Adobe Photoshop Price Raise: A Look Back at the Company's Humble Beginnings

Adobe, a household name today, has a rich history that dates back to the 1980s. Founded by John Warnock and Charles 'Chuck' Geschke in 1982, the company was born out of frustration with Xerox's lack of interest in launching a protocol for Xerox printers.

Before co-founding Adobe, John Warnock led a team at Xerox to build InterPress, a protocol for Xerox printers. However, after two years of effort, he became disillusioned with Xerox's reluctance to market the product. This experience sparked an idea in him and Chuck Geschke, who met while working at Xerox, to start their own company.

The duo decided to leave their cushy jobs to start Adobe, which was named after a creek in Los Altos near Chuck's house. Initially, the company focused on developing PostScript, a device-independent programming language that could describe text, graphics, and images on one page. This innovation played a crucial role in launching the desktop publishing industry in the 80s.

In November 1984, Apple acquired a 15% stake in Adobe for $2.5 million. The partnership proved to be lucrative for both companies. Under Steve Jobs' guidance, Apple's investment grew to approximately $84 million by 1989, representing a staggering 34x return on investment or a 102% compound annual growth rate over five years.

Adobe's rapid growth was fueled by its ability to find product-market fit quickly and maintain triple-digit revenue growth rates in the early years. The company's innovative products, including PostScript, revolutionized the way people worked with printers, graphics, and images.

The partnership between Adobe and Apple led to significant advancements in desktop publishing. The combination of Adobe's PostScript technology, the Apple Macintosh graphical user interface, and laser printers launched the desktop publishing industry.

Looking back at Adobe's humble beginnings, it is clear that the company's success was built on a foundation of innovation, perseverance, and a willingness to challenge established norms. Today, as Adobe navigates the challenges of a rapidly changing technology landscape, it is worth remembering the company's early days and the bold decisions made by its founders.

Adobe photoshop price raise