Turning Down A Chance To Own 10% Of Apple

from the have-any-regrets? dept

Computer Shopper is running an article, written by the magazine's first editor, Stan Veit, talking about his experience running a small computer store in NY and dealing with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak before Apple was even a company -- when they were pushing him to sell their Apple I machines (which were more computer boards than complete machines at the time). But the most amusing part is Steve Jobs' offer to give him 10% of the company in exchange for $10,000. It's an entertaining look into some of the very, very early days of Apple (when Woz was still working at HP). As for the opportunity (which Veit turned down) to invest, well, there's a bit of a twist at the very end of the article, care of Woz's mom.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: history, stan veit, steve jobs, steve wozniak
Companies: apple


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 8 Dec 2008 @ 6:25am

    For those not willing to put up with 5 pages of popups and ads

    Mrs. Wozniak said, “Don’t feel bad, you were not the first person Jobs offered stock in the company for a small investment. When the boys needed printed circuit boards, Jobs offered an interest in the company to the man who did the boards. However they managed to pay for the boards and the man never got any stock. When Apple went public, Jobs would not give stock to several employees who made the Apple possible. My son gave them stock out of his allotment, or they would have never benefited from the long hours and devotion they put in to start the company. If you had given Jobs the money, he would have found a way to keep you from getting the stock."

    So this makes Jobs sound like a real asshole.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      ehrichweiss, 8 Dec 2008 @ 8:34am

      Re: For those not willing to put up with 5 pages of popups and ads

      You mean.."this paints a perfect picture of how shady Steve Jobs really can be".

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 8 Dec 2008 @ 6:39am

    But Jobs pretty much is a real asshole...

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 8 Dec 2008 @ 6:54am

    It sounds like he gave away 10% of the stock 100 times

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    rockerest, 8 Dec 2008 @ 8:20am

    @#1: Jobs IS a real asshole. The shine has just started to wear off.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    LazerusKing, 8 Dec 2008 @ 8:41am

    He is a CEO

    Is he not? He's doing his job.
    While I don't agree with his tactics Jobs is doing what he feels is the right thing.
    @#5. I have to agree rockerest.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2008 @ 11:24pm

    Woz is the real inventor, hardcore geek and all-round admirable chap. That's why he 'left' (was shunted out) the day the company was taken over by the stuffed shirts (a.k.a. Jobs' Gang).

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 18 Feb 2010 @ 7:25pm

    jobs is a real tosser He see the vision and the Dollar and will step on anyone to get it, his apple 3 was a flop which he oversaw but did not design because he doesnt have a clue and then hired someone else to superceed it which became the apple mac then jobs took the credit for it. He can program but does not really design anything but like gates takes other peoples ideas and then gets rid off them! jobs is and ass and is a fraud like gates ! I could write an encyclopieda on the pr%#ks! when i lean how to spell that is!

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.