Ever wonder how tech geniuses got started? (Ask Brian.)

For this quiz, just guess what each of these tech leaders once did for a living. (It's supposed to be inspirational, so play along.)

Multiple choice.

1. Before building exciting new things for Apple, Jony Ive worked for a London startup called Tangerine. What assignment made him quit?
   
   • Hacking a secret government system
   • Designing game apps with animated birds
   • Designing a toilet
2. The CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, wasn't always a tech guy. What old-fashioned job did he have as a youngster?
   
   • Mucking out horse stalls
   • Delivering newspapers
   • Selling ice cream
3. Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos started his own summer business as a teenager, but it didn't go too well. What went wrong?
   
   • He was making ice cream, and got sued by Ben and Jerry.
   • He started a summer camp, but only got six campers.
   • He put on an atheist play in the middle of the Bible Belt.
4. How did Bill Gates spend his senior year at high school?
   
   • Playing football
   • Learning Chinese
   • Working as a computer programmer
5. The COO of Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg, had an interesting first job after university. What did she do?
   
   • Canned sardines
   • Fought leprosy in India
   • Was a rock band roadie
6. Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn, had an interesting early career at Warner Brothers. What did he persuade the media company to do?
   
   • Create a better online presence
   • Make more films with comic book heroes
   • Hire computer programmers as actors
7. One-time Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has what connection with desserts?
   
   • He used to promote dessert-making devices for Proctor & Gamble.
   • He holds a patent on a cake recipe used by Hilton.
   • He comes from a long line of confectioners.
8. Software engineer and former Google exec Eric Schmidt started out making chips for what devices?
   
   • Robbie the Robot
   • Nintendo Game Boy
   • Toasters
9. Google co-founder Sergey Brin has an early software application on his resume. What did it do?
   
   • Help lonely guys find girls
   • Help overweight people count calories
   • Let movie watchers rate films
10. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer was a whiz kid at Stanford, even teaching other students. What else did she do while she was there?
    
    • Sing opera like Florence Foster Jenkins
    • Dance in the 'Nutcracker'
    • Paint landscapes

Check out the answers by clicking on the picture.

Dmitri Gheorgheni

29.08.16 Front Page

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