bsnsBlooper: The Company That Invented Its Own Undoing

***This bsnsBloopers episode originally aired on February 27, 2026.

Kodak was once one of the most recognizable names in photography, with a business built around cameras, film, photographic paper, and processing. For decades, the company's products helped people capture important moments while generating substantial revenue from every roll of film developed.

In 1975, Kodak engineer Steven Sasson developed an early digital camera. The invention offered a glimpse of a future in which photographs could be captured without film, but that future also threatened the business model responsible for much of Kodak's success. The company faced a difficult choice between protecting its established revenue and embracing technology that could change how customers used photography.

Kodak eventually participated in the digital photography market, but it struggled to replace the profits and customer relationships associated with film and printing. As digital cameras, camera phones, and online photo sharing changed consumer behavior, the company's traditional business continued to decline. Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2012 and later emerged as a smaller business focused on commercial imaging.

The Kodak story illustrates how a successful company can recognize an important technological change without successfully adapting its business model to that change. Protecting today's profits may seem reasonable, but it can become costly when customers begin moving toward an entirely different way of doing things.

Written and hosted by Ron Trucks. Research and editing by Rodney Russ. Sound design by Angela Cahoy. Music by Cody Martin and Soundstripe.

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