Steve Jobs on Apple History: From Garage to Return
What Jobs talks about
In this interview, Jobs tells a broad Apple origin story: Reed College, the Homebrew Computer Club, Apple’s founding in a garage, and the early products that followed. He frames Apple as a company built around making quality, innovative products with a user-friendly interface.
He also covers his departure from Apple, founding NeXT, buying Pixar, and later returning when Apple acquired NeXT. The conversation touches on how he sees his own success, his business style, and his approach to money and compensation.
The recording is notable for how much it compresses Apple history into a single, conversational narrative. It gives a high-level view of Jobs’s own self-presentation and the milestones he considered most important.
An interviewer hosts the segment and asks questions throughout.
In his words
“Apple is a company that makes quality, innovative products that excel performance and beauty.”
“In 1976, we founded the great Apple company in my garage.”
“We were trying to bring people a user friendly interface, and that's what inspired the Apple one and then the Apple two in 1977.”
“In 1985, I was involved in a struggle with Scully, and I left the company to found NeXT Computers.”
“Since 1999, I have been on a $1 salary”
Key points
- Apple makes quality, innovative products that excel in performance and beauty.
- Apple was built to bring a user-friendly interface to personal computing.
- Jobs describes starting Apple in his garage with Steve Wozniak.
- He references Lisa, the Macintosh, NeXT, Pixar, and his return to Apple.
- He says his success came from dealmaking, communication, persuasion, and innovation.
- He mentions living on a $1 salary and receiving stock and board gifts.
Full transcript
Welcome to the holiday edition of the Alan Dustbin show. Today, we have our guest to Steve Jobs. Give him a warm welcome. Welcome. Now, Steve, just what makes Apple such a great company? Apple is a company that makes quality, innovative products that excel performance and beauty. We are all hardworking, dedicated professionals at Apple, and we are dedicated to our customers in the technological world. As senior mission statement, Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals, and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software, and Internet offering. Tell us how it all started. Grew up in California.
I dropped out of Reed College Oregon and returned to California to attend meetings of the Homebrew Computer Club with my good friend Steven Wozniak. Wozniak and I then took jobs at Atari designing computer games. In 1976, we founded the great Apple company in my garage. We were trying to bring people a user friendly interface, and that's what inspired the Apple one and then the Apple two in 1977. In 1979, we started work on a project Lisa, which would redefine redefine personal computing. Then I recruited former PepsiCo president John Scully as the new Apple president and CEO. This was followed by the first true Macintosh personal computer.
Now I understand you left Apple for a while. What happened there? In 1985, I was involved in a struggle with Scully, and I left the company to found NeXT Computers. Later in 1989, I bought Pixar from George Lucas for $10,000,000. In 1993, Scully resigned. And in 1996, I contacted Apple and returned to the company through Apple's purchase of NeXT for two hundred million dollars. I became the CEO of Apple by 2000. You're now considered one of the most successful businessmen in the world. How do you compare yourself to the tycoons of yesterday, such as Vanderbilt? Vanderbilt standardized the train system by setting all the rails to the same gauge.
He was also a pioneer in the train business by revolutionizing the way that trains ran, like the hotel cars and steel rails that ensured better rides. I am also a pioneer in computer... In the computer industry by creating computers that had user friendly interface for the common person. What do you think is the key to your success? My beauty and charm. On a more serious note, I would probably say my ability to make successful business deals, my excellent communication and persuasion skills, and my genius, innovative mind. How often do you nominate to charity? My wallet is, like, four knots.
Good luck getting money out of it. What then do you do with your money? One thing I do not do is waste my money of lucrative luxuries like many other men of my economic status. I would... I use my money for better things. For example, I am looking to tear down an old giant mansion and build a more cost effective, ecofriendly modern house in its place. Is it true that your yearly salary is only $1? How else am I supposed to pay income tax? Since 1999, I have been on a $1 salary, but I do receive executive gifts from the Apple board. For example, between 2000 and 2002, I received 30,000,000 stocks.
And in 1999, I got a $90,000,000 jet. Did you shoot off Bill Gates in high school? No. But I'm pretty sure he cheated off me. Luckily, I was smart enough to write down the wrong answers for him to copy and then change them back. In case you haven't noticed, this entire interview has been teleprompted using a PC and edited using Windows Movie Maker. How do you feel about that? Lastly, before you leave, we have someone who'd like to meet you. Oh my gosh. You're Steve Jobs. You gotta sign this icon, please. Come on. Sign it. Sign it. Sign it. Pen. Steve. Steve. J b x.
Well, that's all we have for today. Thanks for watching, and tune in next week for our interview with Bill Gates. Good night.
Transcribed from the audio by speech recognition (Deepgram). Timestamps link to the video above. Errors are possible.