NEWS

Pure Digital’s Sales Flip

Video camera, Oprah drive 5-year growth up 44,667 percent

San Francisco Business Times
November 14, 2008
By Patrick Hoge

San Francisco’s Pure Digital Technologies Inc. has seen its pocket-sized Flip video cameras gobble up 24 percent of the nation’s camcorder market, placing it second only to electronics giant Sony in just 18 months.

Revenue for 2008 is in the $150 million range from nearly $50 million last year, the company said. Deloitte LLP recently put Pure Digital at the top of its fastest growing software and information technology companies, with five-year growth of 44,667 percent through 2007.

"It is the entrepreneur’s dream to see Oprah holding his product and saying it is one of her favorite things. I was fortunate enough to see that happen," said Jonathan Kaplan, CEO of Pure Digital and one of the four people credited with inventing the Flip cameras.

Founded in 2001, privately held Pure Digital started off pushing sales of single-use still photo cameras and then single-use digital camcorders, which consumers could get developed onto DVDs at pharmacies. Pure Digital is getting out of that business now.