Apple’s Third Co-Founder, 2

 

Vocabulary

midst	secure (2)	Great Depression
focus	foot prints	depression (2)
regard	forehead	wind up (2)
mentor	minor (2)	diplomatic
liable	enterprise	to buy into it (2)
deal	head (2)	fascinating
fulfill	share (2)	it doesn’t matter
debt	nickel (2)	interest (3)
puff (2)	sign away	as far as I was concerned
criticism	registrar	constructive criticism
shuffle	order (2)	could have been
borrow

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Video

 
 
 
 

Transcript

Ronald G. Wayne. Born May 17, 1934 . . . in the midst of the Great Depression.

(Steve) Jobs had this focus. Once he got an idea in his head, that was it.

And you never wanted to be between him and where he wanted to go; (otherwise) you’d wind up with footprints on your forehead.

This is the contract that I personally typed up.

He regarded me as something of a minor mentor, because I was somewhat more diplomatic than he was.

There was a problem that he was having at that time with Steve Wozniak. I said, “Bring him over to the house: we’ll sit down; we’ll chat.”

Then it took me 45 minutes, certainly less than an hour, to get Jobs to understand, “no, you can’t do it that way for a business enterprise.”

“Okay, fine.” He bought into it; he understood.

And at that moment in time, Steve Jobs says, “We are going to form a company.

The two Steves would each own 45% of the new company.

Ron was given 10%.

Twelve days later, I went down to the registrar’s office and had my name taken off the contract.

Jobs had secured a deal to sell fifty “Apple I” computers to the Byte Shop, a store in nearby Santa Clara.

But in order to fulfill the order, the company needed to borrow $15,000.

(If) the company goes “puff” — we are individually liable for the debts of the company.

Well, Jobs and Wozniak didn’t have two nickels to rub together; I had a house … and a bank account … and a car … and I was reachable . . .

Some months later, I get this letter in the mail with a check for fifteen-hundred dollars — I believe it was $1,500.

And the letter says, “All you got to do is sign away every possible interest you could have in the Apple Computer company, and the check is yours.”

Well, I figured that I had already done that. And as far as I was concerned, it was found money.

So I went ahead and I signed.

Journalist reading letter: “I was surprised that Steve Jobs was looking for a mentor: I wouldn’t have thought him to be open to any sort of constructive criticism from what I have read of him.

I agree.”

Journalist: “People must be fascinated by Steve Jobs.”

Ronald G. Wayne, Apple Co-Founder: “Of course. And should be — he was a fascinating man, who made Apple what it was. Obviously, Jobs’s technique.

Now was Jobs a nice guy?

In many ways, NO!

But that doesn’t matter — that’s not what we’re talking about.

What we’re talking about is what did it take to make Apple what it was.

Journalist: “I think people who are watching this, they will say, ‘surely as Ron’s about to go to sleep, you must often think of what could have been with Apple.

Do you?”

Ronald G. Wayne, Apple Co-Founder: “I knew exactly what would have happened if I had stayed with the company: I would have wound up heading a very large documentation department in the back of the building shuffling papers for the next 20 years of my life.

And that was not the future that I saw for myself.”

Find something that you enjoy doing — SO much, that you’d be willing to do it for nothing — and you’ll never work a day in your life.”

Today, a 10% share of the company would be worth around $60 billion.

Ron doesn’t own any Apple products.

Questions

1. Steve Jobs was unstoppable when he wanted to achieve something. He bulldozed his way through. True or false?

2. In the beginning, was there disagreement among Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne? They talked and negotiated for many weeks. Is this right or wrong?

3. Did a lawyer or manager form Apple’s first contract? What did the contract state?

4. Ronald Wayne bowed out from the partnership after a few years. Yes or no? Why did he withdraw from the agreement?

5. Could or can Ronald claim a share of Apple’s profits later or now?

6. Does Ronald have mostly positive, negative, neutral or mixed feelings about Steve Jobs? What does he say about Steve?

7. Ronald regrets that he didn’t stick with Apple. Is this correct or incorrect? What do you think?

8. Does he give any advice to people? What does he tell people?

 
 
A. Is there a lesson or moral in this story?

B. What do you and your friends think of Steve Jobs? Is he a role-model (for young people)?

C. I have or I know people who have started businesses from scratch. Yes or no?

D. I would like to start my own business. Is this correct or incorrect? What about your friends? What kind of business would you like to start and have?

E. Do you or your friends have any regrets in life? What would you have done differently?