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"Although firm figures are hard to come by, Ganesan estimates Apple's tally of startups is about 50 percent smaller than companies such as Google, Yahoo and Pay

"Although firm figures are hard to come by, Ganesan estimates Apple's tally of startups is about 50 percent smaller than companies such as Google, Yahoo and PayPal. (Coincidentally, smart thermostat maker Nest, the most prominent startup hatched by Apple alums, was acquired by Google last year.) " They did. Wheather that data is accurate is another matter.

Retric 11y ago
I would argue Pixar is a far more well known example outside of SV.
- jgmmo 11y ago
  What are you talking about? Pixar didn't come from Apple. It came from folks who left Disney. Then Steve Jobs, as himself - not Apple - invested in Pixar.
  - Retric 11y ago
    Pixar did not start up from a few random people leaving a company with a new idea. Jobs paid the company 5 million for the IP and then invested another 5 million to get things started. Granted, he sat on the board instead of being the CEO, but he was far from a hands off invester. Regularly investing more money and eventually becoming the CEO.
    - jgmmo 11y ago
      But you do understand Steve Jobs != Apple. In the argument about whether or not Apple has produced startups you said Pixar was an example, but that is not true. It's an example of Steve Jobs being entrepreneurial.
      - Retric 11y ago
        Sure, but if your going to use the Nest example as an Apple company when the only link is ex apple people + Apple Money then other companies with those sorts of links qualify. Jobs clearly got his money from Apple as well as polishing his stills. So, really if Nest qualifies then clearly Pixar does as well. PS: IMO, it would be reasonable not to include Nest as an Apple startup, but if one qualifies then clearly the other does as well.
  - CyberDildonics 11y ago
    This is not true. Pixar was originally Lucasfilm's computer graphics division lead by Ed Catmull. It was separated and sold to Steve Jobs.
    - jgmmo 11y ago
      True or False, the guys running Pixar were ex-disney cartoonists? What does it matter if they were a division of lucasfilm when Steve Jobs became majority shareholder?
      - BashiBazouk 11y ago
        It's a hell of a lot more complicated than that. The "founders" were not from Disney. John Lasseter who worked for the division that would be spun off from Lucasfilm was. But keep in mind for much of Pixar's life it was a hardware/software company producing tools for all kinds of high end imaging uses including animation. John Lasseter did cool demos and other projects to promote the hardware/software. The modern Pixar powerhouse of animation came to be more from accident/desperation than plan...
      - gdubs 11y ago
        The central core of Pixar, when it originated at Lucasfilm, were people from NYIT led by Ed Catmull. John Lasseter didn't join until later, and he's the only prominent ex-Disney person I'm aware of.
ubernostrum 11y ago
I'd be interested to know what percentage of ex-Apple startups eventually produce actual goods or services which people pay money for, vs. what percentage of ex-Google/Facebook/etc. startups are just buzzword-bingo crap piles that collapse within the year due to not actually having any product or service.

Retric 11y ago

I would argue Pixar is a far more well known example outside of SV.

jgmmo 11y ago
What are you talking about? Pixar didn't come from Apple. It came from folks who left Disney. Then Steve Jobs, as himself - not Apple - invested in Pixar.
- Retric 11y ago
  Pixar did not start up from a few random people leaving a company with a new idea. Jobs paid the company 5 million for the IP and then invested another 5 million to get things started. Granted, he sat on the board instead of being the CEO, but he was far from a hands off invester. Regularly investing more money and eventually becoming the CEO.
  - jgmmo 11y ago
    But you do understand Steve Jobs != Apple. In the argument about whether or not Apple has produced startups you said Pixar was an example, but that is not true. It's an example of Steve Jobs being entrepreneurial.
    - Retric 11y ago
      Sure, but if your going to use the Nest example as an Apple company when the only link is ex apple people + Apple Money then other companies with those sorts of links qualify. Jobs clearly got his money from Apple as well as polishing his stills. So, really if Nest qualifies then clearly Pixar does as well. PS: IMO, it would be reasonable not to include Nest as an Apple startup, but if one qualifies then clearly the other does as well.
- CyberDildonics 11y ago
  This is not true. Pixar was originally Lucasfilm's computer graphics division lead by Ed Catmull. It was separated and sold to Steve Jobs.
  - jgmmo 11y ago
    True or False, the guys running Pixar were ex-disney cartoonists? What does it matter if they were a division of lucasfilm when Steve Jobs became majority shareholder?
    - BashiBazouk 11y ago
      It's a hell of a lot more complicated than that. The "founders" were not from Disney. John Lasseter who worked for the division that would be spun off from Lucasfilm was. But keep in mind for much of Pixar's life it was a hardware/software company producing tools for all kinds of high end imaging uses including animation. John Lasseter did cool demos and other projects to promote the hardware/software. The modern Pixar powerhouse of animation came to be more from accident/desperation than plan...
    - gdubs 11y ago
      The central core of Pixar, when it originated at Lucasfilm, were people from NYIT led by Ed Catmull. John Lasseter didn't join until later, and he's the only prominent ex-Disney person I'm aware of.

ubernostrum 11y ago

I'd be interested to know what percentage of ex-Apple startups eventually produce actual goods or services which people pay money for, vs. what percentage of ex-Google/Facebook/etc. startups are just buzzword-bingo crap piles that collapse within the year due to not actually having any product or service.