GoPro: The Billion Dollar Wipeout | Think it. See It. Do it. Boom. | 1

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0:23It's November 3rd, 2016 in San Mateo, California, 20 miles south of San Francisco. GoPro CEO Nick Woodman weaves through the company's sprawling headquarters, heading to a conference room. He doesn't have time to dawdle. In a few minutes, he's holding a press call to go over GoPro's third quarter earnings. And it's not going to be pretty. The small, rugged company beloved by surfers and other action sports enthusiasts once produced one of the top-selling video cameras in the country. But sales over the past three months have been abysmal. And now, Woodman has to face his shareholders. In anticipation of the call, the stock market has paused trading of GoPro shares, its standard procedure before an earnings announcement, but Woodman knows that when trading reopens, the stock price will fall, and probably by a lot.

1:20So even though he doesn't have time, Woodman slows his pace and looks around the office. His eyes land on the motorcycles and vintage race cars parked inside the massive building. He looks at the oversized photos on the walls, shot from inside the barrel of a wave, from the open door of a plane, from the face of a mountain. He loves this place. He loves this company. He wishes he could freeze this moment, the way these photos have frozen moments in time, and keep everything exactly as it is. But he can't. Woodman plasters a smile on his face and walks into the conference room. A number of executives sit around the table, including GoPro's chief financial officer, Brian McGee.

2:09He nods at Woodman. You ready? Yep, let's bite the bullet. McGee hits unmute on the speakerphone at the center of the table, and Woodman leans in. On the other end of the line are analysts and investors. Well, good afternoon. Thank you all for being here. We'll dive right in. Revenue this quarter came in at$240 million. Someone on the call forgot to mute their line. Woodman hears a sharp intake of breath, and he knows why. GoPro missed its revenue projections by nearly$75 million. And in the past year, the company has gone from a profit of roughly$37 million to a loss of close to$85 million. Woodman powers through, doing his best to sound upbeat.

3:01We anticipate a strong holiday season, thanks to the release of our newest camera, the Hero 5, and we predict revenues to be between$600 and$650 million. He casts a quick glance at McGee. Woodman's saying this like it's a big win, but the truth is, that figure is also lower than projected. McGee leans forward. We had some setbacks this year. As you know, our Hero 5 camera faced some production delays, but those problems are behind us, and we're looking at some restructuring in the upcoming year to cut costs. Woodman nods. Restructuring. That's a polished way to describe closing divisions and laying off a significant number of employees.

3:45McGee and Woodman continue, answering questions from analysts and trying to sound optimistic about GoPro's future. But when the call is over, Woodman walks back to his office alone. He's sitting by himself when GoPro stock trading resumes. He watches as the widget in the corner of his screen shows a big red arrow pointed down, and the price of GoPro stock falls and falls. With each cent, the share price drops. The overall valuation of GoPro drops with it. Woodman feels like he's standing on a precipice, watching the company he built from the ground up, his baby hurtling toward the end. But Woodman shakes his head.

4:34He's been skydiving, so he knows that just because you're falling toward Earth doesn't mean you're going to die. You just need a parachute. So that's what he's going to do. find GoPro's parachute and save his company.

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5:47From Audible Originals, I'm David Brown, and this is Business Wars.

6:15Nick Woodman was a surfer from California who built a tiny, rugged camera that could go anywhere. Strap it to a helmet, a surfboard, a dog, a drone. In the early 2010s, it took off, becoming one of the highest-selling video cameras on the market. But its success was in large part because it was the right product at the right time. YouTube was exploding, and users were essentially marketing GoPro for free. uploading footage that made their lives look like action movies. Meanwhile, smartphones didn't yet have cameras that could shoot high-quality video. GoPro owned the moment. And in 2015, Woodman became the highest-paid CEO in America.

7:01But then, smartphones caught up. The era of the one-off gadget was ending. Woodman tried desperately to keep GoPro relevant, But every bet failed spectacularly. How completely did the product stall? In April 2026, NASA sent a GoPro to orbit the moon on the Artemis II mission. The camera was a Hero 4 Black, a model released in 2014. NASA didn't want a newer version. Neither do most consumers. Now, the company that invented the action camera is fighting for its life. This is Episode 1. Think it. See it. Do it. Boom.

7:58It's 2002 in Bali, Indonesia. Nick Woodman paddles out through crystal clear water. His friend, Ruben Duchesne, paddles just ahead of him. Woodman is 26 years old with wavy brown hair and large brown eyes. And as he moves through the warm water, a big grin spreads over his face. There is nothing he loves more than surfing. Growing up in California's Silicon Valley, he started surfing his senior year in high school. He got so into it, he quit the football and baseball teams to devote more time to the water. In fact, he chose UC San Diego for college, mainly because it was close to the beach. Woodman is happiest in the water, and it bothers him that he doesn't have any great photos of himself or his friends out here catching waves.

8:52Professional surfers hire photographers with waterproof cameras to paddle out along beside them or shoot them with long lenses from the shore. But that's too expensive for amateurs. Woodman wants action shots like the ones he sees in surfing magazines, without the steep price tag. He has an idea, though, and he's testing it out today. He's strapped a disposable camera in a waterproof plastic case to his wrist, using an old surfboard leash and some rubber bands. It's not fancy, but it should work. Ahead of him, Duchesne drops into a wave and starts carving it, angling his board up and down the face.

9:34Woodman fumbles as he tries to free his camera from the rubber bands and take the shot, but maneuvering it out is harder than he thought. Finally, he yanks on it, snapping the rubber band. The broken band flies through the air and nearly hits him in the face before dropping in the water. By the time Woodman takes the photo, Duchesne has finished his run. A little later, Woodman lies on his stomach on a towel propped up on his elbows. His disposable camera and old surf leash sit in front of him. Duchesne is still in the water, but Woodman's girlfriend, Jill Scully, lies on her back next to him, with her sunglasses on and eyes closed.

10:16Woodman fiddles with the plastic camera case. You know, I really need something easier to manipulate. Trying to take off the rubber bands while staying balanced on the board and keeping an eye on what you're shooting, it's all, it's just too much. Yeah, you need something you can basically control blind. Exactly. Like the camera attaches to you and you just hit a button. It takes photos without having to point and shoot. I feel like you could figure that out. And I bet a bunch of other surfers would want it. Just saying. I'm not starting any more businesses. When we get back home, I'm getting a job.

10:53A normal job. I know you've said that, but you're an entrepreneur through and through. How many times did you tell me about selling t-shirts to raise money for your surfing club in high school? Yeah, but I think two failed companies before 30 is enough. After graduating college, Woodman founded two startups. The first was an e-commerce site that never caught on. The second was a platform that allowed users to play games for money. He raised nearly$4 million from investors, but went bankrupt when the tech bubble burst a few months ago. Scully rolls over and lowers her sunglasses, looking Woodman in the eyes.

11:33Look, the stock market crashed. It's not your fault. Maybe, but it absolutely sucked losing all that money for investors. I don't want to go through that again. So, don't get investors. What do you mean? How much would you need to get this camera strap company off the ground? Woodman thinks for a moment. Maybe$300 ,000? That's really not that much. We can raise a chunk of that ourselves. And you could ask your parents for help. Woodman's father is a successful banker who helped broker Pepsi's purchase of Taco Bell, among other deals. Maybe. I know you. You're an iconoclast. You're never going to be happy working for someone else.

12:21Woodman fidgets with the camera. He really wants photos of himself surfing. He was a visual arts major in college. Images matter to him. And if he feels this way, well, other surfers must too. And his girlfriend is right. $300 ,000 isn't that much money. You're right. Let's do it. Before leaving Bali, Woodman and Scully buy 600 belts made from seashells for less than$2 each. When they return to California, they drive up and down the coast, selling them for as much as$60 a belt, eventually raising around$30 ,000. His father gives him$200 ,000, and he borrows another$35 ,000 from his mom. Then, Woodman holds up in his bedroom, along with his mom's sewing machine.

13:18He gives himself four years to develop his camera mount. If he fails, he'll enter the corporate world. For real this time. Woodman throws himself into the project, working 18 hours a day. He straps a camelback filled with Gatorade and water on his back, so he doesn't have to waste time going to the kitchen when he needs a drink. He pees in the bushes outside his bedroom's sliding door to save time walking to the bathroom. His entire living space becomes littered with different types of materials. He even sleeps in the prototypes to make sure they don't cause skin irritation. But he soon discovers a problem.

13:59Every time he takes his new strap surfing, the camera breaks. If the camera can't survive the water, no one's going to buy the strap. It needs a protective case, but making cases that fit every camera on the market is too hard, too complex. Woodman realizes he needs to develop and sell his own camera, one that comes with a strap and protective case built in. But designing a camera strap is one thing. Designing a camera is a whole other endeavor. That requires technical skills he doesn't possess. So he starts searching for a camera he can license. He searches online and attends trade shows to learn more about the camera business.

14:47In between, he works on the protective case, writes marketing materials, and files patents. Finally, after two years of searching, Woodman finds a company in China called Hotax that makes a small 35mm film camera that can be manufactured for just over$3. He orders a few samples and waits for them to ship. When they arrive, he starts building a case. He drills holes into hard plastic to attach it to the strap and uses a hot glue gun to fuse the plastic shell to the camera body. It's crude, but it should communicate his vision. Woodman reaches back out to Hotax. They're willing to work with him, but they want$5 ,000 up front to make the prototype.

15:42Nick Woodman paces the living room of a cottage nestled among the Redwoods in Pescadero, California. His girlfriend, Jill Scully, sits on the couch, watching him walk back and forth. This could be a scam. I've only ever emailed with these people. They sent you the cameras you ordered. That's a good sign. Anyone can ship a couple of cheap cameras. What if I send them my prototype and never hear from them again? Then I'll have wasted valuable time, not to mention the five grand. What do you want to do? Well, I feel like the responsible thing would be to go to China and see the factory with my own eyes.

16:21You know, shake hands with the people I've been emailing. Make sure these people can deliver. Well, how much would that cost? Woodman mutters something under his breath. I didn't hear you. More than$5 ,000. I think you're just scared. You're scared this isn't going to work. That they won't understand the sample you've put together with essentially chewing gum and popsicle sticks. Or they'll build the case exactly the way you want it, but it won't work. Or it will work, but no one will want it. Or that. But bottom line, once you send this off, it's real. This product either works or it doesn't.

17:06I'm dropping into the wave. Yep. And what's the advice you always tell me when you see a monster wave coming your way? Full send, no hesitation. Scully raises her eyebrows. Woodman shakes his head with a smile. You're right, as always. He kisses her on the cheek. The next day, Woodman arranges payment and ships his makeshift camera and case across the world to Hotax. As he drops off the package, he crosses his fingers. He really, really hopes this isn't a scam. Otherwise, he might have wiped out his company. before it ever had a chance to ride the wave.

18:00I'm Alice Levine. And I'm Matt Ford, and we're the hosts of British Scandal. Yes, indeed. In this series, a Derbyshire couple are bored of their curtain-twitching, lawn-mowing suburban life. So they sell their house, build a yacht, and sail off around the world. Which sort of sounds idyllic until a sperm whale sinks their boat and they begin to starve. Oh yes, and they didn't bring a radio because real sailors don't use radios. Right? This is the story of Marilyn and Morris Bailey. And the 117 days they spent lost at sea. Follow British Scandal wherever you get your podcasts or listen early and ad-free on Audible.

18:41Hey, Dan Taberski here. I'm a podcast host, a journalist, and now with my newest project, the author of my own manifesto. Well, it's a manifesto about manifestos. My search for inspiration in a world that feels more infuriating, more out of its freaking mind with each passing hour. Manifestos are a call to action, an artful scream. They capture our anger and they try to do something with it. This is my attempt to take the manifesto back from mass shooters and nihilists and return it to its rightful place with the warriors, the visionaries, the regular folks with just the right amount of crazy.

19:16I compare notes with radicals, secessionists, internet trolls out for a laugh, and punk singers screaming their guts out, all trying to turn their anger into the world they want to see. Listen to Manifesto wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can binge all episodes of Manifesto early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts.

19:53In 2004, a few months after Nick Woodman sent$5 ,000 to Hotax, a company in China he'd only exchanged emails with, he receives a package from them. As he cuts open the box, he feels butterflies in his stomach. He's had enough exchanges about specs and dimensions that he no longer worries they're scamming him. But he has no idea if Hotax was able to take his crude model and hand-drawn sketches and turn them into a real product. When he removes the prototype from the box, he gasps. It's even better than he imagined. The hard plastic fits snugly over the camera body. There are bright blue clips that keep it in place and help snap it into the mount.

20:45It looks like something you'd see on a shelf. It looks real. And when he takes it out in the water, it works. The camera stays protected when it gets wet. And when he whacks it against his surfboard, Woodman names this first product the GoPro Hero and places an order. Now, the real work begins. He has to sell it. You know, in this era of dropship inventions, many people imagine the hard part is building the product, and sometimes it is. But there are warehouses full of clever things nobody ever bought. What Woodman has now isn't really a camera company. It's one guy with a potential product and a long list of people who have never heard of it.

21:36Convincing strangers to care is often the toughest part of the whole journey. Just like he did with the design process, Woodman throws himself into the marketing. He hires a friend named Neil Dana to help with sales and ropes in his girlfriend Jill Scully. In September 2004, he makes his first sale at an action sports trade show in San Diego, where a Japanese distributor orders 100 GoPro Heroes. Over the next year, Woodman, Dana, and Scully cold-call surf shops up and down the California coast. To keep his budget low, Woodman drives a white 1971 VW bus he calls The Biscuit, which he also sleeps in.

22:22And he buys the supplies he needs for trade show stalls from Home Depot, then returns them when he's done. In 2005, he discovers that QVC is holding a competition called Inventor Search. The winners get to appear on the show to hawk their products live on air. But the last remaining audition date is in just a few days, at QVC headquarters in Westchester, Pennsylvania. It's a gamble. Plane tickets on this short notice are expensive. But Woodman has a philosophy. Think it, see it, do it, boom. So he buys the tickets and hops on a plane to Pennsylvania. When he arrives at QVC headquarters, the line wraps around the building.

23:08He's one of the last people seen that day. But he wins. He etches another victory for his philosophy. And a little while later, he appears live on air, pitching his hero camera. He strides on stage in khakis and a short-sleeved button-down shirt. The host gives a quick rundown of the product and then starts asking Woodman questions about the camera strapped to his wrist. So I came up with the Hero camera design, which allows you to securely wear the camera. He shakes his arm vigorously, showing that the camera stays fixed to his arm. Right. Stop coming up. Totally secure. But then when you want to take a photograph, it just pivots up.

23:50Take the shot, but then it stays attached so you don't have to worry about dropping it. And then it locks back down and you can get back to your activity. To prove what the hero can do, Woodman shows photos he and his girlfriend took of each other while snorkeling in Hawaii, demonstrating that it's waterproof up to 15 feet deep. QVC slashes the price of the hero from$21.50 to roughly$18, plus shipping and handling. In 10 minutes, Woodman sells about 3 ,000 cameras. He's over the moon. Everything is clicking into place. You know, when it comes to Silicon Valley lore, QVC doesn't get talked about that much, but maybe it should.

24:39Plenty of companies spent fortunes on advertising, only to discover nobody understood what they were selling. But QVC forced entrepreneurs to demonstrate a product live in real time, with no hiding behind slogans. If people immediately understood why they needed it, the phones lit up. If not, the audience changed the channel. That's a pretty good pressure test for a sales pitch. By the end of 2005, the first full year that a GoPro camera is on the market, The company brings in about$350 ,000 in revenue. But several of Woodman's friends have a suggestion to improve the Hero. Instead of selling a 35mm film camera, he should go digital.

25:27That's the future of photography. Woodman listened. And in 2006, GoPro releases the Digital Hero, a camera that can shoot stills, as well as up to 10 seconds of video. With that release, annual revenue climbs to$800 ,000. To celebrate the booming sales of the digital hero, Woodman decides to fulfill a lifelong dream and enrolls in a car racing school. On the first day of class, he strides into the office of the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. In the distance, he can hear cars tearing around the two-and-a-half-mile track that winds through the golden hills of wine country. Woodman feels the familiar surge of adrenaline.

26:16He loves this feeling. He doesn't understand why everyone isn't an adrenaline junkie. A receptionist places a stack of paperwork on the counter in front of him. Welcome. I can see you're ready to get behind the wheel, but we just need you to fill out a few pieces of paperwork, and then we'll get you out on the track. Woodman smirks at the few pieces of paperwork. The stack looks as thick as a phone book. He skims through each form, scrawling his name by each X. From what he can tell, every form is just a different way of saying he might seriously injure himself or die. But one form catches his attention.

26:55It's an option to rent a mounted camera to record yourself from inside the car while you drive. The receptionist notices him reading it over. It's worth the extra expense. The footage you get is really fun. Everyone loves it. Woodman gets an idea. Hey, could I use my own camera? I don't know. It has to be able to attach to the roll bar in our cars. Woodman grins. That won't be a problem. He finishes signing the paperwork. When he gets to the car, he attaches his digital hero to the roll bar, the metal bar behind the seats that protects passengers if the car rolls over. He faces the camera towards himself.

27:40Just before accelerating, he hits record and then floors it. Throughout the day, he grabs photos and videos of himself tearing through turns and pushing the car to its limits. After a full day of zooming around the track, Woodman eagerly watches back the footage. The receptionist was right. It's a blast to see the G4 stretch his face back, to see the giant smile on his face as he pulls a tight curve. Plus, he looks so cool in his racing helmet with the visor down. He's stoked to have these images. And if he edits the footage together, he can make a mini-action movie about his day on the track.

28:22He envisions the next evolution of GoPro. The company should make mounts that let users put these cameras everywhere. on their helmets, their surfboards, their bikes. The camera should be able to face out or face in so people can capture themselves. You know, this is one of those moments that looks obvious in hindsight. It wasn't. Woodman wasn't really changing the camera. He was changing the question people asked about it. Instead of, how do I take pictures with this thing, the question became, what have I never been able to catch on camera before? That's a very different market. Woodman is jazzed.