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From Steve Jobs’ Life: Get A VC Who Missed Out On A Previous Winning Opporunity

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Get A VC Who Missed Out On A Previous Winning Opportunity:

the initial 18 months of development needed to get NeXT going required $7 million dollars of Jobs’ own money. NeXT was valued at 30 million dollars, and there was little to show for it, and no revenue. Ross Perot was dazzled by Steve Jobs’ vision based on a now famous documentary about NeXT. Ross Perot had made his fortune competing against IBM and had become a VC for other aspiring entrepreneurs in tech. The fact was that Ross Perot missed out a deal with Bill Gates at Microsoft during the early days at Microsoft and Perot deeply regretted it. Ross Perot would get 16% of equity in the company for $20 million after Jobs put in another $5 million meaning the company was worth $126 million dollars. Ross Perot built a narrative around Steve Jobs about “a rags to richest genius who had to either start a company or get a job, a week later the Apple I was finished.” It was a fantasy that Ross Perot created.

This is an analysis based on Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson and other sources of research. Enjoy.

 More from Steve Job’s Life by Walter Isaacson
Location Really Does Matter for EntrepeurshipChildhood Shapes Your Thinking
Go Get What You Want, If You Have the CourageEducation Is For Conformists
Assume That You Will Die YoungGo To India
Pranking People Requires Creative ThinkingStarting A Company Is Very Difficult
Meet a Brilliant & Nobel EngineerMeetups Bring Insanely Great Ideas Together
Knowing What You Wanted to DoExclude Relevant Information Where Necessary
Have Discipline Over Body and MindPicking A Name is as Simple As Picking Apples
Crime Does Pay!!??Sharing Ideas Is Fine Up To A Point
Most Good Ideas Have to Be Force Down Peoples ThroatsXerox Parc
Run Your Company Our Of Your Parents HouseMike Markkula’s Marketing Theory Is Built Around Three Areas
MacKenna’s Advertising Style WorkedDon’t Worry About A Business Plan Until You Need Investment in a Serious Venture
Create A Simple Product For HouseholdsYour Product Needs to be a Full Simple Package
Jobs’ Management Style Was “Shit” from ’77 to ’85A Startup Will Become Impersonal With Success
Apple III was a bastard childBeing Abandoned = Ignoring Reality
Good Artists Borrow, Great Artists StealSurround Yourself With “A Players”
Reality Distortion FieldBe At The Nexus of Humanities and Technology
Believe In A Closed System & Product ControlMarket Research Is For Idiots
Motivate With The Big PictureUnhealthy Competition Within A Company Can be Corrosive
The Best & Most Innovative Products Don’t Always WinEras Are Defined by Partnerships & Rivalry – Gates Versus Jobs Round 1
Genius Versus Shit-HeadThe Boardroom Showdown & Emotionality
Advertising Does MatterA Messy Company Can Still Work
A Clean Factory Is Insanely Great But The Product Has To SellBeing Right Isn’t As Important As Winning
Imperfection Is A Moral WrongBringing In An Outside Expert Can Be Costly
The Original Macintosh Had Bad SalesFall From Grace Through Management Incompetence
Finding Similarities Between Yourself & Your Business Partner May Not Be GoodEras Are Defined By Partnerships & Rivalry – Gates Versus Jobs Round 2
Force An Ultimatum To Get Control of a CompanyNever Tell The Allies of Your Opposition That You’re Planning a Coup
Brilliant Failures Help You GrowDesign Should Not Trump Processing
Do Not Disrespect Your Potential Business PartnersGet Real On Your Lean Startup
Get A VC Who Missed Out On A Previous Winning OpportunityAvoid The Problem of Focusing on the Small
Gain Financial Control Against Your Business PartnersRivalry of the Ants & Breaking With Disney
Build A Board That Cannot Operate Independently of the CEODo Not Chase Profits, Chase Value
Do Not Force Other Businesses Into Your Closed SystemHow To Save A Dying Tech Company – Fire the Board Or Resign
Merge Your Venture With A Giant That You Can Take OverTargeting the Education Market Is Not Lucrative
How to Save Dying Tech Company – Return To Your Successful RootsHow to Save a Dying Tech Company – Make Products Not Profit, Fundamentally
Skate Where the Puck’s Going, Not Where It’s BeenThe Loser Now Will Be Soon To Win
The Internet Is Made For MusicBrand Yourself Differently
Don’t Be Afraid to CannibalizeCreate Complimentary Product Offerings Without a Lead Loss Generator
Focus On What People Really Want…1,000 SongsGoogle’s “Don’t Be Evil Mantra” is Bullshit
Get Yourself Into the Cloud & A CastleDon’t Fear Change In Industry, Anticipate It
Create An Inventory Management System & Build a Store That WorksConverge Old Devices Into 1 New Device
Do Not Ignore Medical Diagnoses Make Peace With Your Old Enemies