Mastermind Alliance II: MVP

Mastermind Alliance II: MVP

In 1976, Apple released their first computer. It was mainly hardware, a board. The two Steve’s sold the belongings to make it happen. Woz sold his awesome calculator and Jobs his VW car. They enlisted a buyer who made an order but they didn’t have capital to fulfill the order, regardless they moved things around and managed to create the required units. This was their MVP (Minimum Viable Product) and it was a success, the start of Apple computers. After their MVP, they set their eyes on designing and creating a fully-fledged computer to be named the “Apple 2”. They formed a “Mastermind Alliance” with Mike Murkela who funded them for a ownership stake in the start-up. A mastermind alliance is an understanding or a partnership that two or more entities share to get to a particular goal. It was a perfect union. Murkula got an ownership stake for his investment and a business and the two Steve’s got capital to build the Apple 2 and business experience, guidance and mentorship from the more father-figure Murkula. The release of Apple 2 was a success and everyone was rewarded. Apple 2 is the reason, there is a Apple today. But without a mastermind alliance nothing big can really happen because a company needs resources and infrastructure to expand. Nothing lasts forever and it’s difficult to stay on top. A master alliance helps establish a competitive advantage – imitators are usually rife after the success of a product. Steve Jobs established a closed system for Apple and made it exclusive and further used vertical integration as a business model. Vertical integration is when a company controls all its operations from manufacturing to distribution. Apple has its own operating system, distribution system with Apple stores, ITunes and retail stores, it controls the whole experience. When Apple said “Think Different”, they meant it. They are on a class of their own, they are alone. They will always have a competitive advantage because all of their products are linked. Everything is custom-made for the Apple user. Epic games are suing Apple for charging too much commission, but I feel it’s in vain because they Epic games are operating in Apples domain. It’s like somebody making the rules in your house. The Apple store is Apples, they decide how much commission to charge, if you don’t like it – tough! Yes they are operating as monopoly but their business model enabled them to be distinguished, they deserve their power because they created the market – this is the brilliance of Apple. After the MVP, you need a mastermind alliance, it is vitally important.