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I am still amazed how quickly Cisco destroyed Flip from 2009 to 2011 - basically 590Million down the drain: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_Video https://en.
by sireat 3y ago
I am still amazed how quickly Cisco destroyed Flip from 2009 to 2011 - basically 590Million down the drain:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_Video https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_Video
Sure you could argue that by 2011 Flip was on the way out as phones were taking over, but there was plenty of room to pivot and plenty of good will.
Had a relative whose company was to be bought by Cisco but thankfully Flip debacle destroyed that deal.
- foobiekr 3y agoFlip basically shows up at the same time the iPhone got video. They were dead already and only Cisco didn’t realize it.
- sireat 3y agoOh Flip was dead in the long run no question about it. It was not only iPhone but Android phones that finally got good enough video quality. It is just that Cisco cut their losses extremely early. There were still 2-5 years left where Flip could have been profitable.
- foobiekr 3y agoWithout insider information, which I don't have, who knows. But I will say this: 1. cisco is not a consumer company. they tried with linksys, bailed. tried with scientific atlanta, bailed. no surprise that they bailed on PD. 2. having seen a lot of ASIC acquisitions in my lifetime, which is basically what Pure Digital was - apple knockoff packaging and branding plus an encoder - in my experience tons of startup teams get their first ASIC done, but then totally flub their second (and some of this is the layoff dynamics of how ASIC startups operate on the HW side - unless you immediately start the next chip before finding fit, you have dead weight that you cut). Also, once you show how it's done and have fit, the professionals show up, like Qualcomm, which makes that even harder. It wouldn't surprise at all if (2) was the culprit.
- lern_too_spel 3y agoDespite the iPhone 3gs and HTC Magic offering video recording in mid-2009, GoPro's market cap peaked in October 2014.