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The people who rejected Apple in their early days
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- AbnAsia.org
- @steven_n_t
"These investors rejected Steve Jobs. Paradoxically, they all ""funded"" him as a group...
These lessons remain relevant today, just as in 1976 when Apple was a fledgling company 👇
Tom Perkins and Eugene Kleiner (Kleiner Perkins) refused to meet Jobs.
Bill Draper dismissed Jobs and Wozniak as ""arrogant"" after an associate's visit.
Pitch Johnson doubted home computers, asking, ""Are you going to put recipes on it?""
Stan Veit rejected Jobs' $10,000 offer for 10% of Apple, mistrusting Jobs' appearance.
Nolan Bushnell declined to buy one-third of Apple for $50,000 but introduced Jobs to Don Valentine, founder of Sequoia.
Regis McKenna refused to design Apple's commercials for a 20% stake, saying, ""20% of nothing is worth approximately nothing,"" but also introduced Jobs to Valentine.
Don Valentine was skeptical but guided Jobs on management and marketing.
Valentine introduced Jobs to three contacts; Mike Markkula, the third, saw potential in Wozniak's design and invested $91,000 for 26% of Apple, becoming its first angel investor.
Markkula convinced McKenna to help Apple with publicity, leading to the creation of Apple's iconic logo.
Markkula persuaded Venrock's Hank Smith to invest $300,000 for 10% of Apple.
Eventually, Don Valentine invested a small portion, believing his presence on Apple's board would be beneficial.
LESSON #1 - No one funded Steve; the network did! His perseverance and connections were key to Apple's early success."
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