Masayoshi Son's Visionary Bet on the iPhone Before Its Existence
Masayoshi Son, a figure of monumental influence yet a relatively unknown name outside business circles, stands out as a titan of the modern age. Renowned as the founder and CEO of SoftBank, "Masa" has been a pivotal player in shaping technology investment. Celebrated for his far-reaching vision, he was born in 1957 on Kyushu, a western Japanese island, and has lived in California for several years. Known for both his charm and tendency to grow bored quickly, his office atmosphere in Tokyo hints at his dynamic personality, with visitors experiencing anything from a brief five-minute meeting to a detailed discussion lasting hours.
The SoftBank Journey
Through the SoftBank Vision Fund, Son has spearheaded the largest venture investment operations globally, with controlled assets reaching a staggering $1 trillion over the last twenty years. His ventures include a broad spectrum, from software distribution to broadbands and mobile telephony. Notably, towards the end of last year, he met with former U.S. President Donald Trump, committing to inject $100 billion into the American economy.
Strategic Alliances and Investments
Masa is known for his strategic alliances and impressive investment decisions, which are highlighted in numerous anecdotes. He once decided to finance Alibaba, the Chinese internet behemoth, following a remarkably short six-minute discussion with its founder, Jack Ma. Additionally, he has played a crucial role in significantly expanding countless Silicon Valley startups, and famously attracted former Google executive Nikesh Arora with a record-breaking $320 million pay package inscribed on a mere napkin. However, his most remarkable maneuver possibly remains his collaboration with Steve Jobs to globalize the iPhone.
Vision for Mobile Connectivity
In the early 2000s, Masa briefly held the title of the world's richest man, though the burst of the dot-com bubble eroded 97% of his wealth. Undeterred, he embarked on a mission to revolutionize broadband services in Japan under the Yahoo brand. His aim was to unify a mobile operator with Yahoo broadband, enabling Japanese consumers access to comprehensive data services through a single platform. The catalyst for this innovation emerged from his collaboration with Steve Jobs, a long-time acquaintance.
A Unique Bond with Steve Jobs
Son's relationship with Jobs was both unique and synergistic. Both were visionary mavericks, characterized by a steadfast belief in their ideas and an innate ability to forecast future trends. Their shared appreciation for technology, design aesthetics, and consumer insight fostered their professional partnership. Son's Tokyo office once featured an array of fifty different phone models, each scrutinized to inspire SoftBank's product innovations. Masa frequently quoted a famous line by Jobs from the 1997 Apple campaign: "The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do."
Conversations Under the Cherry Tree
The seeds of their collaboration were sown in the mid-1980s at Las Vegas's annual Comdex trade show, but it wasn't until the summer of 1998 that Masa and Jobs had a significant meeting under a cherry tree at Larry Ellison's Californian residence. This gathering laid the groundwork for their groundbreaking partnership that would eventually revolutionize the mobile phone industry.