The Power of the Marginal
Now a startup operating out of a garage in Silicon Valley would feel part of an exalted tradition, like the poet in his garret, or the painter who can’t afford to heat his studio and thus has to wear a beret indoors. But in 1976 it didn’t seem so cool. The world hadn’t yet realized that starting a computer company was in the same category as being a writer or a painter. It hadn’t been for long. Only in the preceding couple years had the dramatic fall in the cost of hardware allowed outsiders to compete.In 1976, everyone looked down on a company operating out of a garage, including the founders. One of the first things Jobs did when they got some money was to rent office space. He wanted Apple to seem like a real company.
They already had something few real companies ever have: a fabulously well designed product. You’d think they’d have had more confidence. But I’ve talked to a lot of startup founders, and it’s always this way. They’ve built something that’s going to change the world, and they’re worried about some nit like not having proper business cards.
That’s the paradox I want to explore: great new things often come from the margins, and yet the people who discover them are looked down on by everyone, including themselves.
Photo by clambert.
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