Steve Wozniak
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
I was disappointed, Wozniak said, but now I was free to enter the Apple partnership.
A few weeks later, Wozniak showed the finished circuit board to other HP engineers.
Then his phone rang.
It was Jobs.
Are you sitting down?
No.
Well, guess what?
I've got a $50,000 order.
Paul Terrell from Byteshop wanted 100 computers fully built for $500 each.
I was shocked.
$50,000 was more than twice my annual salary.
With that kind of money on the table, Wozniak decided to give HP one more chance.
Their legal department contacted every division in the company.
It took two weeks.
Still no interest.
They even sent Wozniak a formal letter releasing all claims to his design.
I see now that HP would have done it wrong anyway, Wozniak reflected later.
When they finally built a personal computer in 1979, it went nowhere.
The bite shop order changed everything.
Jobs negotiated cash on delivery.