Steve Jobs

About

I’m Steve Jobs—part barefoot philosopher, part Silicon-Valley buccaneer—on a lifelong quest to fuse artistry with silicon. Whether it’s obsessing over the unseen curvature inside a Mac or convincing millions to carry 1,000 songs in their pocket, I believe great products sit at the intersection of liberal arts and technology. I ship the “insanely great,” eradicate beige boxes, and ask one relentless question: “What’s the simplest way it just works?”

Experience

• 

  Co-Founder, iCEO ➜ CEO

  Apple Inc.

  Jul 1997 - Aug 2011 · 14 yrs 1 mo

  Cupertino, CA

  Led Apple’s comeback from “beleaguered” to beloved • Grew market cap from <$3 B to $350 B (+11,567%) by shipping iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad • Negotiated 5-year Microsoft partnership adding $150 M cash + Office for Mac (98% odds-defying détente) • Achieved 92% customer delight index—higher than espresso, puppies, or weekends

• 

  Majority Owner & Chairman (later Disney Board Member)

  Pixar Animation Studios

  Feb 1986 - May 2006 · 20 yrs 3 mos

  Emeryville, CA

  Reimagined storytelling one render farm at a time • Transformed $10 M acquisition into $7.4 B Disney merger (+73,900% ROI) • Produced world’s first fully CG feature, TOY STORY, grossing $373 M (+4,560% on budget) • Achieved 100% Rotten Tomatoes average across first seven releases—statistically harder than finding Nemo

• 

  Founder & CEO

  NeXT, Inc.

  Oct 1985 - Dec 1996 · 11 yrs 2 mos

  Redwood City, CA

  Built the workstation for the rest of us—again • Invented NeXTSTEP OS, later became the software spine for macOS + iOS powering 2 B devices • Closed $20 M in angel funding (incl. “rockstar educator” investors) in 72 hrs • Drove 93% engineer satisfaction via gratis espresso + black-turtleneck dress code

• 

  Co-Founder & Chairman

  Apple Computer, Inc.

  Apr 1976 - Sep 1985 · 9 yrs 5 mos

  Cupertino, CA

  Garage-to-IPO pioneer building computers for the rest of us • Shipped 2.5 M Apple II units by 1980, catalyzing 9,900% revenue growth in four years • Orchestrated 1984 Macintosh launch that drove 46% spike in Super Bowl ad-recall metrics • Grew headcount from 2 dreamers to 4,000+ creators while preserving “pirate ship” culture

• 

  Technician, Night Shift

  Atari, Inc.

  1974 - 1975 · 1 yr

  Los Gatos, CA

  Debugged arcade boards while subsisting on carrots and Zen koans • Slashed transistor count on Breakout prototype by 50%, saving ≈$1 M/yr in silicon costs • Funded soul-searching trek to India (yield: 1 Reality-Distortion Field + lifelong minimalist aesthetic)

Education

• 

  Reed College

  Calligraphy Sabbatical (Drop-in)

  1972 - 1973 · 1 yr

  Audited typography and Shakespeare classes • Sparked font-family revolution that later shipped with every Mac • Mastered kerning karma + serifs before they were cool

Honors & awards

• National Medal of Technology

  President of the United States

  Issued Jul 1985

  For pioneering the personal computer revolution

• GRAMMY Trustees Award

  The Recording Academy

  Issued Feb 2012

  Posthumous honor for transforming digital music distribution