Everyone knows about the set of Steves that started a little company named Apple Computer in a garage in Palo Alto back in 1976.
Hardly anyone has heard of Ron Wayne, who was the third co-founder of the company.
Wayne was hired by Jobs to produce Apple’s first logo — an artistic piece of Newton sitting under a tree — and the manual for the Apple I. He has been described in several books as the one person who could get in between the two Steves and help them reconcile their often different points of view.
In the original contract, Wayne was given 10% of the company’s worth.
On April 12 — a mere 11 days after starting Apple — Wayne left the company. He was unable to keep up with Jobs and Wozniak, and was fearful the two young entrepreneurs would soon be out of business, leaving him financially responsible for the company’s debts. His total payout — $800.
In an interview with CNN, he said:
When you’re at a focal point of history, you don’t realize you’re at a focal point.
No kidding.