This is an interesting story. Qualcomm started from very humble ideas:
On NPR, today, they discussed the beginning of Qualcomm:
NPR : Qualcomm Founder’s Son to Assume Control of Company
It is turning 20 years old this month. It had no particular product in mind, just something in the wireless business. Irwin Jacobs wanted to do something to keep his hand on the business. If they were really successful they would have 100 employees, he told his wife.
He sold his stake in his first startup in 1985 for $25 million and started Qualcomm a few months later.
He says that when you start a company with a few people you always have a major cashflow problem and are always worried about the money side of things. You have no choice to but to work really hard, try to come up with some ideas and then really work at.
From the Qualcomm site, they write:
In July 1985, seven individuals joined together in a vision that began what is now QUALCOMM. The first meeting to discuss this new venture took place in Dr. Irwin Jacobs’ den. This team was comprised of Franklin Antonio, Adelia Coffman, Andrew Cohen, Klein Gilhousen, Irwin Jacobs, Andrew Viterbi and Harvey White.
QUALCOMM About QUALCOMM – History / Key Milestones
See, even a multimillionaire starting up a company has cashflow problems. 🙂