10 years before the iPhone, Sony released a floppy disk digital camera:
Jon Erlichman’s Tweets
A story about Amazon 23 years ago:
5
17
102
Tesla vehicles sold each year:
2023: 2,000,000 (Musk estimate)
2022: 1,313,851
2021: 936,222
2020: 499,550
2019: 367,500
2018: 245,240
2017: 103,097
2016: 76,295
2015: 50,580
2014: 31,655
2013: 22,477
2012: 2,650
2011: 0
11
46
207
Reactions to the first ATM in 1967:
3
31
239
Tesla’s revenue every hour:
2022: $9,299,315
2021: $6,144,178
2020: $3,600,000
2019: $2,805,708
2018: $2,449,886
2017: $1,342,352
2016: $799,087
2015: $435,149
2014: $365,068
2013: $229,909
2012: $47,146
2011: $23,288
2010: $13,356
2009: $12,785
2008: $1,712
2007: $8
9
60
263
And along the way, Nike’s sales have risen from $ 8,000 in year one…
…to $8,000 every 5 seconds today.
2
5
66
Show this thread
Obviously there are lots of other milestones. But there are some common standout themes.
One, is innovation.
Here is the first patent in 1972:
2
4
40
Show this thread
2003: Nike signs an 18-year-old
LeBron James to a $90 million deal.
2
7
53
Show this thread
1988: “Just Do It” campaign begins.
This was the first commercial:
1
10
64
Show this thread
1984: Michael Jordan wears Air Jordans for the first time.
Nike had hoped for $3 million in Jordan sales over 4 years.
Today, Nike generates about $3 million in Jordan sales every 5 hours.
2
8
86
Show this thread
1980: Nike goes public.
The IPO pitch goes well, although Nike finds itself competing for investor attention with another business…
…that same month, a computer company called Apple goes public.
1
5
33
Show this thread
1977: customs fight nearly ends Nike.
Phil Knight got a letter from customs saying Nike owed $25 million.
That represented all of its sales.
He suspected his rivals were to blame.
“If we lost, we were kaput,” he later said.
1
6
40
Show this thread
1971: the swoosh.
Name changes to Nike.
Knight hires a graphic design student to create the logo.
She was paid $35 for her design.
(She later received stock when Nike went public)
1
12
79
Show this thread
1967: the first store.
Nike was originally called Blue Ribbon.
Knight sold Onitsuka Tiger shoes that be imported from Japan.
1
6
50
Show this thread
Nike was founded this day in 1964.
After initially selling product out of the trunk of his car…
…Phil Knight would go on to build the world’s biggest footwear company.
Here are 8 Nike milestones…🧵
7
117
659
Show this thread
Right before the deal was announced, Jobs told Iger he was not well.
He gave Iger the option to walk away.
But Iger felt they should proceed.
And so they did.
Here’s Iger in his own words:
2
17
189
Show this thread
Bob Iger succeeded Michael Eisner.
He felt Disney Animation needed a boost.
Buying Pixar and its talented team would do that, even though it’d be expensive.
Iger won over both Disney’s board and Steve Jobs.
And everything was in place, until Jobs confided in Iger…
4
4
47
Show this thread
Basically, Pixar made the movies.
Disney handled distribution and marketing.
But as time passed, they squabbled over profit splits.
And by 2004, Jobs had had enough.
He said Pixar would be moving on…
…until a CEO switch at Disney changed everything.
1
1
42
Show this thread
One week after Toy Story’s release, Pixar went public.
The IPO made Steve Jobs a billionaire.
Meanwhile, a lucrative partnership with Disney was just getting started…
1
3
52
Show this thread
It took nearly a decade, but Pixar eventually released the first computer animated feature film.
And it was a massive hit.
Toy Story ruled the box office hit on Thanksgiving weekend.
2
5
83
Show this thread
First, some context on Pixar.
It was a computer graphics unit of Lucasfilm.
George Lucas wanted to sell it.
Steve Jobs had been pushed out at Apple a year earlier.
When he learned Pixar was for sale, he decided to buy it for $5 million.
1
5
59
Show this thread
Disney acquired Pixar for $7.4 billion on this day in 2006.
There were several reasons why the deal nearly didn’t happen…
…even in the final minutes before it was announced.
Here’s the full story… 🧵
5
81
707
Show this thread
The Mac’s influence is hard to ignore.
It helped usher in an new era.
Computers…were for everyone.
A powerful message that has helped carry the brand for nearly 40 years.
5
38
Show this thread
But, there were problems.
One in particular: the cost.
In today’s prices, it’d be $7,000.
That price tag hurt sales.
It led to tensions between Jobs and his hand picked CEO, John Sculley.
Amazingly…a year after Mac’s launch, Jobs was forced out of the company.
2
2
31
Show this thread
Portability was also important.
23 years before the iPhone, Jobs was already presenting a world where computers could travel with you.
2
10
42
Show this thread
Microsoft was a key partner in the Macintosh launch…
…creating software, including the first version of Microsoft Word.
1
2
44
Show this thread
Apple’s Jef Raskin dreamed of a PC that was truly designed for people.
He had long felt computers should have graphical interfaces, rather than text based ones.
He named the Macintosh after his favourite Apple…
..which is spelt MacIntosh.
But that name was already in use.
1
14
Show this thread
Apple had built momentum two days earlier, when its famous 1984 ad had aired during the Super Bowl.
Jobs’ unveiling took place at Apple’s annual shareholder meeting.
2
3
39
Show this thread
Steve Jobs unveiled the Macintosh computer on this day in 1984.
19
178
985
Show this thread
5
19
44
IBM released its first PC in 1981.
It hoped to sell about 240,000 computers in the first 5 years.
It sold 3 million.
10
56
249
The OpenAI deal is easily the largest investment Microsoft has made.
In 1999, it invested $5 billion in AT&T.
In 1997, it invested $1 billion in Comcast.
And in 2007, there was the notable investment in Facebook…Microsoft acquired a 1.6% stake for $240 million.
2
5
61
Show this thread
Microsoft’s $20 billion acquisition of Nuance is a notable standout.
The company specializes in voice recognition and related software in the health care industry.
3
4
66
Show this thread
Microsoft was one of the leading AI acquirers between 2010-2021:
Apple: 29 acquisitions
Google: 15 acquisitions
Facebook: 13 acquisitions
Microsoft: 12 acquisitions
Amazon: 8 acquisitions
Total: 77 acquisitions
Sources: Bloomberg, CB Insights
2
9
70
Show this thread
Microsoft’s biggest acquisitions
Activision Blizzard: $68.7 billion*
Linkedin: $26.2 billion
Nuance: $19.7 billion
Skype: $8.5 billion
ZeniMax: $7.5 billion
GitHub: $7.5 bilion
Nokia phone unit: $7.2 billion
aQuantive: $6.3 billion
Mojang (Minecraft): $2.5 billion
*deal pending
3
24
97
Show this thread