He’s been deemed “the greatest marketer of all time.” There are countless stories of his outbursts and his stubbornness, but also of his iconic innovation, his inspirational personality (for some) and his revolutionary methods in everything from product design to branding.
Ever since I got my first Apple II when I was 12, I knew that someday I wanted to go work for “the guy who made that.” I dropped out of grad school after landing a job at NeXT and drove down from Winnipeg to sunny California. At the time I couldn’t have pointed out Silicon Valley on a map, but I knew in my gut that was where I wanted to be.
I began my career at NeXT, and then Apple. The time I spent there laid the groundwork for not only my entrepreneurial career path, but also my entrepreneurial DNA. It was the culture of Jobs’ companies that played the most crucial role in this development. Sure, there was an air of fear that I didn’t quite agree with, but I came out of that company learning lessons that I’ve implemented into every one of my companies.