Starcast Join the waitlist
Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money

Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money

Steve Jobs Hated the Name “Genius Bar.” How He Came Around, with Ron Johnson

Oct 9, 2026 · 1h 45m

Coming soon to iPhone. Already have it? “Listen in Starcast” takes you straight there.

On this episode

About this episode

#757: Ron Johnson is the creator of the Apple Stores and former CEO of JCPenney. At age 24 Ron Johnson turned down a $120,000 Goldman Sachs offer to unload trucks for $40,000, and that detour led Steve Jobs to hire him to build the Apple Store. Years later, he took over JCPenney and watched it fail for a reason that had nothing to do with his vision. Ron Johnson created the Apple Store and worked directly for Steve Jobs for 12 years, after bringing designer products to Target. He later served as CEO of JCPenney and is the author of Shop Different. In this episode, we discuss: How to weigh a lower-paying job that teaches you more How to set goals big enough that people work harder How to…