The Pixar Touch

Steve Jobs had put some $50 million into the company.  It was still reliably losing money year after year.  Now he also faced the possibility of millions more in liability; although Disney had agreed to increase its lowball $17.5 million budget for Toy Story to $21.1 million, it still wasn’t enough.  By 1994, costs were expected to run some $6 million higher.  Hence, Disney forced Pixarto obtain a $3 million credit line to cover its share of the overages — backed, if necessary, by Job’s personal guarantee.  Weary of watching Pixar’s deficits pile up, Jobs had tried to sell all or part of the company many times…

That is from David A. Price’s The Pixar Touch, an excellent book.  It is good most of all on all the false fits and starts behind a successful entrepreneurial venture.