GoPro's Entrepreneurial Success: A Deep Dive Case Study Analysis

This case study delves into the entrepreneurial journey of GoPro, founded by Nick Woodman, examining its rise as a leading action camera company. It highlights Woodman's entrepreneurial qualities, such as resilience, determination, and passion, which drove GoPro's success despite initial failures. The analysis covers GoPro's marketing strategies, including social media and content marketing, which contributed to its brand recognition and customer engagement. Furthermore, the study addresses the challenges GoPro faces, including financial performance issues and increasing competition, and recommends strategies for future growth, such as expanding product lines, enhancing customer loyalty, and improving technological responsiveness. The case study concludes by emphasizing the importance of adapting to market changes and leveraging strengths to maintain a competitive edge.

Running Head: Camera 0
Entrepreneurship
5/16/2019

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Executive summary
The following report provides a deep understanding of the marketing tactics of GoPro
cameras. The word Entrepreneurship determines as a method of developing and organizing
new business entrepreneurship. The notion of entrepreneurship has reformed the situation of
the business world in the recent few times because of the globalization. They are regarded as
risk takers and they are the accountable person for the success and failure of the business
enterprise. The following article has been identified as the notion of entrepreneurship and
enlightened each aspect of entrepreneurial qualities. In addition, the discussion has also been
made on the challenges and obstacles faced by the entrepreneur.

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Introduction
The article has stated the world’s hottest and biggest camera organization GoPro, which
produce and sell the private camera. The successful man behind GoPro is Mr. Nick
Woodman established it in 2003, in San Mateo, California. When he was at the ski tour for
Indonesia and Australia, this notion strikes his mind. He deliberates that he did not have any
alternative to taking photographs while doing surfing. It is stated that surfing is the favourite
and popular sport for Nick Woodman. The determination and hard work for surfing made up
him the founder of GoPro. So, he craved a camera which he could tie to his wrist and his
friends could see his surfing experience. He developed GoPro, which is an action camera,
have the capability to take videos and pictures in action, and can be attached to anything such
as helmet, planes, surfboard, and bicycles. It is quite evident that the reputation of GoPro
among several individuals is increasing nowadays. It assists people to grab and share their
lives most meaningful experiences with other people. It is more significant to spend a day on
the mountain with friends than alone so that they can share collective experiences with
friends. It is the most reasonable and most versatile camera, which is affordable to everyone
(Forbes.com, 2019).
Part-A
Q.1
Ans1. It is stated that features of the story have provided a perfect example of a success story
of Nick Woodman who was a fan of surfing turning into a business entrepreneur. He has
made his name as a leading billionaires entrepreneur, which has motivated by a desire to
build a product and facing failure so that they can maintain a positive image in the minds of
the market. He had a great idea to the strap that band can be a tie on the wrist and can take
photos effectively. The key factor has attributed his growth in his drive for the creation of the
product. They have shown capability and a tremendous drive to believe in himself and make
the product, which is aimed at generating affordability and predictability. It has shown
various attributes, which is regarded as firstly, it develops the capability to follow his passion.
He has a great idea to identify the need of every people and taking photos by tie band on the
wrist. Secondly, he has the capability to face failure and achieve profitability (Bédard, 2015).

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Nick Woodman has generated outlier of the celebrated success and growth. It is stated that
after starting up GoPro he has a deal with several failures but still not failed to follow his
passion and generate this capability with his conviction, will, and adaptability. He has
effectively driven in launching and implementation of GoPro. The last attribute is stated as an
obsessing market with the goods as the people are generating more interest in getting GoPro
products. Nick stated that he has achieved great success and profitability, which is a result of
an extreme level of dedication and hard work. He has given immense effort at the age of 26
when the majority of people involving fresh graduates and youth are seeking for the job
(Hambrick, 2019).
It has also been identified by several characteristics of an entrepreneur, which is stated as
Resilience, fear failure, passion, and innovation. It is further associated and described with
the founder of Nick Woodman (Nilsen, 2017).
 Fear of failure: It is one of the attributes of the entrepreneur, which is very significant
for the entrepreneur. He has failed when he initially start-up the business but then also
he has put his full effort to deal with this and generate motivation towards success and
effectively launch GoPro (Haynes, Hitt and Campbell, 2015).
 Determination: It is stated that determination is the key to profitability as higher the
determination, more success is generated. Therefore, the will for any conviction can
lead to profitability. This trait is majorly present in Nick Woodman, as he has a strong
determination regarding surfing. So, by considering the need of the people so that
they can generate beautiful memories and his passion can make him a billionaire. It is
stated that to covert this idea into reality, he has compromised his normal life. It can
be evident that will of Nick can make a successful person (Smith et al., 2018).
 Resilience: It is one of the significant factors of success. Founder of GoPro i.e. Nick
Woodman explores into several places for promotion. It is done through social media
sites such as YouTube, which is very popular among several individuals (Gorgievski
and Stephan, 2016).
Q.2
Ans2. Entrepreneurship term has been derived from the French language that determined an
individual who is undertaking something. It can be evident from Merriam-Webster, which
have defined entrepreneur as who assumes the management and risk of business; opportunity

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taker; undertaker; enterprise. These are the factors which have contributed to the successful
traits of an entrepreneur. It is quite evident from the given case that Nick is the person who
took full effort to develop the interest to produce reality and generate a business that can
result in profitability and growth. He has converted his idea of passion, hard work, generates
strong wisdom of realization, and victory. Peter Drucker has been regarded as the
management guru who has determined the aspect of entrepreneurship as a discipline. He has
stated that It’s not mysterious, it’s not magic, and it has nothing to do with genes. It’s just a
discipline and, like any discipline, it can only be learned (Ferreira, Fernandes and Kraus,
2019).
As per the declaration given by Drucker, it is stated that entrepreneurship can be learned but
not by genes. It is stated that several authors gave diverse assumptions regarding the
statement given by Drucker, which determine the entrepreneurship traits. He stated that it is
not an aspect without a framework, but it is a discipline. On the other side, it is stated that
Nick did not learn from anywhere regarding entrepreneurship. After that, his experiences and
failure drive towards growth and success. Though he is not associated with the field of
engineering, his passion, level of dedication, and hard work were filled in Nick Woodman.
Therefore, it is stated that some of the entrepreneurship traits can be learned, but other traits
such as self-satisfaction, dedication, and determination are in the person (Gangi, 2015).
Part-B
Q1.
Ans1. It is stated that to compete with the competitors, GoPro has specific traits, and so it is
an attractive camera. It has been depicted that it is an action camera, which records the
amazing experiences of people experiencing adventure and thrill. In addition, it is a
waterproof camera, without any accessories that can reach the same outcome with traditional
GoPro cameras. Some strategies that are used by GoPro to compete with the competitors
have been discussed effectively. They have successfully utilized Social media strategy, which
leads GoPro towards success and achievement. It has been depicted that there is a network on
YouTube, which involves the videos of people doing a stunt and other courageous people
(Paro et al., 2015). This motivates the people who loved adventure and they can purchase
GoPro despite other cameras. It is also being evident that attracts the people that GoPro gave
the authority to viewers and customers so that they can post their videos. After that, the
feedback and response can be provided through the comments to the clients. They stress

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some of the clients to their company profile so that they can motivate other people. This can
also enhance the extent of the dependability of customer towards GoPro. The other thing is
stated in a mechanical manner that GoPro has an increased amount of resolution than any
other camcorders existing in the market. Therefore, currently, Social media marketing is the
perfect instance of achievement (Simon, VAn Den and Wilms, 2016).
GoPro also utilized a content marketing strategy that is determined as the concentration and
determination towards the unique product in a different manner. It can be presented in the
manner of the strategy of Red Bull marketing. This is due to the fact that Red Bull
concentrated on marketing its products by taking extreme adventurous and athletes people.
The same can be regarded with the GoPro that is for the individuals who are excited to do
adventure. GoPro can be chosen by people who want to record something which is happening
at this time (Papastamatiou et al., 2018).
It is stated that these two strategies i.e. Social media marketing and content-based marketing
is been utilized by GoPro, which is a great achievement of success. Therefore, it can be said
that GoPro is associated with a strong social framework, which is safe, best, and effective
platform. The GoPro quality is better than other camera quality such as they have waterproof
camera, effective supply chain operation, and delivers a varied range of size and designs of
action camera (Vannini and Stewart, 2017).
Q2.
Ans2. It is stated that GoPro has a deal with several issues regarding financial performance
because of stagnating development. The marketing strategies has been evaluated through a
competitive analysis utilizing the SWOT approach by comparing with its product and brand
competitors. Some of the threats have been identified, which can result in decline should be
avoided. Their competitors should be given the opportunity so that they can track the events
and other things that could be harmful. The GoPro potential challenges and future strategies
have been overlooked so that they can build a new strategy. Some of the strength, weakness,
opportunities, and threats have been discussed below that are associated with Nick Woodman
and GoPro (Sasangohar et al., 2018).
Strength
 Best quality action camera
 Diversified market share
Weakness
 Financial problems
 Price is relatively high

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 High pixel quality
 Social media strategy
 Attractive features
 Generates brand equity
 Waterproof camera
 Generates awareness
 Limited accessories
 Limited presence
 Target market is small
 Lack of diversification
Opportunities
 Can generate more products and
accessories
 Virtual associated technologies
 Generates social presence
 Medical and traveling packs can be
there
 Improve awareness in demography
as well as geography
 Effective market potential
 Effective technology can be
implemented
Threats
 Seasonal fluctuation
 High competition with opponents
such as Sony
 The possible saturated market in the
future
 Rules can be improved
 Price rivalry
 Predictability and responsiveness
(Hetherington, Sutherland and Knie, 2018).
Recommendation
The GoPro has several strengths, but it is stated that the other opponents such as HTC, Sony
is improving their products effectively. In the future, the threats can be mitigated and the
potential deal could be enhanced. The aspect that is to drive towards the other ecological
extents in order to generate mindfulness. Another threat can be resolved by serving the
customer and for this customer loyalty need to there and adequately utilized. There are
several other approaches, which can be utilized to enhance customer responsiveness. It is
stated that other techniques involving software should be updated as per the needs of the
clients. The need to target people who love adventure and sport and need to be extended so
that they can make a position in the market. GoPro prices are also relatively higher as
compared to other cameras of HTC and Sony. In the future, it is to be noted that cost can be
enhanced and loyalty can be generated. It is stated that GoPro is facing a critical threat from

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competitors such as Nikon, HTC, Sony, and Canon (Lee et al., 2017).
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is to be stated that GoPro has utilized their strength but they are also facing
threats. Nick Woodman has strong determination, dedication, and motivation towards
developing a strong action camera for the people who love adventure. His strength and strong
desire can lead to success and profitability. He has compromised with his normal life to make
his desire into action. He gets this idea by the fact that he loves to do surfing and this is
because he wants to save his experiences and decided to make this popular. To encourage this
in the future, threats need to be properly resolved.

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