ENTRY #4: Pirates of Silicon Valley

    In this blog entry, I will explore the movie Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999) which was directed by Martyn Burke. This movie is the dramatization of the beginnings of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, their careers, and their impact on modern technology. 

    Pirates of Silicon Valley offers a unique approach in documenting the happenings during the early days of Apple and Microsoft. As a Technopreneurship student, this provided an insight on how successful technopreneurs refine their ideas into marketable and innovative inventions. The two protagonists went through ups and downs, which expressed their inner characters and mindset. However, today we will be focused on Steve Jobs: 

Steve Jobs and His Career

    Jobs was a pioneer in the tech world. He, along with Steve Wozniak, introduced the Apple Computer Inc. in 1976 from his parents' garage. Wozniak was the one who produced the personal computers, with modern designs that made it user-friendly. Jobs' role was in the marketing and business, recruiting programmers to create applications for the pc, increasing its usability and functionality. From then on, despite some hurdles in the way, the company has been growing into the tech giant that we know today.

Successes and Failures as a Technopreneur

    Steve, like every other technopreneur, had terrible losses and failures throughout the development of his business. One of his biggest flaws was his bad professional attitude, being a terrible leader that is too demanding and abrasive. This led to the loss of valuable collaborators and ultimately, to his departure from the company he helped to establish. Another problem that caused poor sales was the high price points of products, which made it unavailable for large groups of people.

    Despite the hurdles. Jobs had immense success as a technopreneur; he envisioned a new age, where anyone can access revolutionary technology in their homes through a personal computer. He was also a genius in creating anticipation and excitement about a new product, increasing reach and sales every time a new product is released. While Wozniak worked on the backend, Jobs specialized on creating the device aesthetics and the UI. This went on to be the Apple brand of being sleek, modern, and clean. 

    As the company grew, the Apple ecosystem did as well, paving the way for inter-connectedness with different types of Apple devices, which encouraged customers to buy different products from the brand.

    His innovations in computing and in the technology industry are immortalized in the success of the Apple brand.

    As a student and future technopreneur, I see myself as someone who thinks about the future. In the fast-evolving technological world, being a visionary is the way to stay ahead of your competitors. Another thing is I envision myself as someone who is inspired by the world, by the current state of society, and by other technopreneurs. 

    If I was to choose if I would follow the same career paths as Steve Jobs, I would answer no. This is because of my lack of expertise about hardware and creating devices. It is not my specialization since I am an information technology student, not an engineering student. However, I do believe that nothing is set in stone, and I might change my mind in the future.