On this episode, we take a look at the Polaroid Land Camera Model 800 and discuss the life and work of Edwin Land, the inventor of instant photography and the driving force behind Polaroid's history of innovation. Plus: Steve Jobs in space! For more on Polaroid, check out: https://www.youtube.com/c/SweetLouPhotography https://www.youtube.com/c/AnalogResurgence https://www.youtube.com/c/InAnInstant One Fine Day by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Artist: http://audionautix.com/ Background photo: Collated by Geneva Vanderzeil, A Pair & A Spare, www.apairandasparediy.com
Polaroid founder Edwin Land is one of the most innovative inventors to have ever lived. Steve Jobs considered him one of his greatest heroes. On this episode we explore the methods and strategies he used to build the beautiful products that he did. 00:00 - The Eureka Moment: Birth of the Polaroid Camera 04:30 - Early Life: High Agency Behavior 07:00 - The Obsession with Polarization 09:30 - From Harvard to Independent Research 16:40 - Founding Polaroid: The Early Struggles 28:00 - Wartime Innovations and Contributions 30:30 - Maintaining The Vision 34:10 - The Birth of the Instant Camera 37:00 - Polaroid's Marketing Genius 38:30 - The SX-70: A Revolutionary Camera 42:30 - PolaVision: A Catastrophic Flop 45:50 - Edwin Land's Legacy and Lessons 46:00 Final Takeaways and Reflections --- Takeoverpod.supercast.com - Sign up to get all endnotes and special episodes GainsInBulk.com - Use code Ben for 20% off VanMan.Shop - Use code TakeOver10 for 10% off Founders Podcast Speechify.com - Use code Ben for 15% off --- Email me with feedback: Ben@Takeoverpod.com Need a speaker for your next event or corporate retreat? Email speaking@takeoverpod.com
"Instant photography at the push of a button!" During the 1960s and '70s, Polaroid was the coolest technology company on earth. Like Apple, it was an innovation machine that cranked out one must-have product after another. Led by its own visionary genius founder, Edwin Land, Polaroid grew from a 1937 garage start-up into a billion-dollar pop-culture phenomenon. Instant tells the remarkable tale of Land's one-of-a-kind invention-from Polaroid's first instant camera to hit the market in 1948, to its meteoric rise in popularity and adoption by artists such as Ansel Adams, Andy Warhol, and Chuck Close, to the company's dramatic decline into bankruptcy in the late '90s and its unlikely resurrection in the digital age. Instant is both an inspiring tale of American ingenuity and a cautionary business tale about the perils of companies that lose their creative edge.
Instant: The Story of Polaroid covers the rise, heyday, and decline of Polaroid Corporation. It has a particular focus on the personality and management style of Edwin Land, Polaroid’s innovative and dynamic founder, who was an inspiration to Steve Jobs. Polaroid’s niche in the marketplace and the strategic mistakes that led to Polaroid’s decline are other major themes of the book. We were pleased to be joined by the book’s author, Christopher Bonanos, for an interview about his work. Show Notes • Instant: The Story of Polaroid by Christopher Bonanos (https://amzn.to/3GSLX8b) via Amazon • Christopher Bonanos on Twitter (https://twitter.com/heybonanos) • Flash: The Making of Weegee the Famous by Christopher Bonanos (https://amzn.to/33sqTXJ) via Amazon Follow us on Twitter @BusinessBooksCo (https://twitter.com/BusinessBooksCo) and join our Amazon book club (https://smile.amazon.com/abc/detail/amzn1.club.bookclub.e0ba31b1-1838-6f4d-6640-2b0970ce92e1?ref_=abc_aa_bdp_r_ds_imw_ibc) . Edited by Giacomo Guatteri Find out more at http://businessbooksandco.com