weren’t selling very well, and it wasn’t until Steve Jobs and Co put their spin on it, that the technology would become mainstream and enter millions of homes. Moving from the wildly successful iPod to the iPhone, and then to the iPad, would catapult Apple back to the top.
This rise from near bankruptcy to being back on top is something that is very rare in business, and it’s hard to imagine that anyone but Steve Job’s could have pulled it off. The iPhone is the most recognizable handheld device in the world with 1.7 billion in the market and growing every year. Not a bad place to be.