Founded in 2002 by Nicholas Woodman, GoPro has helped millions of athletes and amateur or professional photographers around the world to capture scenes of their activities. Although the cameras that the company manufactures today are high definition digital cameras, the first one it ever produced was a 35mm film version.
This camera was created when Woodman was on a surfing trip in Australia in 2002. He realized the need of amateur photographers to capture shots of surfers up close and he decided to create a camera that would enable them to do so. After creating a design for the camera, Woodman raised funds to start a company by selling belts made out of sea shells and beads, from the back of his Volkswagen van.
GoPro’s first camera was an instant hit. Sales were blooming, but the company hit its first major sale in 2004 when a Japanese company ordered 100 units. Since then, sales of the company have been doubling almost every year.
In 2012, the company hit annual sales of over $500 million. Their product line of HD Hero digital cameras are a hit almost everywhere in the world. This has enabled the company to go head-to-head with giant names in the industry like Sony and Garmin, the GPS products manufacturer.
Today, GoPro’s camera can be attached almost anywhere on the body, the airframe of an aircraft, a speed boat, or any type of vehicle. The company even distributes their own video editing app called GoPro app that can be downloaded from their website.