Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs was an American entrepreneur and businessman, widely recognised as the co-founder of Apple, Inc. and one of the pioneers of the personal computer revolution.

Born in San Francisco on 24 February 1955, Steven Paul Jobs was adopted at birth by Paul and Clara Jobs. As a child, Steve used to love tinkering with electronics in the garage with his father. They would pull apart television and radio sets and put them back together.

Jobs was a smart student, but he often got bored with school. He used to get into trouble playing pranks on others. He went to Reed College in Oregon but dropped out after six months, choosing to attend more creative classes that interested him.

Jobs shared his deep interest in electronics with a computer genius named Steve Wozniak. Wozniak had invented his own computer, and Jobs suggested starting a company to sell it. They worked together, with Wozniak focusing on the electronics and Jobs on the design.

In 1976, they formed the company Apple and started selling the computer, which they had named Apple I. Soon, they came up with the next version of the computer — Apple II. Jobs saw its great potential and convinced some investors to put money into the company. The Apple II was hugely successful and the company grew very quickly, both in wealth and fame.

However, the next two personal computers did not make a mark and Jobs started working on developing the Macintosh, the first mass-produced personal computer with a graphical user interface.

Soon, Apple started facing the pressure from IBM’s personal computers, which were cheaper and easier to manufacture. Apple’s sales began to decline and after a long power struggle, Jobs was forced out of the company in 1985.

Jobs then founded NeXT, a company specialising in high-end computers and software. In 1986, he purchased a graphics company and named it Pixar. In 1991, in partnership with Disney, Pixar made the film ‘Toy Story’, which went on to become a huge success. Pixar subsequently made many blockbusters, such as Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., Cars, WALL-E and Up.

In 1997, Apple bought over NeXT, and Jobs returned as the Chief Executive Officer. Using his intuition, determination

Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.

– Steve Jobs

and vision, Jobs steered Apple towards new and unique products – such as the iPad, iPod music player and iTunes music software. With a focus on design and usability, Apple became the biggest name in cutting edge consumer electronics.

In 2007, Apple introduced the iPhone, which revolutionised the mobile phone industry. It was an enormous success, and Jobs became revered as one of the greatest innovators of his era. Fortune magazine put him at the top of their ‘12 greatest entrepreneurs of our time’ list.

Steve Jobs died on 5 October 2011, at the age of 56. He succumbed to pancreatic cancer, which he had been battling for several years.