The Truth About Apple’s Garage Story

The Truth About Apple’s Garage Story

Strategy

:

Feel Good Story

🚀 Success:

Most valuable company in the world (2023)

🌱 Metrics Improved:

Retention, Viral Coefficient, Purchases Per Customer

In the digital world there are only 4 ways to build a defensible business.

1. Economies of scale
2. A strong brand
3. Network effects
4. Being embedded in systems and habits

Apple is good at each of these, but most importantly it’s probably the strongest brand in the world.

And the best way to create a strong brand is by telling a story…

The formula

When it works best

How it looks in the real-world

Feel Good Story

What’s Apple’s story?

We all know that Apple started making computers out of their garage, right?

It’s a great story, a great underdog story.

But according to Co-Founder of Apple Steve Wozniak:

“We did no designs there, no breadboarding, no prototyping, no planning of products. We did no manufacturing there.”

The truth was a lot scrappier, with most of the work taking place between Wozniak’s cubicle at Hewlett-Packard and Jobs’ bedroom.

People remember stories, the simpler and stranger the better.

So Apple decided to lean on the garage part of their story and it paid off.

Apple still feels a tiny bit like a likeable underdog, even though it’s the most valuable company in the world. (definitely more so than corporate feeling Samsung)

How it works

What’s Apple’s story?

We all know that Apple started making computers out of their garage, right?

It’s a great story, a great underdog story.

But according to Co-Founder of Apple Steve Wozniak:

“We did no designs there, no breadboarding, no prototyping, no planning of products. We did no manufacturing there.”

The truth was a lot scrappier, with most of the work taking place between Wozniak’s cubicle at Hewlett-Packard and Jobs’ bedroom.

People remember stories, the simpler and stranger the better.

So Apple decided to lean on the garage part of their story and it paid off.

Apple still feels a tiny bit like a likeable underdog, even though it’s the most valuable company in the world. (definitely more so than corporate feeling Samsung)

Why it works

What it means for you

What do you want people to feel when they think of your brand?

Craft the right story. Then make sure your product encapsulates it.

Genius rating:

8

/10

Not sure if the Steve’s just copied the founding story of Hewlett-Packard or if they thought through it themselves, but nonetheless it was a genius move.

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Founder

Hey! I'm Cameron.

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Cameron from Conversion Examples and Converted Agency