Nicholas Woodman

CEO
GoPro

Nicholas Woodman (Nick Woodman) is Founder and CEO of GoPro, a company founded in 2002 and dedicated to eliminating the pain points associated with capturing, managing, sharing and enjoying life’s most meaningful moments.  GoPro’s highly versatile and gear-mountable cameras are used by millions of consumers, athletes and video production professionals and GoPro content has spawned a bourgeoning digital media channel.

As an entrepreneur, Woodman got his start by founding an online promotions company, Funbug.  When that venture failed in 2001, he embarked on an international surfing trip, which sparked an idea for the company’s first product, the GoPro HERO, a 35mm film-based camera that strapped to the wrist.  In the years that followed, Woodman – along with friends, family and employees – innovated on both the camera and a wide array of mounting devices for everything from helmets to surfboards and even dog collars.

GoPro’s growth was greatly accelerated by the explosive popularity of social media.  Millions of GoPro users upload their GoPro content to Instagram, Vimeo, Facebook, Twitter and other popular sites.  The GoPro network also provides content for Virgin America Airlines and Xbox Live.  In 2014 more than 3.9 years of video was uploaded to YouTube with GoPro in the title.

Woodman’s success is rooted in the simplicity of his business model.  “What we make,” he says, “is one of the world’s most versatile capture devices.  What we do is enable some of the world’s most engaging content.  GoPro is a movement.  People around the world are capturing and sharing the most engaging moments of their lives, and when they share that, they take the audience along for the ride.”

Woodman lives in Woodside, California with his wife, Jill and their three children.