When Apple became an Alpha

The spring of 1976 had new plans for the entire world when Steve Wozniak decided he

wanted a computer.

Like most entrepreneurs his age, Wozniak’s first instinct to get a computer was to create

one himself. As a 26-year old engineering intern at Hewlett-Packard, he enthusiastically

presented his thoughts and ideas to his employer; the latter had no interest in a mere intern

and was swift to dismiss Wozniak. Wozniak, hurt and outraged, turned to his former high

school friend - Steve Jobs.

Jobs and Wozniak went to the former’s garage, and along with the help of Ronald

Wayne, began the foundation of Apple Inc. on 1st April 1976. They had no equipment or

monitors - the only thing they had was vision.

None of them knew that this would mark the beginning of one of the most influential

tech companies in the world. Jobs and Wozniak each held a 45% stake in the company; Wayne had a 10% partnership stake. To fund their venture with working capital, Jobs sold his Volkswagen minibus and Wozniak his programmable calculator.

Their first angel investor came in the form of Intel Corporation veteran Armas Clifford

“Mike” Markkula, and the company unveiled its inaugural product, the Apple I, in July 1976

at a Homebrew Computer Club meeting. Selling for $666.66, the Apple I was a bare

motherboard with a basic CPU, random access memory (RAM), and video capabilities, but no keyboard or monitor. Nevertheless, the company’s first product marked the garage start-

up’s first success—however minor—selling 200 units that year. Later that year, Ronald Wayne decided to leave the fledgling company, selling back his 10% share for $800.

The departure of Wayne did not discourage Jobs and Wozniak. If anything, it

strengthened their determination. With Markkula’s early investment of $250,000 and his

business expertise, Apple was no longer just a group of young visionaries tinkering in a

garage; it was beginning to resemble a real company. Markkula’s influence was immense—he not only provided financial backing but also the credibility that enabled Apple to secure

suppliers, hire staff, and dream bigger.

In 1977, the team launched the Apple II, a machine that would define Apple’s early

success and revolutionise the personal computing industry. Unlike its predecessor, the Apple

II wasn’t just a bare circuit board—it came with a plastic casing, colour graphics, and the ability to be mass-produced for households and schools. It was sleek, approachable, and user-

friendly, all qualities that would become Apple’s trademark in the decades ahead. The Apple II was a hit, selling millions over its lifetime and establishing Apple as a serious player in

Silicon Valley.

But success came with its own set of challenges. By the early 1980s, Apple faced

competition from giants like IBM, which entered the personal computer market with

formidable resources and brand trust. Jobs and Wozniak knew they had to respond with

innovation, and so the company poured its energy into creating the Apple Lisa and, later, the

Macintosh. The Lisa, despite its advanced graphical user interface, was commercially unsuccessful due to its high price. However, the Macintosh, unveiled in 1984 with the now-

iconic “1984” Super Bowl commercial directed by Ridley Scott, became a cultural phenomenon. It introduced a new era of computing with its mouse-driven interface, showing the world that computers could be personal, intuitive, and even fun.

Behind the scenes, though, tensions were brewing. Wozniak, ever the engineer at heart,

gradually stepped back from Apple to pursue other passions after a plane crash and his

growing disinterest in corporate politics. Jobs, on the other hand, found himself increasingly

at odds with Apple’s board and then-CEO John Sculley. The visionary founder who had once

fuelled Apple’s rise was ousted from his own company in 1985, a bitter twist in the story he

helped create.

Apple struggled without him. Through the late 1980s and early 1990s, the company

faced declining sales, product missteps, and an identity crisis as competitors surged ahead.

Yet destiny had other plans. In 1997, Apple—on the brink of collapse—brought Jobs back

through its acquisition of NeXT, the company he had founded during his exile. His return

marked the beginning of Apple’s renaissance.

From there, the story unfolded into legend: the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad

—all innovations that reshaped industries and lifestyles around the globe. What began in a

cramped garage in 1976 as a dream between two friends had grown into one of the most

valuable and influential companies on Earth.

Apple’s story is not just about technology; it is about vision, resilience, and the belief

that a small group of determined individuals can indeed change the world.