Apple put the Intel deal into action with the release of its 2006 MacBook Pro and iMac, both using Intel’s Core Duo chip technology which made the systems significantly faster.
Apple’s increasing improvement was evident in the stock prices. At roughly $80 per share, Apple’s stocks had increased ten fold in ten years, up from $6 in 1997. In January 2006, Apple surpassed Dell’s market cap. Just ten years prior, Michael Dell had said that if Apple were under his control, he’d “shut it down and give the money back to shareholders.”
In this frequently updated feature I will be telling the story of Apple. I’ll start with the early days, the tale of how Apple was founded, moving on through the Apple I, to the Apple II, the launch of the Macintosh and the revolution in the DTP industry. To the tech-industry behemoth that we know and love today.
So sit back as I take a stroll down memory lane. Why not brush up on what really happened before you go and watch the new Steve Jobs movie, with its interesting interpretations of several important events in the company’s history?
On 1 April 1976 Apple was founded, making the company 41 years old as of the 1 April 2017. Here’s the historical breakdown of the company.
Steve and Wozniak, founders of Apple Computer, Inc.
Apple’s famous 1984 commercial was created by advertising agency Chiat/Day. In 1986, CEO Michael Spindler replaced Chiat/Day with agency BBDO. Under CEO Gil Amelio BBDO pitched to an internal marketing meeting at the then struggling Apple a new brand campaign with the slogan “We’re back.” Reportedly everyone in the meeting expressed approval with the exception of the recently returned Jobs who said “the slogan was stupid because Apple wasn’t back.”
Jobs then invited three advertising agencies to present new ideas that reflected the philosophy he thought had to be reinforced within the company he co-founded. TBWA/Chiat/Day was one of them. While Jobs thought the creative concept “brilliant” he originally hated the words of the television commercial, until changing his mind. According to TBWA/Chiat/Day’s creative director of the time Rob Siltanen: “Steve was highly involved with the advertising and every facet of Apple’s business. But he was far from the mastermind behind the renowned launch spot, while Steve Jobs didn’t create the advertising concepts, he does deserve an incredible amount of credit. He was fully responsible for ultimately pulling the trigger on the right ad campaign from the right agency, and he used his significant influence to secure talent and rally people like no one I’ve ever seen before. Without Steve Jobs there’s not a shot in hell that a campaign as monstrously big as this one would get even close to flying off the ground. It got an audience that once thought of Apple as semi-cool, but semi-stupid to suddenly think about the brand in a whole new way.”
Jobs said the following in an interview for ‘One Last Thing’ documentary:
When you grow up you tend to get told the world is the way it is and your job is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family life, have fun, save a little money. That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact, and that is—everything around you that you call life, was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. The minute that you understand that you can poke life and actually something will, you know if you push in, something will pop out the other side, that you can change it, you can mold it. That’s maybe the most important thing. It’s to shake off this erroneous notion that life is there and you’re just gonna live in it, versus embrace it, change it, improve it, make your mark upon it. I think that’s very important and however you learn that, once you learn it, you’ll want to change life and make it better, cause it’s kind of messed up, in a lot of ways. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.
Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.
The Return of Jobs to Apple, the Greatest Comeback Story of All Time: How Apple Went from Near Bankruptcy to Billions in 13 Years
“Back then he was uncontrollable,” an early Apple board member said of Steve Jobs in explaining why, in 1985, the board voted to fire him. “He got ideas in his head, and the hell with what anybody else wanted to do.” Even former Pepsi President John Sculley, who had joined Apple to play the role of Jobs’ babysitter of sorts, couldn’t handle working with him. In fact, Sculley orchestrated the ouster himself, comparing Jobs to a relentless zealot. (Though, to be fair, their relationship didn’t exactly start well; Jobs invited Sculley to join Apple by saying, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water to children, or do you want a chance to change the world?”) But in 1997, with the company operating at a loss and Microsoft’s Windows 95 flying off the shelves, Apple’s board decided that a zealot was just what it needed. In August of that year, Jobs rejoined the board in august, becoming CEO at first, with an “interim” the following month. “He had become a far better leader, less of a go-to-hell aesthete who cared only about making beautiful objects,” wrote Fortune’s editor-at-large Peter Elkind of the co-founder’s triumphant return. “Now he was a go-to-hell aesthete who cared about making beautiful objects that made money.” In time, he became recognized as one of the company’s most valuable assets. In 2009, after news broke that Jobs’ failing health had forced him to take medical leave, the company's stock fell almost 10%.
Partnering with the enemy, Microsoft (1997)
Just 13 years ago, Apple was on the verge of bankruptcy. But then—worried that it would be viewed as a monopoly without competition from Apple—Microsoft came to Apple’s rescue with a $150 million investment. Had that not happened the world may never have seen iPods, iPads, iPhones or iMacs. But that was just the start of Apple’s return to glory, the greatest corporate comeback story of all time.
When Apple co-founder Steve Jobs returned to the company in July of 1997, it marked the beginning of Apple’s resurrection. After 12 years of financial loss, Gil Amelio was ousted from the CEO position. Jobs took the interim position and was tasked with major restructuring, out of which a partnership with Microsoft was formed. One of his first decisions was to nix the Newton, a project that sucked $100 million out of the dying company, even though it was a product ahead of its time. The Apple-Microsoft deal was revealed at the ‘97 Macworld Expo. Gates and Jobs announced a five-year contract that would release an updated Mac version of Microsoft Office and Microsoft’s $150 million investment in Apple. Jobs humbly explained to the audience: “If we want to move forward and see Apple healthy and prospering again, we have to let go of a few things here. We have to let go of this notion that for Apple to win, Microsoft has to lose. So, the era of setting this up as a competition between Apple and Microsoft is over as far as I'm concerned. This is about getting Apple healthy, this is about Apple being able to make incredibly great contributions to the industry and to get healthy and prosper again.” As he spoke these words, Jobs was both booed and cheered.
The Lesson: Jobs had a daunting task ahead of him, but he wasn’t afraid to make difficult decisions to get the company back on track. Cutting costly projects like Newton and aligning with known-competitor Microsoft were controversial decisions that showed Jobs’ authority, confidence, and smarts.
Introducing the iMac (1998)
Apple was still struggling, and they needed a good product to turn things around. The iMac, introduced in 1998, was the solution. The unique design, which resembled the Macintosh 128K, was created by Jonathan Ive, designer of now iconic Apple technology, the iPod and the iPhone. Ive reinvented the ‘boring beige box’ and for the first time, you could actually see a computer’s guts. The all-in-one iMac sold nearly 800,000 units within its first five months. Apple returned to the software space that year with an acquisition of Macromedia’s Final Cut product. For the first time since 1995, Apple returned to profitability. According to FundingUniverse.com, the company turned a profit of $309 million in 1998.
The Lesson: Steve Jobs reportedly called a meeting at Apple, sat everyone down and said, “You know what's wrong with this company? The products SUCK—there's no sex in them.” Jobs’ decision to throw resources into a new, futuristic computer model drew people’s attention to Apple, and it paid off.
Apple stock reaches $99 per share, profits increase 94% (1999)
Apple continued its resurgence, seeing healthier profits and thus healthier stock prices. In 1999, their sales grew 3.2%, and profits doubled to $601MM, a 94% increase from the year prior.
The Lesson: Apple began expanding its products beyond just computers with the release of Final Cut Pro. They also noted what worked with the iMac, and built out new products based on proven success. Each success showed Jobs was turning the company around, and the public grew more confident in Apple’s stability.
Jobs becomes permanent CEO of Apple, but Apple has its most unprofitable quarter in three years (2000)
Apple announced a new strategy for tackling the Internet at the 2000 Macworld Expo. They unveiled iTools, Mac-only internet applications. They also announced Earthlink as their recommended ISP. Having successfully gotten Apple back on track, Jobs was able to drop “interim” from his CEO title and earned himself a permanent position. Jobs also announced that the previous quarter, 1,350,000 Macs were sold—that’s one product sold every six seconds. Later that year, Apple released new machines including The G4 Cube, a risky move that was an ultimate failure. Apple-History.com writes, “The Cube was Apple’s answer to those who wanted an iMac without a monitor, as well as challenge to the computing industry to continue to minimize the size of computers while increasing their visual appeal. The Cube was the biggest gamble Jobs had made since the release of the iMac. It would turn out to be a resounding failure.” This release marked the beginning of a tough few months for the rebounding company. Their third quarter was its first unprofitable one since Jobs’ return. While the tech industry was seeing an overall downturn, some poor decisions by Apple aided their unprofitable quarter. The first problem was the G4 Cube was a bust. Another factor was their decision to have DVD-ROM drives in their computers instead of CD-RWs, which prevented users from being able to burn CDs. In an attempt to right their wrongs, Apple cut prices on their PowerMac products.
The Lesson: Under the reign of Steve Jobs, Apple proved they weren’t afraid to take risks and fail. They also showed that when something wasn’t working, they could adjust quickly, pulling plugs and changing strategy as necessary. Jobs has said, “We’re gambling on our vision, and we’d rather do that than make ‘me-too’ products.”
The iPod, iTunes and the Apple Store are born (2001)
On May 15, 2001, Jobs unveiled the first Apple Store. They were such a hit that he later remarked, “We had 26 million visitors during the holiday quarter in retail stores. I mean think about it, this is more people than live in any state in our union besides California.” A few months later, Jobs announced their next big hit, the iPod. The portable music player went from concept to market in about 8 months. The iPod undoubtedly changed the music industry, but iTunes, which was also introduced this year, was Apple’s true genius. iTunes broke music industry standards and helped the major labels including Universal and Warner, fight piracy. “We said: These [music subscriptions] services that are out there now are going to fail, people don't want to buy their music that way,” Jobs tells Rolling Stone. “They’re going to want to buy downloads. People want to own their music. You don’t want to rent your music—and then, one day, if you stop paying, all your music goes away. It’s cheaper to buy and that’s what they’re gonna want to do. 80% of the people stealing music online don’t really want to be thieves. But [it’s so] compelling—it’s instant gratification. We don’t see how you convince people to stop being thieves, unless you can offer them a carrot, not just a stick.”
The Lesson: With multiple product hits, Apple’s comeback was in full swing. Each product launch became highly-anticipated events by media and the public alike. The company proved with the iPod that they could execute ideas quickly, and successfully dominate other hardware besides computers. The Apple Store was a brilliant solution to a problem Apple was having—other retailers weren’t giving Apple products proper shelf-life and space. Apple was able to create a real consumer experience in their stores, and give their products the displays they deserved. Gigaom writes, “When you enter the Apple Retail Store, you find a well-lit place that is inviting and aesthetically appealing, and more importantly, the company lets you play with its devices as much as you want. Nothing makes the sale as effectively as the iPhone or the iPod touch itself. You like what you see, then you buy.”
The swivel-neck iMac gets Jobs on the cover of Time (2002)
At the January Macworld Expo, Apple released a redesigned iMac with a swivel neck, which would be discontinued two years later. That same year, they released the Xserve 1U rack mounted server. This was Apple’s effort to enter the enterprise computer market with a cheaper version. Apple sleeked up it’s overall look, replacing the ‘happy mac’ icon with the gray logo when Jaguar was released. Still, the company saw financial struggles in late 2002 thanks to poor macroeconomic conditions and weak PowerBook and PowerMac sales. They announced a quarterly loss of $45 million, despite the release of one of their most successful ad campaigns ever, “Switchers.”
The Lesson: Jobs kept the company new and fresh by coming up with out-of-the-box concepts. He did this in all aspects of Apple, in new products, and even in hiring decisions, drawing inspiration from everywhere. “Part of what made the Macintosh great was that the people working on it were musicians, and poets, and artists, and zoologists, and historians who also happened to be the best computer scientists in the world,” Jobs has said.
The iTunes Music Store is released (2003)
January 2003 marked the end of the ‘Classic’ Mac OS era. The first PowerBooks were released in 2003 and were the first to use the aluminum exterior. Next the third generation iPod was introduced with a dock connector in the bottom, which would lead to USB support. The same day the iPod was released, iLife and the iTunes Music Store were announced. The online music marketplace was fully integrated into iTunes for Macs, and shortly after it was released for Windows. The store was an instant success, selling one million songs in its first week. This year, Apple also placed its first store in Japan.
The Lesson: Think ahead, and connect the dots. Apple released products that were innovative in and of themselves, but they also connected with other products. The integration of iPods, iTunes and the iTunes Music Store prove how a sum can be greater than all of its parts.
iTunes leads to 70% market share, iPod mini released (2004)
Apple’s market share in the computer industry continued to decline, hitting a low of 3% in 2004. But with the iTunes/iPod integration, Apple positioned itself to take the music industry by storm. Also that year, Apple released the hit iPod Mini, and by the end of iTunes’ first year, Apple had 70% market share of legal downloaded music. More than 100 million songs were downloaded by July, 2004. Keeping with the mini trend, Apple opened a series of mini stories, about half the size of their other retail locations, in hopes of expanding to smaller markets with less demand.
The Lesson: Simplicity is bliss. iTunes made downloading songs easy and legal. The iPod Mini was sleek and simple, without any bells and whistles. Apple’s designer Jonathan Ive confirms their strategy: “We are absolutely consumed by trying to develop a solution that is very simple, because as physical beings we understand clarity.”
Release of the iPod Shuffle, Mac Mini, and transition to Intel-based Macs begins (2005)
Apple began its transition to Intel-based Macintoshes in 2005. They made the announcement at a June keynote, confirming rumors. Continuing to push their lead in the music sector, Apple released the video iPod in 2005. This pushed iPod sales over 30 million. This year, the Mac Mini and the iPod Shuffle were also released.
The Lesson: Keep innovating and improving. Apple presents multiple forms of the same devices with entirely different looks and packaging (the Nano versus the Mini). Even if improvements are slight, each product has a new identity that gets people excited.
Apple passes Dell’s market cap, and its Intel-based computers are significantly faster than ever (2006)
Apple put the Intel deal into action with the release of its 2006 MacBook Pro and iMac, both using Intel’s Core Duo chip technology which made the systems significantly faster. Apple’s increasing improvement was evident in the stock prices. At roughly $80 per share, Apple’s stocks had increased ten fold in ten years, up from $6 in 1997. In January 2006, Apple surpassed Dell’s market cap. Just ten years prior, Michael Dell had said that if Apple were under his control, he’d “shut it down and give the money back to shareholders.”
The Lesson: Sell dreams, not products. Customers first and foremost care about themselves, and if you help them find out what it is they want, they will latch onto your brand. Jobs doesn’t use focus groups or wait for people to make demands. Instead, he releases must-have products before people even know they will want it.
The iPhone revolutionizes the mobile industry, Apple TV is announced (2007)
In 2007, Jobs announced a company name change. Apple Computer, Inc. would now be known as Apple Inc., a sign that the company was planning to definite itself by much more than its original goal. The iPhone and Apple TV were announced at that year’s Macworld Expo, and by May 2007, Apple’s shares broke $100, an all-time company high. The iPhone was Apple’s first mobile attempt, and it immediately revolutionized the industry, essentially turning a video iPod into a personal device like no company had done before.
The Lesson: Steve Jobs is a relentless innovator, and Apple always seems to find a new way to produce products that improve our lives. Thinking differently has been a key component to Apple’s second coming.
The App Store is unveiled, along with trackpads with multi-touch technology (2008)
Apple brought touch capabilities to their computers and iPhone with the release of trackpad in 2008. The multi-touch technology was designed exclusively for Apple and can interpret many three-finger strokes. They also released the App store in 2008 for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The App Store was another instant hit, bringing in 60 million app sales and generating $1 million for Apple daily just one month after its launch. Jobs has said that the App Store alone could be a billion-dollar invention for the company. Later that year, it was evident just how popular the iPhone was when Apple became the third-largest mobile-handset supplier in the world.
The Lesson: Apple is great at connecting separate products to one another. The App Store, for example, was made to enhance both the iPhone and iPad. According to Jobs, “Creativity is just connecting things.” The MacBook Air was also released this year.
For the first time in 20 years, it was announced that Jobs would not attend Macworld Expo. In January 2009, an internal memo to Apple employees was made public and rumors were verified that Steve Jobs’ health was waning. Later that month, Jobs announced a six-month medical leave of absence to recover from his illness. Despite his absence and the recession, Apple continued to surge, reporting its best non-holiday quarter ever in Q1 2009 with $8.16 billion in revenue and a profit of $1.21 billion. Jobs returned to the company in June after having a liver transplant.
The Lesson: Trust your team. A company may only seem as great as one person, but if you hire smart people, they’re perfectly capable of stepping up to the plate.
The year of the iPad (2010)
2010 is the year of the iPad, Apple’s solution to Amazon’s kindle, creating a mobile-laptop hybrid device. The iPad uses the iPhone’s touch technology and apps. 500,000 units were sold during its first-week debut. The iPhone 4 was released with new features such as Skype-like FaceTime video calling. In October, Apple’s stock reached an all-time high of more than $300 per share.
The Lesson: Innovation doesn’t require focus groups. Steve Jobs doesn’t believe in asking customers their opinions. You can develop products people will want before they even know they want it. Sometimes, you can know customers better than they know themselves.
In 2010, for the first time since 1989, Apple’s market cap exceeded Microsoft’s. This feat would have seemed impossible back when Gates poured money into the nearly bankrupted company. By creating great products enhanced by brilliant packaging, and by changing their computer-only mission, Apple became a technology titan. Almost every product released is a guaranteed, instant hit, and every keynote Jobs gives is a media frenzy. From $6 per share to $300, the company has never been stronger and there seems to be no limits to what the company can achieve. So what’s to be learned from their story?
Think simple—the iPad is so simple a baby can use it.
Be different—like the iMac.
Be a risk taker and make tough decisions—Jobs partnered with Microsoft and nixed the Newton.
Make great products, and package them even better—show customers what they want, like the iPhone did.
Create an experience—Apple did this with their stores. And hype, like Macworld does for the media.
Be confident—don’t hold focus groups and ask people what they think.
Be passionate—Steve Jobs said in his Stanford commencement speech: “Have the courage to follow your heart and your intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.”
Note: This article was originally published by Alyson Shontell on October 27, 2010 at the Business Insider.
