Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Fortune
Fortune
Emma Burleigh

Steve Jobs was just 12 when he called HP's cofounder. What happened next put him on the path to success at Apple

Steve Jobs. (Credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
  • When Steve Jobs was just 12 years old, he called up HP cofounder Bill Hewlett to ask for spare parts to build a frequency counter. That phone call got him the tools, and a job. His philosophy remained invaluable to his growth in founding Apple. 

At the age of 12, most people are worrying about their school crush or a science project that’s due next week. But Steve Jobs had his mind on something else as a tween: spare parts needed to build a frequency counter. So he found Hewlett Packard (HP) cofounder Bill Hewlett’s phone number in the yellow pages and called him up for a favor. 

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.