How I Built GoPro Extreme Sports Camera

Surfer, Seeking a Way to Film His Outrageous Stunts, Realizes He Has to Invent It

Nick Woodman longed for a way that he and other surfers could photograph their most outrageous stunts.

Using rubber bands and a Velcro surfboard leash, he attached hundreds of waterproof cameras to his wrist. But the rough Northern California surf proved too powerful, flooding every model he tested.

Mr. Woodman concluded he needed to build his own camera, and he soon began assembling a prototype with hot glue and plastic. He raised $235,000 from his parents to perfect his invention and hired a manufacturing firm in China to produce it in bulk.

In 2004, he started selling the cameras under the brand name GoPro at surf shops and trade shows. Six years later, he landed his first big retailer, Best Buy Co.

Today, Mr. Woodman's company, Woodman Labs Inc., pulls in $526 million in annual revenue, and its cameras have become the gold standard for self-documenting extreme sports. The matchbox-sized devices, which range in price from $200 to $400, are mounted on helmets, bike handles, surfboards and snowboards of both weekend warriors and professional athletes, including Olympian Shaun White and sky diver Felix Baumgartner.

But keeping up that momentum may be tough. Such major brands as Sony, Coleman and Swann have started selling sports cameras similar to GoPro's. Google Inc.  and Apple Inc.  are also expected to introduce wearable gadgets with photo and video functionality in the near future.

Mr. Woodman, 37 years old, recently spoke with The Wall Street Journal about bootstrapping his business and landing in major retail stores. Edited excerpts:

WSJ: How did you create a consumer product without having a background in engineering?

Mr. Woodman: I realized I just needed to communicate with engineers to build a cool product. When I was a visual-arts major [at University of California, San Diego], we were asked to execute lots of projects with found objects. So I used that approach, looking for existing cameras that were close to what I needed and then asking manufacturers to make changes.

WSJ: You previously launched two startups that failed. What did you learn from those experiences?

Mr. Woodman: I convinced people to put their money in, and I didn't come through. It was terrible. That's why I started Woodman Labs by bootstrapping it. I'd given myself until 30 to make it as an entrepreneur. I was 26 and had just failed. So I figured I had four years left to make it or I'd have to go and get a real job.

WSJ: You exhibited at trade shows for years before you broke into the big stores like REI, Best Buy and Walmart. How did you make that jump?

Mr. Woodman: The buyer for REI came through my booth at a trade show. He gave me his card and said stay in touch. At first I emailed him every week, and then it went to every few weeks. Finally our product was good. We got a test number of cameras in REI and then a display with video. Best Buy was another big one. There were just nine or 10 of us at GoPro when the buyer invited us to come in and test in the stores. I didn't know whether we were ready, but when opportunity knocks, open the door.

WSJ: With smartphones, capturing pictures and video has never been easier. How has this affected GoPro?

Mr. Woodman: Smartphones are always in your pocket. They're about reactive capture. GoPro is ideal for pro-active capture, meaning, "Hey, we're going to do something fun and we're going to capture a video of it." The increase in smartphones accelerated GoPro's position in retail stores in terms of how much floor space we got. At Best Buy we were scheduled to test GoPro on a limited basis during the 2011 fourth quarter, but when Cisco pulled the Flip camera there was a void, so instead they said forget the test, let's go full bore in all stores.

WSJ: You raised an $88 million Series A round led by Riverwood Capital in May 2011. How come?

Mr. Woodman: We didn't need the money because we've been profitable since day one, but we didn't have as much experience in the company as I wanted. We had a successful product, and it had grown way faster volume-wise and revenue-wise that we'd intended. When I should have been happy, I was stressed because I realized we should have had 50 people and we only had seven. We needed to build an experienced board that will help us attract top talent and help us scale this business.

online.wsj.com