In 2018, with a net worth of $750 billion, it’s difficult to imagine that Apple was once on the brink of failure. But it wasn’t all plain sailing for Steve Jobs and business partner Steve Wozniak who founded the company in 1976.
To fund their business venture, both young men sold treasured items. Jobs was in charge of marketing and Wozniak was the creator of the products.
The Apple I was their first product and went on the market at a price of $666 and around 200 units were sold. In the same year the Apple I was made and sold, it was also discontinued to make way for new products.
By the 1980s, Apple was a well-known company with a value of around $1.2 million dollars.
Despite the profit made in the early years, the next products released from Apple showed flaws. As a result of this, other companies in the industry dominated the market. In 1984, the Macintosh was released and while it performed well, it did not stand up to competitors.
In 1985, Steve Jobs was pushed out of Apple after company executives concluded that he was of detriment to the company. After leaving Apple, Jobs threw himself into new work and purchased an animation company, now known as Pixar Animation Studios (and owned by Walt Disney). Jobs saw potential in the business and invested $50 million into the company.
Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 and was determined to get the company back on track.
He brought new ideas in terms of products and marketing to draw consumers in once again. After Jobs returned to the company, stocks improved steadily and Apple once again became a very big name in the market.
The company became a household name, releasing innovative products that the market had never seen before. Products such as the iPod and iPhone have contributed to where Apple is today; one of the biggest companies in the world.
At SMY IT Services, we pride ourselves on providing IT support to business with both Windows and Apple operating systems. So, whether you’ve vowed your allegiance to Apple or you just prefer Windows, we can help.
Not made up your mind? Why not check out our previous blog: Apple or Microsoft? Here’s our comparison.
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