Ben Wilson

If somebody wants to come around, wants to tell him why it won't work, if he perceives that simply as discouragement of himself, he will throw him out. So he is using this unrelenting, naive optimism and all-out focus to drive the company forward. Another technique he uses is show-don't-tell marketing. So for example, he uses the old fishing trick to sell the president of American Optical.

He brings him into a room with a bowl of water next to a window. Imagine this conference room, there's a window, and there's this massive salad bowl next to the window. And he asks the president of American Optical to look at the bull and tells him what he sees. And the answer is nothing. Just glare off the surface. Then he brings out a sheet of polarized film for the president to look through.

He brings him into a room with a bowl of water next to a window. Imagine this conference room, there's a window, and there's this massive salad bowl next to the window. And he asks the president of American Optical to look at the bull and tells him what he sees. And the answer is nothing. Just glare off the surface. Then he brings out a sheet of polarized film for the president to look through.

And then he looks through this polarized sheet and he sees that there are actually fish swimming around in this bull. And this little trick convinces American Optical to partner with Polaroid on developing polarized lenses for some sunglasses. So after they land these two contracts with Kodak and American Optical, this is when they change from Land Wheelwright to Polaroid Corporation.

And then he looks through this polarized sheet and he sees that there are actually fish swimming around in this bull. And this little trick convinces American Optical to partner with Polaroid on developing polarized lenses for some sunglasses. So after they land these two contracts with Kodak and American Optical, this is when they change from Land Wheelwright to Polaroid Corporation.

They bring in some outside capital and really professionalize. One of the early investors they bring in is Louis Strauss, the great Jewish American entrepreneur, who is, I think, unfairly made out to be the bad guy in the movie Oppenheimer. But I just think it's interesting the link between those two. They begin doing public demonstrations to popularize the benefits of polarizers.

They bring in some outside capital and really professionalize. One of the early investors they bring in is Louis Strauss, the great Jewish American entrepreneur, who is, I think, unfairly made out to be the bad guy in the movie Oppenheimer. But I just think it's interesting the link between those two. They begin doing public demonstrations to popularize the benefits of polarizers.

And the company really starts taking off, mostly through their contract with Kodak. Unfortunately, at this time, Wheelwright leaves the company. The bankers who they had received investment from want them to have professional management, you know, adults in the room. So they bring in a Rockefeller man to run things. And so this leaves Wheelwright in an awkward position.

And the company really starts taking off, mostly through their contract with Kodak. Unfortunately, at this time, Wheelwright leaves the company. The bankers who they had received investment from want them to have professional management, you know, adults in the room. So they bring in a Rockefeller man to run things. And so this leaves Wheelwright in an awkward position.

He had been the business guy, right? Edwin Land was really the inventor and Wheelwright was someone who was technical enough to understand what they were doing, but he was more the businessman. And, um, so he voluntarily decides to leave the company. He doesn't want to be a burden on what they're doing on land. And he's starting to feel just like an anger, the company.

He had been the business guy, right? Edwin Land was really the inventor and Wheelwright was someone who was technical enough to understand what they were doing, but he was more the businessman. And, um, so he voluntarily decides to leave the company. He doesn't want to be a burden on what they're doing on land. And he's starting to feel just like an anger, the company.

And so he talks to land about this and, uh, in land tearfully begs him to stay. They were very good friends as well as close associates, but wheelwright doesn't want to be a burden. And so he voluntarily sells his shares, leaves and moves to the West coast where he And they would continue to be close.

And so he talks to land about this and, uh, in land tearfully begs him to stay. They were very good friends as well as close associates, but wheelwright doesn't want to be a burden. And so he voluntarily sells his shares, leaves and moves to the West coast where he And they would continue to be close.

And Wheelwright was always happy for the success that Edwin Land had, even though it didn't include him. The only lesson there, I think, is that there are a few things in this world more valuable than genuine friends who have your best interests at heart. And that is what George Wheelwright was. He really believed in Land and believed that what they were working on together

And Wheelwright was always happy for the success that Edwin Land had, even though it didn't include him. The only lesson there, I think, is that there are a few things in this world more valuable than genuine friends who have your best interests at heart. And that is what George Wheelwright was. He really believed in Land and believed that what they were working on together

was bigger than him and his personal financial success. And kudos to George Wheelwright. What an amazing guy. Okay. Now with a successful business and real revenue, Polaroid makes a big push to move beyond just these camera filters and these lenses for sunglasses. They want to move into what they think is a much bigger market, which is automobiles.

was bigger than him and his personal financial success. And kudos to George Wheelwright. What an amazing guy. Okay. Now with a successful business and real revenue, Polaroid makes a big push to move beyond just these camera filters and these lenses for sunglasses. They want to move into what they think is a much bigger market, which is automobiles.

Headlight glare was a big problem and could cause accidents at night. And the idea was that you could put big headlights on cars that fully illuminate the road for hundreds of yards ahead, and every car will have a polarizing filter on the windshield so that they aren't blinded by these headlights, these massive headlights from other companies.

Headlight glare was a big problem and could cause accidents at night. And the idea was that you could put big headlights on cars that fully illuminate the road for hundreds of yards ahead, and every car will have a polarizing filter on the windshield so that they aren't blinded by these headlights, these massive headlights from other companies.

However, if you think about it, there's a chicken and egg problem. What about, you can start rolling this out, what about the old cars that don't have polarized windshields? They're just going to be getting blasted by these massive lights. And so despite some very earnest initial interest, nothing ever comes of the proposed partnership with car manufacturers.