February 7, 2008

Soul vs Cool: On Knowing When to Hold and Knowing When to Fold

applelogo.jpg I've held a small (alas too small) position in Apple stock for some years now and keep vague tags on it via Google Alerts and Google Reader. This morning I noticed this item at Neatorama:

The first Apple logo was a complex picture of Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree. The logo was inscribed: "Newton -- A Mind Forever Voyaging Through Strange Seas of Thought -- Alone." It was designed by Ronald Wayne, who along with Wozniak and Jobs, actually founded Apple Computer. In 1976, after only working for two weeks at Apple, Wayne relinquished his stock (10% of the company) for a one-time payment of $800 because he thought Apple was too risky! - The Evolution of Tech Companies Logos

Today's market cap for Apple is $104 billion. Today, matched against this sum, Wayne could appear to be a fool. But woulda, shouda, coulda are the three imps that keep men who should know better awake at night. But if the market did not make fools it would not make millionaires.

As a character in an early Woody Allen movie says while walking into the sea to drown himself, "I coulda bought Xerox at eight and a half." So coulda many -- at least when it was Haloid. The question is never "Would you have invested then knowing what it would be worth today?," but "Would you have risked your entire net worth 32 years ago... on this?

apple12.jpg
Apple 1, 1976: "Wayne spent his free time consulting on projects such as designing an enclosure for the Apple Computer that had roughly the same shape eventually used on the Apple II, but with a tambour front like on a rolltop desk."

Humm, actually today that seems sort of retro-steampunk engaging. Another way Apple was ahead of its time before its time.

But to Wayne at least it seemed as if Apple was far too far ahead of its time to suit him. As Steve Wozniak recalls,

"Ron Wayne was a third partner for the Apple I 'side' business we started. Steve had 45%, I had 45%, and Ron had 10%. He wrote manuals and could decide things if Steve and I differed. He drew a picture of Newton under an Apple tree that we used on our first tiny manual. He also worked on the manual and wrote our partnership agreement.

"When Steve worked out 30 days credit on parts like chips, and we were able to build and deliver Apple I's and get paid in that 30 days, it was the start of things. But Ron was worried that some day we wouldn't get paid and would owe thousands of dollars on the parts. Steve and I had no money and Ron had gold hidden in his mattress (or some such thing) and they'd try to get it from him. So he sold out for $300 or $800 or some such amount."

And Wayne? Does he have regrets? It would seem not, at least according to the last report:

"I have never had the slightest pangs of regret, because I made the best decision with the information available to me at the time. My contribution was not so great that I felt I had been diddled with in any way." A person of lesser character might be paralyzed with bitterness and self-doubt after walking away from such fame and fortune, but not Ron Wayne. He put it behind him and got on with his life.
Born in 1935, Wayne would be around 73 years old today. There was a brief "Where Are They Now" article at CNet in 1997 that noted he was working for a defense contractor in Salinas, California. After that the Google trail seems to fade away.

I hope Wayne's retired now and living the good life. Perhaps Jobs can find Apple's Third Man bring him back in some sort of emeritus position. After all, a man that can find a way to incorporate Wordsworth into your logo --

And from my pillow, looking forth by light
Of moon or favouring stars, I could behold
The antechapel where the statue stood
Of Newton with his prism and silent face,
The marble index of a mind for ever
Voyaging through strange seas of Thought, alone.

-- and put your motherboards inside a rolltop desk, would be a man worth keeping around. He might even find a way to give the "Oh-So-Cool" Apple what it needs most today -- soul. Don't you think?

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Posted by Vanderleun at February 7, 2008 8:21 AM | TrackBack
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AMERICAN DIGEST HOME
"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.

I suppose Wayne is to Apple as Pete Best is to Apple.

Posted by: Gagdad Bob at February 7, 2008 11:20 AM

A welcome change from political crap - thanks. Now time for a cigar and watch the shuttle....fingers crossed!

Posted by: B....... at February 7, 2008 11:32 AM

Mmmm. Good thoughts there on the wisdom of looking forward even when the rear window image beckons most brightly.

And that logo beats any artistic vision cooked up at the "new" company in the last thirty years, in my book. Trouble is, though, that's just me. Apple has made its fortune with a completely different style; big round shapes, primary colors, soothingly soft glowing things.

If we were talking beverages, we'd have to think of Apple's new and profitable image as a fancy mixed drink with food color and little umbrellas sticking out the top. This logo looks like an advertisement for a dark stout beer. But, as I said, if you're asking my personal opinion, I like it. I like the artwork and I like the metaphor.

Posted by: Morgan K Freeberg at February 7, 2008 11:49 AM

In this world there are guys who buy a painting at a yard sale for 5 bucks that turns out to be a lost Picasso.

In this world there are guys who sell a painting at a yard sale for 5 bucks that turns out to be a lost Picasso.

I am the guy who had first dibs on a painting at a yard sale for 5 bucks that turns out to be a lost Picasso and passed it up.

Posted by: Mumblix Grumph at February 7, 2008 7:14 PM
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