What strikes me about this story is how organically they grew their business, using the proceeds from fulfilling relatively prosaic market needs (first ice, the

What strikes me about this story is how organically they grew their business, using the proceeds from fulfilling relatively prosaic market needs (first ice, then ice-skating rink, etc.) to fund the development of adjacent competencies. The lengthy time to market acted as a positive change agent, working hand in glove with the minute attention to detail refining the product to market fit, building a moat of competency before debuting. Instead of cutting 90 minutes to 60 with a machine that only scraped down the surface, the prototype solved the customers' problem in a very comprehensive manner. I love seeing these kinds of organic growth business stories as they illustrate grit/perseverance, though that kind of business development is terribly out of fashion in the business press these days.