The guy is already wealthy. Perhaps he just wanted a Senior VP post and to have near autonomy over the direction of a company, in the area of design. I wouldn't blame him. Not everyone will become a Senior VP at Apple.
How much upward mobility is there at Apple. Apparently Greg Jozwiack got a promotion late last year but Apple doesn't have a lot of VPs and once you get to that level where do you go? In the case of Jony Ive there was no place to go other than Apple creating a new title for him.
It's too bad, but he's joining a rapidly dying company. Their sales were down over 31% last year, and still dropping. They must have offered him a lot, and I don't see what good it will do. These action cams are losing sales because of the increased quality of smartphone cameras, both still and video. That will just continue.
I don't think they are losing sales due to smartphone cameras. Phones can't do what you can with a GoPro. You wouldn't be mounting your phone on a surfboard or using it on a drone. Plus, a GoPro has a way better FOV than a smartphone. GoPro made a huge mistake releasing the inferior Hero Session as the same price of the way better Hero Silver camera. GoPro has since dropped the price a few times, but still, I have no idea what they were thinking. I think another huge factor is people aren't buying action cameras every year. I love my Hero 4 Black. Depending on what features are on the upcoming Hero 5, it's going to be a tough sell to upgrade. I imagine GoPro will start doing better once they release their drone later this year.
can their drone compete with DJI?
Phantom 4 is now at $1400
when GoPro's drone come out
I'm sure DJI will cut price at $1100 or maybe even $1K and Phantom 3 series will even lower
can GoPro (drone and camera) sells under $1K? I do not think so
I think big hope for GoPro is VR and 360 degree camera and 3-axis gimbal stabilizer (no more shaking video please, motion sickness)
The guy is already wealthy. Perhaps he just wanted a Senior VP post and to have near autonomy over the direction of a company, in the area of design. I wouldn't blame him. Not everyone will become a Senior VP at Apple.
Your post makes the most sense to me. If he was at Apple that long, odds were he was not going any higher up the ladder. Probably wanted a shot at the big chair to see what it is like and have creative control. No shame in that.
True. Without knowing the internals of the situation, it's possible he felt passed over to succeed Ive; and/or working for Ive's successor just didn't have that chemistry; or maybe as others here suggested, it was simply time to cash out his options & ease into the home stretch before retirement.
It's too bad, but he's joining a rapidly dying company. Their sales were down over 31% last year, and still dropping. They must have offered him a lot, and I don't see what good it will do. These action cams are losing sales because of the increased quality of smartphone cameras, both still and video. That will just continue.
I don't think they are losing sales due to smartphone cameras. Phones can't do what you can with a GoPro. You wouldn't be mounting your phone on a surfboard or using it on a drone. Plus, a GoPro has a way better FOV than a smartphone. GoPro made a huge mistake releasing the inferior Hero Session as the same price of the way better Hero Silver camera. GoPro has since dropped the price a few times, but still, I have no idea what they were thinking. I think another huge factor is people aren't buying action cameras every year. I love my Hero 4 Black. Depending on what features are on the upcoming Hero 5, it's going to be a tough sell to upgrade. I imagine GoPro will start doing better once they release their drone later this year.
The articles in the financial pages have been saying that people who were buying their cameras are now using their smartphones. A smartphone doesn't need to exactly duplicate what these cameras do. They need to do enough to substitute most of the time. The fact that they are ubiquitous makes up for much.
drones are a dime a dozen these days, and it's unlikely that selling one will make much difference for them. Apple sells a very good one in their stores and on their website. I almost bought one a couple of weeks ago when I was in one.
Leaving Apple doesn't seem like a big deal, he's probably rich enough to retire entirely and still be well off forever. The odd thing is that he'd choose to go to GoPro. It really seems like a dying company. I work at a place right next to their HQ on the SF peninsula, and I share a shuttle bus with GoPro employees. I can't read *too* much into my experience with that, but my entirely subjective impression of the GoPro employees rolling into work each day: morale is lowwwwwww.
It's too bad, but he's joining a rapidly dying company. Their sales were down over 31% last year, and still dropping. They must have offered him a lot, and I don't see what good it will do. These action cams are losing sales because of the increased quality of smartphone cameras, both still and video. That will just continue.
From what I've read about GoPro, their problem isn't hardware, but the software. They did make a stupid pricing decision with their Hero series, but the real issue is that the software isn't good enough to sit and easily edit the footage that is captured.
As far as Coster is concerned, he probably wants to retire and just wants a little easy money before doing so. If the company goes down when he is still working for it, you can bet he has a golden parachute ready.
The guy is already wealthy. Perhaps he just wanted a Senior VP post and to have near autonomy over the direction of a company, in the area of design. I wouldn't blame him. Not everyone will become a Senior VP at Apple.
GoPro stock is down 90% the last 12 months. The company will probably layoff 80% of its employees within the next year or two.
Talk about a short term move
In some ways that doesn't matter. Coster will have moved from underling to VP, which sets him up for a future move to a similar position and salary should GoPro founder.
GoPro stock is down 90% the last 12 months. The company will probably layoff 80% of its employees within the next year or two.
Talk about a short term move
In some ways that doesn't matter. Coster will have moved from underling to VP, which sets him up for a future move to a similar position and salary should GoPro founder.
According to GoPro's press release he's going to have responsibility for a lot more than just hardware design. So I'm guessing a broader set of responsibilities but probably less stressful than Apple.
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and Phantom 3 series will even lower
drones are a dime a dozen these days, and it's unlikely that selling one will make much difference for them. Apple sells a very good one in their stores and on their website. I almost bought one a couple of weeks ago when I was in one.
From what I've read about GoPro, their problem isn't hardware, but the software. They did make a stupid pricing decision with their Hero series, but the real issue is that the software isn't good enough to sit and easily edit the footage that is captured.
As far as Coster is concerned, he probably wants to retire and just wants a little easy money before doing so. If the company goes down when he is still working for it, you can bet he has a golden parachute ready.