Born April 4, 1954, Daniel Kotkke was a normal person, with a normal life. His parents lived well, he attended a good private school, then Columbia University, and ended up at Reed College. Do you know who else studied there (although not many)? Steve Jobs.
That’s when the founder of Apple and Daniel became good friends. They studied together, had very similar interests, traveled the world and even did some “curious” substances – let’s leave it at that – together while playing Pink Foyd at full volume. And it was surely his trip to India to seek spiritual enlightenment what united them most.
One of the first employees
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple in 1976. 47 years ago, this little to start up and Jobs’ parents’ garage. Today, this small company has become the largest in the worldand that garage was replaced by Apple Park, a $5 billion building.
Normally, when people talk about the origins of Apple, they usually talk about the two Steves. But Apple was so much more. It certainly wouldn’t be what it is today, and it’s entirely possible that it wouldn’t be without them. But there is much more. Employees, collaborators, businessmen… The Apple Foundation is made up of many more peopleamong them Daniel Kottke.
Daniel was one of the company’s first employees. He started working the same year 1976 in the garage where it all began. His future was bright. In fact, that’s how it was. He was employee number 12 (and Apple now has 164,500), he worked very briefly on the Apple I and especially on the Apple II and Apple III. Its main function was to assemble motherboards, although it also did other things. Elizabeth Holmes, Kottke’s ex-girlfriend, also worked soldering the Apple I.
The problems with Steve Jobs
In principle It would have seemed that Kottke’s career would be tied to Apple his entire life. He was a friend of the founder, he was there from the beginning, he was employee number 12… but things don’t always happen the way we want them to and that’s a very clear case.
When Apple went public in 1980, Daniel wanted to buy shares and he asked for some as a gift for being there from the start. However, this could not be the case. His position was not high enough. More precisely, he had to be at least an engineer, and he was a technician. In any case, it is true that Steve Wozniak gave him some shares out of his own pocket, even if we don’t know how many.
Steve Jobs began to distance himself from him. He didn’t pay much attention to her, sometimes he didn’t even answer her… He ended up offering her a job in marketing so he wouldn’t have to be in the office., but Daniel rejected him. This friendship that had been built over so many years had been ruined, and neither of them knew exactly why. Kottke didn’t exactly end well with Steve. Indeed, he participated in a documentary in which his figure was much questioned: “Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine”.
If there was even a slim chance that they would reestablish their friendship, it disappeared in 1982. Time Magazine published the exclusive: Steve Jobs has a daughter. Jobs then sharply criticized Kottke. because he understood that it was he who, in revenge, had leaked it to the press. In fact, it had, but apparently not out of revenge. In Daniel’s own words:
“I get one last call from him: ‘Could you clarify a question for me? Is it true that Steve has a daughter named Lisa?'” The truth is that I had no doubt… Ma answer was: ‘Yes, of course, he has a daughter named Lisa.’ “I really didn’t know he denied it.”
“I didn’t even understand why he was so angry. I didn’t even know he was publicly denying he was the father.”
His departure from Apple
Finally, in 1984, shortly after the launch of the Macintosh, he left the company. After being fired on September 11, he invested all his capital in a real estate project in the south but lost everything due to a forest fire. He then went to work at The Engineering Dept Inc. After that, he went through several technology companies such as General Magic Inc or Vertical Networks and he didn’t do too badly. His story is the perfect example that economic success is not necessarily the most important success.
If you’ve never heard of Kottke, that last part may have surprised you. How come you haven’t been financially successful? If you started at Apple, surely you must have a lot of money from stocks etc by now, right? Well no. Basically because I never had any shares. Not because he didn’t want to, but because they wouldn’t let him.
The number of shares that engineers received varied greatly depending on their position, their qualities, their responsibilities, etc. It is estimated that each received between 2,000 and 5,000 shares. Let’s say you received an average of 3,500, today valued at 192 dollars each. If he had not sold a single one of his shares today, taking into account the splits that have occurred and inflation, they would today be worth more than 250 million dollars.
What is Daniel Kottke’s current life like?
Kottke continues to work sporadically on technology projects. Currently working at Cobb Mtn Partners LLC, in California. He never stops talking about Apple, dealing with prototypes and models from his time in museums, explaining how they work, etc.
Despite his abrupt departure from the company, he remains very attached to it. Regardless of how his relationship with Jobs and Apple ends, It’s a very important part of your life, and he knows that will never change. Over the years, Kottke has attended events and conferences related to technology and Apple’s history, sharing his experiences and knowledge, and will surely continue to do so.
The truth is that his story is very interesting, and it is very valuable to have been able to assimilate this “loss” of more than 255 million dollars. Many could not. In any case, life is what it is and Kottke should undoubtedly be proud of everything he has done, even if it was not as he would have initially planned.
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