From Coffee Intern To AI CEO: Kolkata-Born Man Credits Steve Jobs For Success

Working with one of the biggest tech titans, Steve Jobs left a major impact on the life of Kolkata-born Chet Kapoor. The man who once interned at Jobs’ software company NeXT, is not the CEO of generative AI company DataStax. 

Who Is Chet Kapoor And What’s His Connection With Steve Jobs?

Hailing from Kolkata, Kapoor found his inspiration to collaborate with Jobs at just 15 years old, influenced by Michael Moritz’s book “A Little Kingdom.” Driven to pursue his aspiration, Kapoor enrolled in computer classes and sought admission to American universities, ultimately enrolling at Arizona State University in 1986.

“In 1983, I read this book called ‘A Little Kingdom’ and it was written by a guy by the name of Michael Moritz. This book was about two Steves: Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. It was all about Apple. I was impressionable because I was 15 or 16. I was like ‘this is who I want to go and work for’ and it was very clear to me that I wanted to come and hang out and work with Steve Jobs,” Chet Kapoor said in his chat with CNBC Make It.

Also Read: When Apple Co-Founder Steve Jobs Explained Why He Never Wore A Watch

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By 1985, Jobs had established NeXT, and by 1988, Kapoor secured a position as one of the chosen students to intern at NeXT, which entailed gaining experience across different departments.

“That exposure was absolutely phenomenal,” Kapoor said in an interview with CNBC Make It. “I can attribute a large portion of my success to my first two or three years at NeXT.”

He also reflected on the product and design-centric approach at NeXT.

“Everything starts with what is the user experience. How is the user going to interact with this? That made all the difference in the world and the maniacal focus on that was absolutely amazing,” Kapoor said.

I Was One Step Below The Person Who Opened Doors but It Didn’t Matter Because I Worked 20 Yards Away From Jobs, Says Kapoor

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Chet Kapoor believes that he owes most of his success to the experience that he got while working as Steve Job’s intern in his early days. 

He said, “Steve was this iconic individual and I didn’t know him … I was the guy that got coffee for the guy that made coffee. I was one step below the person that opened doors but that didn’t matter because I worked 20 yards away from him [Jobs] every day.”

Chet Kapoor emphasized his attention to the questions posed by Steve Jobs during meetings, recognizing them as valuable indicators of Jobs’ thought process. “That exposure was absolutely phenomenal. I can attribute a large portion of my success to my first two or three years at NeXT.”

Also Read: ‘Great Ideas Alone Aren’t Enough’, Elon Musk Shares Inspiring 20-Year-Old Clip Of Steve Jobs

Kapoor Was The CEO Of Cloud Software Company Apigee Which Got Acquired By Google For Rs 4,375 crore(approx)

Kapoor later gained prominence in Silicon Valley as the CEO of Apigee, a cloud software company that was acquired by Google for $625 million in 2016. He also held leadership positions at top companies including Google and IBM.