Member-only story
The Trap of Looking Back
The Decisions We Regret And Why We Shouldn’t
Yesterday, I came across an article about Ron Wayne, the lesser-known third co-founder of Apple. In 1976, he sold his 10% stake in the company for just $800. He made that decision out of fear because the risks felt too high. Steve Jobs was borrowing money, and under their agreement, Wayne would be personally responsible if the company collapsed. At the time, he was in his 40s, while Jobs and Wozniak were still in their early 20s.
Wayne had more to lose.
That $800 stake? Today, it would be worth over $320 billion.
The article painted this as one of the greatest missed fortunes of all time and concluded with some popular lessons:
Fear can cloud judgment. Timing is everything.
But as I read it, I wasn’t entirely convinced those were the real lessons.
In fact, I think Ron Wayne made a decision that made sense, maybe even the right one for him at that point in life. Based on what he knew then, he did what was safest for himself, and perhaps for his family too.
No one talks about the chaos that followed Apple’s rise, how Jobs was later fired from his own company, how Apple went through lawsuits and major…
