Apple Inc. was co-founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne.
Wayne was older than Jobs and Wozniak and brought business experience to their new venture. He wrote Apple’s original partnership agreement, designed an early Apple logo, and drafted documentation for the Apple I computer. His role helped give the young partnership a more formal business structure.
Wayne left Apple only 12 days after its founding. He sold his 10% stake back to Jobs and Wozniak for US$800, later receiving an additional payment of US$1,500. The decision protected him from potential debts connected with the business, but it also meant he did not benefit from Apple’s extraordinary later growth.
People sometimes remember only Jobs and Wozniak because they became Apple’s best-known leaders. Wayne nevertheless was legally one of the company’s three original co-founders. Apple later became one of the world’s largest companies by market capitalization.