They've created exactly one successful company (a huge achievement to be sure). However, that doesn't qualify them to spread general wisdom about how anyone can do the same.
So... who is qualified?
Steve Jobs, maybe. But even Steve can't meet your crazy criterion: He's not dumb enough to have run NeXT and Pixar under an alias. He used his own name. Because he had invested a lot of time in that name and it remains one of his biggest assets.
And because it's probably impossible for Steve Jobs to run away from his name. And because, even if he changed his name and got plastic surgery, everyone would know it was a Steve Jobs company. I'm told that working for Steve Jobs is a really unmistakable experience. His style sticks out from a mile away.
Business isn't a science. All you get is anecdotes. You have to do what everyone else in Silicon Valley does: look at what Fairchild or Hewlett-Packard or Apple or Google did, and try to generalize. You might accidentally overgeneralize. Try to survive anyway.
So... who is qualified?
Steve Jobs, maybe. But even Steve can't meet your crazy criterion: He's not dumb enough to have run NeXT and Pixar under an alias. He used his own name. Because he had invested a lot of time in that name and it remains one of his biggest assets. And because it's probably impossible for Steve Jobs to run away from his name. And because, even if he changed his name and got plastic surgery, everyone would know it was a Steve Jobs company. I'm told that working for Steve Jobs is a really unmistakable experience. His style sticks out from a mile away.
Business isn't a science. All you get is anecdotes. You have to do what everyone else in Silicon Valley does: look at what Fairchild or Hewlett-Packard or Apple or Google did, and try to generalize. You might accidentally overgeneralize. Try to survive anyway.