California Golden Boy - Nicholas Woodman
In his youth, he was addicted to surfing and playing startups, which did not bring any success. He was not from a poor family, so when he needed money for a business, he just went to his mom and dad. It doesn't change the fact that its core idea forever changed the way sports and all other activities are presented.
He was born in Silicon Valley. His mother was Concepción Socarras and his father was Dean Woodman, an investment banker at the Robertson Stevens bank who provided support. Nicholas's mother divorced his father and remarried Irwin Federman, one of the chief representatives of the US Venture Partners investment company.
SUMMARY: Nicholas Woodman
Date and place of birth: June 24, 1975, Menlo Park (California, USA).
Address: Woodside (California, USA)
Citizenship: American
Family status: married, three children
Luck: $1,06 billion (as of September 2016)
Contact person: [email is protected]
Education: secondary school - Menlo School; University of California, San Diego
An experience: founder and head of GoPro (from 2002 to the present day)
Interests: surfing, sailing
Our idol grew up in a world dreamed of by many inventors and tech entrepreneurs. However, it cannot be said that he only used his position. Although it certainly was easier for him than for many others, it must be admitted that he himself showed - and still shows - a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Being a teenager he was selling t-shirts, raising money for a surf club because from an early age, boards and waves were his biggest passion.
After graduating from the University of California San Diego in 1997, he decided to try his hand at the Internet industry. The first one he founded was EmpowerAll.com websitewhich sold electronic goods, charging a commission of about two dollars. Second Funbug, specializing in games and marketing, giving users the opportunity to win money.
The fruits of surf travel
None of these companies were successful. A little offended by this, Woodman decided to get away from the California hustle and bustle. He traveled in Australia and Indonesia. While surfing the ocean waves, he recorded his skills on a 35mm camera attached to his arm with an elastic band to show his family later. For a film buff like him, this proved to be a daunting task, and professional equipment was very expensive. However, step by step, this led Nicholas to GoPro webcam idea. The first idea that came to his mind was a strap that attached the camera to the body, which made it convenient to take photos and shoot videos without the help of hands.
Woodman and his future wife, Jill, made their first money to start their business by selling shell necklaces they had previously purchased in Bali. Nick was also supported by his mother. First, by lending him 35. dollars, and then giving away, with which he could make straps for experimental models of cameras. Nick's father lent him 200 XNUMX. dollars.
This is how the concept of the GoPro camera was formed in 2002. The first devices were based on 35mm film cameras. The user wore them on the wrist. At the initial stage, the product underwent a number of modifications in order to finally become something truly innovative on the market. Woodman himself has tested its usefulness in many fields and disciplines. He has worked as a GoPro tester, among other things, for cars reaching speeds up to 200 km/h.
Initially, Woodman's webcams were sold in surf shops. However, Nick himself was still working on them, refining the design. In four years, GoPro has grown to eight employees. She received her first major contract in 2004, when a Japanese company ordered XNUMX cameras for a sporting event.
From now on sales double every year. Nika's company earned 2004 thousand in 150. dollars, and in a year - 350 thousand. In 2005, a cult model appeared GoPro Hero. It is recorded in 320 x 240 resolution at 10 fps (-fps). The result is a slow motion movie. Its length was a maximum of 10 seconds, and the internal memory was 32 MB. For comparison, we present the data of the latest model, which appeared on the market in October 2016. GoPro Hero 5 Black can record in 4K resolution at 30 fps or Full HD (1920 x 1080p) at 120 fps. It has a MicroSD card recording function that can store a thousand times more data. In addition, the manufacturer has taken care of: recording in RAW format, advanced image stabilization mode, touch screen, voice control, GPS, operating time many times longer than before. There are also cloud and apps to easily share videos with others, etc.
In May 2011, GoPro reached out for money from technology investors - $ 88 million, incl. from Riverwood Capital or Steamboat Ventures. In 2012, Nick sold as many as 2,3 million GoPro cameras. In the same year, the Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn signed a contract with him, acquiring an 8,88% stake in Woodman Labs worth 200 million euros. As a result, the value of the company rose to $2,25 billion. Nikolai once spoke arrogantly about the product he invented: “GoPro is not a camera company. GoPro is a company that offers to collect experiences.”.
Nicholas Woodman with whiteboard and GoPro camera
In 2013, Woodman's business earned $986 million. In June 2014 GoPro with great success became public. The company was founded half a year later. cooperation with the NHL. The use of webcams during the games of the most important hockey league in the world brought the broadcast of matches to a new visual level. In January 2016, GoPro teamed up with Periscope applicationso that users can enjoy the live video stream.
It all sounds like a fairy tale, doesn't it? And yet, lately, black clouds have been hovering over Woodman's company, which in no way resemble fairy tales.
Is the product too good?
In the fall of 2016, it became known that Karma is the first GoPro drone - withdrawn from sale. Several of the 2500 units sold experienced a sudden loss of power during flight, according to the statement. As a result of these events (during which, it should be added, there were no incidents that threatened health or property), GoPro decided to withdraw the product from the market and return the money to all owners of the device. Karma users were able to report at the place of purchase, return the equipment and return the money.
Nicholas Woodman wrote in a statement: “Safety is our priority. Several Karma users have reported incidents of power loss while using the equipment. We quickly made the decision to return and fully refund the purchase. We are working to resolve the issue."
However, the drone troubles are just another blow in a series of unfortunate events that have been going on for many months. Already at the end of 2015, GoPro's valuation on the stock market fell to its lowest level ever. Since the company's debut on the stock exchange in August 2014, the shares have depreciated by as much as 89%. Woodman's own fortune, until recently estimated at more than $2 billion, has halved.
Nicholas Woodman during the presentation of Karma drones
In the fourth quarter of 2015, GoPro posted a loss of $34,5 million. Sales dropped sharply at the end of the year, during the Christmas sales - webcams were on store shelves. And we are talking about a period that usually means a harvest for gadget and electronics manufacturers. Sales were down 31% from the previous year. The company was forced to lay off 7% of its employees.
Many experts say Woodman's company has become victim of one's own success. His webcams are of high quality and they just don't break. At the same time, the next generations of these products offer neither significantly better parameters nor technological breakthroughs. The base of loyal and satisfied customers, who, without exaggeration, can even be called fans, has stopped growing. Many fans of more or less extreme sports have already bought GoPro products, have them and use them. There are no new ones.
Second moment Prices for GoPro products. Maybe there are no new clients because they are too high? Quality costs money, this is understandable, but we must admit that not everyone will, for example, use cameras at 30 meters underwater. Most buyers will use them in less extreme locations. So, when choosing to spend $XNUMX on a GoPro and only $XNUMX on a third-party model, the buyer is likely to opt for a cheaper product that also meets basic expectations.
Another problem for GoPro was the improvement in the quality of cameras in smartphones. Many of them are even waterproof. And if the quality remains the same, why carry two devices in your pocket when one is enough? Thus, high-performance GoPro devices may share the fate of many other digital photo and video devices that simply turned out to be unnecessary.
Woodman explains that GoPros have become devices used in a niche market. The niche has been mastered and is not absorbing more devices on the scale that shareholders would like. He himself wanted to make webcams even easier to use, which was to expand the audience. Sales should also have improved due to investments related to drones…
Cruise on unknown waters
Meanwhile, in December 2015, when the first signs of trouble appeared at GoPro, Nikolai ordered four-level yacht Length 54,86 m, price 35-40 million dollars. The boat, due to be handed over to Woodman in 2017, will feature a Jacuzzi, a bathing platform and sun decks, among other things. Well, he can only wish that when he picks up his order, he can still afford it ...
