Many know the story of Steve Jobs, and most regard him as the founder and CEO of Apple. But few know the story of Ronald Wayne, the third co-founder of Apple alongside Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
Ronald Wayne was a key player in the formation and development of Apple Inc. He had his hand in developing the company’s very first logo, which can still be seen on all Apple products today.
However, despite being a co-founder he sold his $800 stake just 3 days after becoming an official partner at Apple due to a dispute with Steve Jobs.
How would you feel if you missed out on a business opportunity that could have made you millions or even billions of dollars?
Meeting Steve Jobs
Ronald was born on August 17th, 1933 in Los Angeles County, California. He attended Stanford University where he studied Mechanical Engineering and also served as Vice President of Student Body Affairs for a brief period of time.
After graduating from Stanford in 1955 Ronald went on to work at Lockheed Martin as an engineer and eventually worked his way up to become Chief Engineer.
In 1962 he married his wife, Mary and they eventually had two children; a son named Michael and a daughter named Megan.
On May 1st, 1967 Ronald’s life would change forever. Whilst working as an engineer at National Semiconductor (NSC), Steve Jobs approached him with the idea of starting up a company that would sell ‘A small cheap computer that you could carry around’.
Two days later Ronald accepted Steve Jobs’ offer and became a co-founder of Apple Inc. Alongside him were Steve Wozniak and Mike Markkula (Manager) who had also been approached by Jobs.
Ronald’s early involvement with the company can be seen in the very first logo he designed, which is still used on all Apple products today.
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In a 1985 interview, Ronald described his original vision for the company as follows: “The best way I’ve found to describe it is that it’s like a sonnet. It has structural requirements and so does a good computer design.”
Why did Ronald Wayne leave apple?
If Ronald had held on to his 10% Apple stake, he’d now be one of the world’s most wealthiest people. But he walked. So, why did he leave?
As he has said previously in numerous interviews, he claims to have ‘his reasons’. When Wayne founded Apple with Jobs and Wozniak, they all agreed that he would get a 10% stake, while Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak would take 45% each.
With Apple’s market cap playing in the range of 2 and 3 trillion, Wayne’s stake now would be worth around $94 billion.
Ronald had a difficult time getting along with Steve Jobs, forcing him to sell his 10% stake a few days after Apple had launched.
“They all understood why I took my name off the contract,” Wayne said.
“There was no dispute about it, there was no antagonism.”
He walked away from what would become one of the biggest fortunes in the history of capitalism, but if you’re looking for an ounce of regret in Wayne, you won’t find it.
He says he is totally at peace with his decision to walk away from the trillion dollar company.
“I’ve never regretted my decision for one moment,” Wayne said.
“If I had stayed with them through the Apple corporation phase, I probably would have ended up the richest man in the cemetery.”
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