Nick Woodman: “We invented the selfie”
The 43-year-old founder of GoPro on the importance of deadlines, his life long love of surfing and the company's 3 hour lunch breaks
Nick Woodman first stumbled upon the idea for GoPro on a trip to Bali in 2002. The entrepreneur — an avid surfer, naturally — thought it might be fun to record his antics out on the waves with a waterproof camera, strapped primitively to his wrist. It turns out he was right — very right. The rest, as they say, is history.
In the years since, adrenaline junkies, performers and sports stars the world over have used these incredibly smart and (almost) indestructible cameras to record anything they set their minds to. Here, the man behind the brand tells us why it’s crucial to put a deadline on success; the lessons he learnt from two failed business start-ups; and why it’s good to feel a little bit scared once in a while.
GoPro stands for something much more than technology — it’s an aspirational way of life. Ours is a very different kind of company, since it is arguably the first lifestyle tech brand. We allow people to capture brilliant, high-quality action images and videos of themselves pursuing their passions — enabling, really for the first time, the world to see itself doing what it loves to do.
