The smartwatch before Apple
It was built on e-ink technology - the same one that Kindle works on.
And it took nearly 4 years to bring the product, Pebble, to market in 2012 as a Kickstarter project.
It was a huge success because nothing like it existed back then. The company went on to reach revenues of $230 million in nearly 8 years of existence. Over 2 million Pebble watches were sold around the world.
A couple of years later, they had a hulking competitor - Apple. And Apple could afford to be wrong for a few product cycles.
But the runway for a small company is tiny. They can't afford to make mistakes.
Defining who the product was really for stands out as the problem that sunk them.
If you have unsold inventory at the end of the year, it ties up working capital.
That means being able to invest less on the next year's model. And if it does not hit the mark right away, even survival is in doubt.
Managing distribution, production and getting the product to market when the supply links aren't well-oiled within the company is another tough challenge to overcome.
Co-ordinating campaigns across channels and building visibility is harder than it looks - and for a fledgling company, enough to swamp it altogether.
The founder is frank about where he thinks they went wrong. But again, it's never about one main reason.
It is a series of dominoes that tumble and no one can be sure what the tipping point was.
In Shoe Dog, the book, the founder described how Nike literally stumbled from one quarter to another for over 15 years. It wasn't the step by step route to success
It was more about surviving several near-death moments.
Maybe that's the best way to define success!
Will people pay for a product they can never use?
This is a whole new category.
Yellowstone National Park is offering an 'Inheritance Pass' for one adult. But there is a massive string attached.
It can be used only 150 years from now. So, it becomes a usable heirloom instead of a showpiece.
The strategy is to increase revenue without putting a strain on the stretched infrastructure of the Park.
Last year, Yellowstone had over 5 million visitors, a 20% increase from the previous year.
Creating infrastructure and catering to the needs of visitors puts the pristine nature of the park under strain.
It is a good sign they are thinking ahead, instead of mindlessly increasing rates - something that does not seem to inhibit 'bucket listers' or 'Instagrammers' looking for unique backdrops.
This is a problem every single famous tourist location is having to contend with. The surging masses who never seem to stop coming from far and wide.
Venice has stopped the direct entry of cruise ships into the city, after it overwhelmed the infrastructure.
Even a small percentage - fractions from a country's population can steamroll a place that has a few inhabitants.
It is quite evident already in the hill stations and beaches of India. Go there over a holiday weekend or in peak season and be prepared to deal with the same traffic and crowds people are trying to escape from.
Maybe tourism as an industry needs to have guard rails. But then, that would be seen as throttling an industry.
As more and more places get added to the map, the temporary migration of humans becomes an issue.
Entire bird populations can fly thousands of kilometers every year and have no effect on the earth.
Humans need far more than food, shelter and transport as they indulge in idleness!
The invisible borders of personal spaces
When personal space is encroached upon, you are acutely sensitive. Sitting on a train, a bus or an airplane, you devise your own ways to keep the crowds out.
Bury heads in the newspaper or a book. Plug your ears into music and tune the world out.
Elbow digs into ribs are ignored, droopy heads lolling onto the shoulder are dodged with a quick forward movement.
But the real war is fought for control of the armrest. It is all done surreptitiously. Pretending that both have no knowledge of what is happening. The moment the armrest is free, the other arm occupies it. You can’t push the other person’s arm off.
That’s a foul. But everything else is fair game. All this has to be achieved without a single word being exchanged and without acknowledging that the other person exists.
In practically every case, you won’t even remember the face of the person who was right next to you. But you have to win. Why do you have to dominate? No idea. But if the other person manages, either by sheer size or savvy to monopolize the space, you can’t shake the feeling of resentment easily.
The same thing happens in front of lifts. Coughs and shuffles, quick glances to see if there is an acquaintance. Everyone punches the lift buttons, even if they are lit and the lift is on its way.
Inside the lift, there is a curious dance not to end up right at the back. Most take up positions midway on the side and make way for others. Then, eyes are riveted on the floor indicators as if a thriller is playing out.
Conversations die out, people try and hold their breath or look vacantly into the distance as if they are contemplating something profound. The smallest rustle of fabric, sniffles and throat clearing sounds are amplified. There’s something about standing very close to strangers that make for awkwardness in behavior.
The violation of personal space is tolerated just long enough to reach the floor.
Forced intimacy is awkward. Wherever we have to be in close proximity with strangers, there is a conscious attempt to build distance in the mind.
Even when introduced, people step forward, shake hands and then instinctively withdraw to the boundaries they have set.
The mobile phone offers the perfect excuse to get close mentally to those we want to and keep the current company out.
At parties, gyrating on the floor we seem to drop our inhibitions. But even that needs a stiff dose of alcohol or other mind-altering substances.