On 6/9/2022 9:56 PM, BTR1701 wrote:
> Every time you want to kick yourself for making a bad decision, remember Ron
> Wayne...
>
>
> On April 1, 1976, Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak met at Ron Wayne's apartment
> in Mountain View to draw up the partnership agreement for their new company,
> Apple Computer. Wayne said he had some experience "writing legalese", so he
> composed the 3-page document himself. His legalese got the better of him.
> Paragraphs began with various flourishes: "Be it noted herewith... Be it
> further noted herewith... Now the refore [sic], in consideration of the
> respective assignments of interests..." But the division of shares and profits
> was clear-- 45%-45%-10%-- and it was stipulated that any expenditure of more
> than $100 would require agreement of at least two partners. Also, the
> responsibilities were spelled out. "Wozniak shall assume both general and
> major responsibility for the conduct of Electrical Engineering; Jobs shall
> assume general responsibility for the conduct of Electrical Engineering and
> Marketing; and Wayne shall assume major responsibility for Mechanical
> Engineering and Documentation". Jobs signed in lowercase script, Wozniak in
> careful cursive, and Wayne in an illegible squiggle.
>
> Wayne then got cold feet.
>
> As Jobs started planning to borrow and spend more money, Wayne recalled the
> failure of his own slot machine company. He didn't want to go through that
> again. Jobs and Wozniak had no personal assets, but Wayne (who constantly
> worried about global financial armageddon) kept gold coins hidden in his
> mattress. Because they had structured Apple as a simple partnership rather
> than a corporation, the partners would be personally liable for the debts, and
> Wayne was afraid potential creditors would go after him. So he returned to the
> Santa Clara County office just eleven days later with a "statement of
> withdrawal" and an amendment to the partnership agreement. "By virtue of a
> re-assessment of understandings by and between all parties," it began, "Wayne
> shall hereinafter cease to function in the status of 'Partner'." It noted that
> in payment for his 10% of the company, he received $800, and shortly
> afterward, $1500 more.
>
> Had he stayed on and kept his 10% stake, at the end of 2010, it would have
> been worth approximately $2,600,000,000. Instead, he was then living alone in
> a small home in Pahrump, Nevada, where he played the penny slot machines and
> lived off his Social Security check.

A true logician is one able to see the rightness of Wayne's decision...

On 6/10/2022 3:28 AM, BTR1701 wrote:
> In article <t7uovr$tec$1@gioia.aioe.org>,
> Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> wrote:
>
>> On 2022-06-10 02:44:19 +0000, moviePig said:
>
>>> On 6/9/2022 9:56 PM, BTR1701 wrote:
>
>>>> Every time you want to kick yourself for making a bad decision, remember
>>>> Ron Wayne...
>>>>
>>>> On April 1, 1976, Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak met at Ron Wayne's
>>>> apartment in Mountain View to draw up the partnership agreement for
>>>> their new company, Apple Computer. Wayne said he had some experience
>>>> "writing legalese", so he composed the 3-page document himself. His
>>>> legalese got the better of him. Paragraphs began with various flourishes:
>>>> "Be it noted herewith... Be it further noted herewith... Now the
>>>> refore [sic], in consideration of the respective assignments of
>>>> interests..." But the division of shares and profits was clear--
>>>> 45%-45%-10%-- and it was stipulated that any expenditure of more than
>>>> $100 would require agreement of at least two partners. Also, the
>>>> responsibilities were spelled out. "Wozniak shall assume both general
>>>> and major responsibility for the conduct of Electrical Engineering;
>>>> Jobs shall assume general responsibility for the conduct of Electrical
>>>> Engineering and Marketing; and Wayne shall assume major responsibility
>>>> for Mechanical Engineering and Documentation". Jobs signed in lowercase
>>>> script, Wozniak in careful cursive, and Wayne in an illegible squiggle.
>>>>
>>>> Wayne then got cold feet.
>>>>
>>>> As Jobs started planning to borrow and spend more money, Wayne recalled
>>>> the failure of his own slot machine company. He didn't want to go through
>>>> that again. Jobs and Wozniak had no personal assets, but Wayne (who
>>>> constantly worried about global financial armageddon) kept gold coins
>>>> hidden in his mattress. Because they had structured Apple as a simple
>>>> partnership rather than a corporation, the partners would be personally
>>>> liable for the debts, and Wayne was afraid potential creditors would go
>>>> after him. So he returned to the Santa Clara County office just eleven
>>>> days later with a "statement of withdrawal" and an amendment to the
>>>> partnership agreement. "By virtue of a re-assessment of understandings
>>>> by and between all parties," it began, "Wayne shall hereinafter cease
>>>> to function in the status of 'Partner'." It noted that in payment for
>>>> his 10% of the company, he received $800, and shortly afterward, $1500
>>>> more.
>>>>
>>>> Had he stayed on and kept his 10% stake, at the end of 2010, it would have
>>>> been worth approximately $2,600,000,000. Instead, he was then living
>>>> alone in a small home in Pahrump, Nevada, where he played the penny
>>>> slot machines and lived off his Social Security check.
>>>
>>> A true logician is one able to see the rightness of Wayne's decision...
>>
>> If Jobs hadn't "returned" and/or Apple had gone bankrupt, Wayne's share
>> would be absolutely nothing ... or even potentially have to pay 10% of
>> Apple's outstanding debts.
>
> By the time Apple was in danger of going bankrupt, it had been
> restructured from a partnership into a corporation. Wayne would not have
> been personally liable for any debts.
>
> As for his share being worth nothing, yep, he would have been out that
> 2300 bucks. He'd was risking losing a little over 2K vs the possibility
> of it turning into $2.6 billion...

You're talking about expected loss vs. expected gain ...which it sounds
as though he'd have been realistic about. What we *might* be able to
second-guess is whether he lost sight of/faith in his original "vision".