How I found myself in a bomb shelter with the founder of Apple

11 years ago, Steve Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple, the company he co-founded with Steve Wozniak.?

When I started blogging, meeting Steve Wozniak was a top priority. Maybe priority isn’t the right word. It was a crazy dream of mine. Why? Because the man literally created a revolution. He single handedly changed the world of computing forever.?

When Woz built the first home computer, people told him there is no market. They told him that no one wants or needs a computer at home. He knew better.?

So I was dying to meet this fascinating human being.?

As you can probably tell by now, I don’t like leaving dreams as dreams. I like to fulfill them. So I set out to meet the Woz.?

The four year process that ended with me and Steve Wozniak in a Tel Aviv bomb shelter all began with a FB message.?

I wrote Wozniak asking him if I could interview him. If I’m being honest, I had zero hopes of him even replying. I was wrong. He replied! A message from the founder of Apple? I felt that I had made it. ??

But his response was no. ????

So I waited a year and wrote him again asking him to interview him. Again he replied. Again he respectfully declined my request.?

I wasn’t ready to give up.?

I waited another year and wrote him again asking him what it would take for me to convince him to interview him. He finally said ”Ok, fine. Send me your questions by email and I’ll send you the answers.

Here is that interview https://www.technmarketing.com/cellphone/an-interview-with-legendary-apple-co-founder-steve-wozniak-about-wearables-and-the-internet-of-things/

That post went viral. When I posted the interview on Facebook, Woz commented something that made me smile. That comment is below.?

“It was as memorable for me as for Hillel. I had no idea how popular and followed Hillel was. l'm sure we'll meet up again.”

Anyway, the interview was conducted over email, which was cool, but I still wanted to meet him, I just wasn’t sure how.?

Long story short, a while later, Woz came to Tel Aviv and asked me to meet him for breakfast. ??

So the morning came and I found myself in the lobby of a Tel Aviv hotel with the man who invented the computer and started the most valuable company in history.?

Don’t ask me why but the first impression I had was “This man is incredibly humble and down to earth!”

As soon as he got out of the elevator, he walked over to the front desk to ask them if they have a laundry service. They said yes so he handed them his laundry. All I could think was “Turns out he’s human and has laundry like the rest of us!” ??

Anyway, we sat, we shmoozed, I interviewed him, which you can watch here https://youtu.be/-gKs8oFHQFw, and all was good.?

He told me stories that morning that I had never seen published anywhere. He told me how he’s heard about Israeli tech for so long. The conversation was truly extraordinary.?

So how does it get more surreal than some random dude from Beit Shemesh Israel sitting in a lobby of a hotel with the world’s top tech pioneer and visionary??

Well, I’ll tell you how. Add an incoming rocket to the mix.?

That’s right. Mid meeting there is a siren warning us about an incoming rocket from Gaza. I then proceeded to rush the founder of Apple to a bomb shelter.?

I believe my first words once we arrived to the room was “Um I’m in a bomb shelter with Steve Wozniak. I must take a picture. Otherwise my kids won’t believe me!” That picture is below.?

Following that insanely surreal and monumental meeting, I stayed in touch with the Woz until he eventually shut down his Facebook account.?

But before that happened, Business Insider heard the story and wrote this piece entitled “How Hillel Fuld (the Robert Scoble of Israel) ended up in a bomb shelter with Apple co founder Steve Wozniak”: https://www.businessinsider.com/how-hillel-fuld-ended-up-in-a-bomb-shelter-with-woz-2015-8?

Anyway, that morning shall remain one of the craziest and coolest things that ever happened to me throughout my career.?

The only other story on that level is how, after growing up watching her on TV, I became friends with Alyssa Milano; but that’s a whole other post.?

On this 11 year anniversary of Jobs leaving Apple (only a few months before he died as Walt Mossberg wrote today on his FB!) I can’t help but think how much these two gentlemen, Steve Jobs and my friend Steve Wozniak changed our lives forever.