William White's youth stunned a few guys. Although Steve Jobs was also young, he deliberately tried to appear more mature.
The two companies were very close to each other. A short walk got them there. The folks from Apple arrived noticeably earlier than the agreed time.
In a more formal setting, such behavior would have been considered very rude. But in Silicon Valley, it was a different story. This was a young man's world. If anyone was too fussy, they'd get laughed at.
After a round of small talk, William White didn't waste much time on politeness and led them directly to the conference room.
To these people, William White looked more like an engineer. Although he was in a suit, it wasn't very formal. He dressed similarly to engineers in Silicon Valley, not the elite of Wall Street.
The conference room appeared somewhat chaotic. On a large conference table, there were four or five Apple computers. Clearly, these computers had been taken apart; some even had open cases.
This messy situation didn't bother them at all. In fact, it made them even more excited.
"Gentlemen, would you like some coffee? I don't have much else here. I haven't officially opened yet, so I can't do much," he said.
"Don't worry about it, coffee is more than enough. Mr. White, can we take a look at the software first?" one of them replied.
"Markkula, just call me William. The projector isn't set up yet, so I'll use this computer for the demonstration. The machines in front of you are all ready. You can check them out yourself."
"Sounds good, William. I'm looking forward to it."
"Thanks! We're launching an office suite. It consists of a word processing system and a spreadsheet program. For small and medium businesses, these functional charts can solve many problems. These include payroll calculations and inventory management."
The Apple executives were clearly very interested in this. To be precise, they were very excited.
Now, that's the actual practical use of a computer. Whether it's useful for individuals is up for debate. Small to medium businesses definitely needed this.
Okay, the calculation speed wasn't very fast.
But that didn't matter. Small and medium businesses didn't require that level of speed. They were still using calculators for their accounting and inventory. This spreadsheet was nearly universal. Most importantly, it was very easy to use.
"Another software package is the word processing system. You all must know that these word processors sell like hotcakes," William White winked. "However, word processors have a lot of issues. And to be honest, they're definitely not cheap."
"William, let me interrupt. Yours seems nice, but it clearly can't replace a word processor."
"Ha, I see what you mean. You're saying there's no output function?"
"Exactly. Those supplies are expensive, but they can indeed print."
"Ha, Jobs, we've actually solved that problem."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm quite certain. I used your expansion card slots. Although this solution is still pretty pricey, it's not a huge issue. Not every computer needs to be connected to a printer. A small company just needs one. A medium-sized company might need two or three. Tom, go bring over an Epson printer."
"Sure thing, boss."
In truth, the Apple folks had already noticed that expansion card. They just didn't understand its practical use.
It was now clear that what was here was really impressive. It was essentially tailor-made. Jobs couldn't help but grumble to himself. Such wonderful technology could have come from a small company. If it had, that would have been perfect. They could have just acquired it before it grew.
Now that was out of the question; the company clearly had money to spare. An acquisition was off the table. Given what they were picking up, it seemed the company was very optimistic about Apple and didn't rule out buying some shares.
"William, your product looks good, but what about the price? What will we get in return?"
William White knew the moment had come; no matter how well he spoke, if the price was too high, they wouldn't sell.
"Markkula, you don't need to worry about pricing. The user price for the spreadsheet software is $99, and the word processing software costs $49. You can even buy a bundle for $139. As for Apple's profits, I think you can get it at a 30% discount, or combine sales. We can offer OEM versions of the software for just $129."
Honestly, this price was quite low. Without enough users, White Software's profits would be in danger.
It was precisely this pricing strategy that showed Apple their ambitions. In the eyes of Apple's executives, no software should be priced above $200. This tech would sell itself. There were no competitors in the market. Such low prices had only one motive: they aimed to dominate this market.
Apple's executives were very conflicted. They knew it was unrealistic to monopolize this software. They refused it immediately. The only way forward was to ramp up their promotions. After all, they had the first-mover advantage. If that still didn't work, there wouldn't be anything to complain about.
On the surface, the Apple folks seemed very calm. But once they returned to their own company, they quickly got excited.
There was no doubt that White Software had opened a window of opportunity. Their success would also trigger a chain reaction among other companies. Programming wasn't the real issue; creativity was the key.
This period was undoubtedly a window of opportunity. William White bluntly stated that other personal computers were more like game machines; if it hadn't been for the Apple II, he wouldn't have developed this software.
But Apple had its advantages; if they didn't speed things up, other competitors would catch up quickly. Then it would be a price war.
The young Apple company acted swiftly. They quickly settled the contract details.
But it seemed White Software was even faster. They immediately supplied the product. Their speed was nearly miraculous. Aside from the OEM version that couldn't be supplied in time, everything else was ready to go.
"My gosh, Jobs, this product wasn't just finished now. They've had it ready for a while," one said.
"Yeah! What a crazy move! They have so much stock. What if we don't help sell it?" another chimed in. "If it were you, would you do this, Jobs?"
"Nope."
"He's not crazy; he knows we can't refuse him. If we did say no, our competition would be laughing at us all the way to the bank."
"Alas! Too bad we can't keep it within our systems."
"He wouldn't agree to that. It's true what he said; we probably have about six months before those competitors catch up."
With business booming, the employees were naturally happy. Of course, the most excited was Fulton. Given the current situation, this so-called software could truly bring in money.
A 30% discount?
Even a 70% cut could drive profits madly; the family fortune was right before their eyes.
*****
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