Every entrepreneur’s goal is to combine the perfect product/market fit with perfect market timing. In May 2007, a company called Pure Digital Technologies launched a simple video camcorder called the Flip Ultra.
In the cutthroat home videocam market dominated by global consumer electronics giants like Sony, Canon, Panasonic and others, little-known Pure Digital burst on the scene; offering a simple, affordable camcorder (price: $150 vs. $800 for a mid-priced Sony).
For years, the consumer electronic giants had been racing toward designing ever-more-complex video cameras loaded with features like image stabilization, night-vision mode, and onboard color correction. Then along came the Flip, daring to offer a previously overlooked demographic a device that practically anyone could figure out.
Why am I writing about the Flip today? I think there’s an interesting lesson in what happened next.
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