Apple, an everyday familiar word for everyone, stood altogether for very different meanings before and after Steve Jobs. In this success story, we will talk about this hugely successful American businessman, a cultural icon and a widely admired inventor and entrepreneur of our times.

Who was he?
Steve Jobs (1932 - 2011) was best known as a co-founder and CEO of Apple, as well as the CEO of Pixar Animation Studios. He was also CEO founder and chairman of NeXT Inc., and a member of The Walt Disney Company’s board of directors. By role, he could be described as a businessman, entrepreneur and an industrial designer. When Jobs died, at the age of 56 in 2011, he had a net worth of $10.2 billion.

What he created?
Steve's most famous creations are as follows:

• Apple I & II: Steve and his co-founder Steve Wozniak created the Apple I in 1976, a personal computer with no monitor, no keyboard and no mouse. Apple II was an improved and updated version of the previous model, this time with a keyboard, monitor and a new operating system launched in 1977. The Apple II was one of the first mass-produced, widely popular and profitable personal microcomputers in the world.
• The Macintosh: Called Mac for short, 'Macintosh' personal computer was introduced in 1984. It was a giant leap forward with innovative graphics interface and mouse which was an efficient, easy-to-use substitute for the keyboard, along with keyboard too.
• Pixar: An animated film studio, Steve created Pixar which went on to win 26 Oscars and many other awards for the production of films such as 'Toy Story', 'Wall-E' and 'Finding Nemo,' all huge successes. In 2006, Pixar was sold to The Walt Disney Company.
• The Cube: Unlike anything before, Cube was a radical design that gave a compact desktop computer contained in a clear plastic cube. Launched in the year 2000, it won many awards for its design.
• The iPod: Launched in 2001, it was basically a computer hard drive with a set of earbuds and a control system which enabled users to store and playback music and songs. The songs could be bought online at the iTunes retailer for as tiny amounts. Was a great innovative product at that time.
• The MacBook Launched in 2006, the MacBook laptop computer had all the capabilities of a desktop computer. Eventually, the MacBook outsold all competing laptops. Was a revolutionary product of its' time.
• The iPad Tablet: The iPad tablet had many of the capabilities of a laptop computer but was thin and lightweight, with a touch-screen interface, audio capability and internet connectivity. Was again a great revolutionary product.
• The iPhone: Fitting comfortably into your palm, the iPhone, released in 2007, gave many new and exciting features compared to other mobile phones at that time with a very attractive design. Many other smartphone applications were added as subsequent models were released. iPhone is still revered today and has a huge fan following in the whole world.
• Other Creations: Among other creations are the iTunes and the App Store and the entire Apple retail store experience which is perhaps the best success case study for any retail store of its kind.

Why was he revered?
Perhaps never since Thomas Edison, has any American inventor so widely and profoundly influenced our lives with his innovations as Steve Jobs has done. Steve has been credited with revolutionising specifically six industries - personal computing, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing. Steve’s creative genius pioneered the transformation of the computer industry and introduced revolutionary products. Most of the basic things that we use today like mobile phones, tablets and laptops are the creations of Steve Jobs which pushed the products to such levels of excellence and admiration as no one else could.

Work Life:
Steve also had the reputation of a hot-tempered manager and had trouble socialising throughout his life. In spite of this, he was approved by 97% of Apple employees in his later years. Unlike most tech companies founders, he had neither any engineering experience nor any business training; he had quit college after just one semester! However, Steve focussed on what he did best - creating products, hiring the right people to run business, marketing, branding, and being the public face of the company. Steve Jobs had a very hands-on approach to product design, something he greatly loved doing. He was also a great visionary who could foresee what products would work in the future. Even Bill Gates acknowledged how impressed he was by the instinctual grasp of technology that Steve seemed to have. Steve Jobs became famous also because of his magnetic charisma and incredible showmanship, which he demonstrated at every Apple event.

Apple Success:
Steve took over as CEO of Apple at a time of struggle (1997) to make it the best of the tech world and world leader in brand recognition and innovation. At the time of his death, Apple was one of the largest, most profitable and most influential tech companies on the planet. This was after Steve was fired from this company which he had co-founded in 1976 and later fired in 1985.

There are things that Steve Jobs has been credited with which is still revered by millions. Innovation, vision, product design, customer satisfaction, dynamic work culture and the relentless pursuit of excellence is what Steve Jobs stand out. He was and will always remain a true inspiration for us.