I've been doing a little bit of "adventure" filming lately, and I must say, all of a sudden a GoPro is clutch. While I haven't really had much use for GoPros in the past (I am not a water person), they sure do make filming more simple when you can't (or don't want to) carry what now seems like a GIANT camera to film when you're in the action. Hooray, another Doodle question is posed, when did GoPro come out?!
The history of GoPro began on an Australian surf trip with a 26-year-old named Nick Woodman. The California native studied visual arts and graduated from the University of California, San Diego in 1997 with a strong interest in the technology industry.
His first two entrepreneurial attempts out of college included creating the websites EmpowerAll.com and Funbug.com, both of which failed. Mentally recovering from these disappointing ventures meant a surfing trip to Australia with his girlfriend, Jill Scully (whom he would eventually marry in 2012).
While surfing, Woodman had an idea. He wanted to capture quality surfing photos from neat angles without spending high amounts of money on top-of-the-line photography equipment usually reserved for professional athletes. The idea of the GoPro, a small camera that can strap onto a surfer’s wrist, had been born.
With funds he and his girlfriend had made from selling belts after returning from their surf trip, as well as a $250,000 loan from his father, Woodman Labs, Inc. (which would become GoPro, Inc.) was founded in 2002.
In 2004 the first GoPro camera was introduced, called HERO, a 35mm camera that could strap onto the user’s wrist. It could take photos in a maximum depth of five meters of water. in 2006 the digital version of the HERO was released, then the HERO2 in 2011. The newer HERO models would come out almost yearly after this and then their drone, Karma was introduced in 2016. Their first 360º camera was released in 2017, named Fusion and was replaced the the Max in October 2019.
GoPro cameras are sold in over 100 countries. The company is headquartered in San Mateo, California and has affiliate offices in other American states, such as Florida, along with other countries, including France and China. The technology company originally had three employees and as of 2018 number of employees was 963. While this number is not as high as it has been in previous years, it still shows impressive growth from the original founding of the company.
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