“Skinny, smelly hippie” – Steve Jobs fired a programming genius

Steve Jobs was known for having an authoritarian leadership style and wasn't afraid to fire people quickly.  (Image: Basic Arts)






Steve Jobs was known for having an authoritarian leadership style and wasn’t afraid to fire people quickly. (Image: Basic Arts)

Legendary figures abound in the world of technology, but few have changed the game quite like Steve Jobs. From the founding of Apple to the introduction of the iPhone, he has revolutionized the tech industry time and time again. But behind the scenes, Jobs was also known for having a very authoritarian leadership style and being quick to fire people who didn’t meet his high standards. We took you on a journey down memory lane and discovered who could be the first person to be fired from the tech pioneer – and all without prior employment.

Those weirdos aren’t going to get anywhere anyway

Our main character in this story is Michael Geary – a programmer who has lived in Silicon Valley before it was even named. Geary claims he was the first person to be fired from Steve Jobs.

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Michael Geary in 1976 when he met Steve Jobs.  (Image: Business Insider)






Michael Geary in 1976 when he met Steve Jobs. (Image: Business Insider)

In 1976, while shopping at a health food store, he happened to meet Jobs in the merchandise department. The two struck up a conversation because they were interested in computers. Geary remembered what they both looked like back then: Like two scrawny, smelly hippies with long hair. Jobs told him that he just founded Apple and is currently working on the Apple 1 and is currently looking for a programmer for a disassembler (a program that translates the instructions executed by a microprocessor into human-readable assembly language instructions).

In 1976, Wozniak and Jobs worked together in a garage on Apple 1. (Image: dpa)






In 1976, Wozniak and Jobs worked together in a garage on Apple 1. (Image: dpa)

Geary told Jobs that he works for a company that programs large mainframe computers and that he could write the disassembler for him. So he went home and got to work. Before he could even show him his program, he received a call from Jobs, who fired him outright from the project on the grounds that a mainframe programmer can’t write a program for microprocessors.

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Bitterly, however, he ended the program with the intention of going to Apple and teaching Jobs otherwise. When he wanted to drive there, however, all he found was a mailbox and the garage in which Wozniak and Jobs worked. So he drove home and just thought about it Those weirdos aren’t going to get anywhere anyway.

Michael Geary today: He still programs.  (Image: businessinsider)






Michael Geary today: He still programs. (Image: businessinsider)

Years later, Geary realized how wrong he was and still got the chance to work for Apple again. For an email client called Diplomat. In a restaurant he met Steve Jobs again, although he didn’t seem to recognize him. Geary didn’t dare speak to him at the time, and Jobs died a short time later. To this day he regrets not having spoken to him that evening.

This was the story of Michael Geary: the man who was fired by Steve Jobs before they even hired him. He’s still a contract programmer even today. Do you know similar stories from the tech world and would you be interested in reading more of them from the past? Tell us in the comments!

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