Same Crisis, Different Fates: 4 Turning Points Between Companies That Survived and Those That Vanished
Kodak and Fujifilm took the same hit (the digital camera) in the same era. One went bankrupt; the other is still growing today as a cosmetics and medical company. There was little difference in their technical capabilities. What separated them was **a single decision**.
Same Crisis, Different Fates: 4 Turning Points Between Companies That Survived and Those That Vanished
Kodak and Fujifilm took the same hit (the digital camera) in the same era. One went bankrupt; the other is still growing today as a cosmetics and medical company. There was little difference in their technical capabilities. What separated them was a single decision.
The most expensive way to read corporate strategy cases is to finish with "impressive." The cheapest way is to use those decisions as a mirror for your own business decisions. The results of decision-making experiments that cost hundreds of billions, we can learn from for free.
Today we look at four companies whose fates diverged in the same kind of crisis. At the end of each case, I leave one question that solo founders and entrepreneurs can apply directly.
1. Kodak vs. Fujifilm — "Can you kill your revenue source?"
In 1975, Kodak engineer Steven Sasson built the world's first digital camera. Kodak even patented the technology but did not bring it to market.[^1] The popular belief that "Kodak hid digital to protect film sales" is actually an exaggeration — in 1975 the product was immature and there was no market, and Kodak did go on to develop digital cameras. The more accurate truth is that film, a huge source of revenue, slowed a bold shift to digital. In the end, Kodak went bankrupt in 2012.[^2]
Fujifilm went the opposite way in the same crisis. It assumed a steep drop in film sales and moved the chemical technology it used for film (collagen, antioxidants, nanotechnology) into cosmetics (Astalift, 2007) and medical imaging. It redefined its core asset as 'chemical technology' rather than 'film.'[^2]
Your business question: If the revenue source that earns you the most today were holding you back three years from now — could you make the decision to shrink it yourself?
2. Netflix — "When you cut into a business that works"
In 2007, while it was profitable from mailing DVDs, Netflix began investing in streaming. More decisive was 2011, when it tried to separate the DVD business from streaming and split DVDs off into a separate brand (Qwikster), losing 800,000 subscribers. Qwikster was withdrawn within 23 days, and over 2011 as a whole, including this episode, the share price fell about 80%. Qwikster was withdrawn within 23 days.[^3]
The execution was rough, but the direction was right. Netflix pushed its definition of itself as "not a DVD company but a content delivery company" all the way, and eventually moved into original production (House of Cards). The key point is that it shook up a current business that was working because the future was bigger.
Your business question: Is the work that brings in 80% of your revenue today heading in the same direction you truly want to go? If not, when will you shake it up?
3. Nokia — "When the leader's assets become the leader's shackles"
In 2007, Nokia was number one in the mobile phone market. With about 40% of all phones, it was dominant. Yet its smartphone share collapsed from 48.7% in 2007 to 3.1% in 2013, and in 2013 it sold its phone business to Microsoft for USD 7.2 billion (about EUR 5.44 billion). It took about 6 years from peak to sale.
The surface explanation is "it couldn't keep up with the iPhone," but in reality its biggest assets (the Symbian OS and its hardware manufacturing scale) tied up its decision-making. It had too much to let go. (This case is covered in depth on its own in Part 3.)
Your business question: Are the assets you are proudest of (existing customers, established methods, accumulated know-how) keeping you from moving to the next stage?
4. Microsoft — "The decision that changed its identity"
When Satya Nadella became CEO in 2014, Microsoft was a 'Windows company.' Every decision bent toward protecting Windows. Nadella rewrote its identity as a 'cloud and subscription company' and released Office, which it had treated as a point of pride, first on rival platforms iOS and Android.
A company devoted to protecting Windows could never have made that decision. Once it changed its definition of itself, the range of possible decisions widened.
Your business question: What do you define yourself as someone who does? That definition sets the range of decisions you can make.
One sentence that runs through all four cases
What separated the four companies was not technology, capital, or market information. It was whether they could redefine their own assets.
- Fujifilm: redefined its asset as 'chemical technology' rather than 'film' → survival
- Netflix: a 'content delivery company,' not a 'shipping company' → transition
- Nokia: trapped in the definition of 'number one in mobile phones' → collapse
- Microsoft: from 'Windows company' to 'cloud company' → revival
For solo founders, this is actually better news. We have fewer assets to protect. Kodak and Nokia couldn't let go because they had too much. When you have little, the decision to change direction is far cheaper and faster.
If you do just one thing today
Take out a sheet of paper and write down:
- What earns the most in my business right now (or what am I most confident in)?
- Will I carry it forward unchanged three years from now?
- If not — what should I redefine as 'my real asset'?
If you get stuck on these three questions, sorting them out together once is faster than struggling alone.
Request a free consultation → One hour to redefine your business assets.
Sources (✅ verified, WebSearch 2026-06-01)
[^1]: Kodak engineer Steven Sasson built the first digital camera in 1975, patented it (1978). "Hid it to protect film" is an exaggeration — the product was immature and there was no market at the time; Kodak also launched a commercial digital camera in 1991. — IEEE Spectrum · Snopes. https://spectrum.ieee.org/first-digital-camera-history [^2]: Fujifilm — survived by shifting film technology (collagen, antioxidants, nanotechnology) into Astalift cosmetics (2006–2007) and medical imaging. Kodak went bankrupt in 2012. — Harvard d3 · Nippon.com. https://www.nippon.com/en/features/c00511/ [^3]: Netflix Qwikster — 2011 attempt to separate DVD and streaming → 800,000 fewer subscribers, share price plunged ~80%, withdrawn within 23 days. — Washington Post · NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2011/10/10/141209082/ [^4]: Microsoft — after Nadella took over in 2014, redefined the 'Windows company' as 'cloud and subscription' and released Office on iOS/Android. (Widely documented; Nadella, Hit Refresh.)
Next: Through the lenses of four global strategy thinkers (Porter, Christensen, Rumelt, BCG), we diagnose directly 'which box your business is in right now.'
Which turning point is your business standing at right now?
A 2-minute diagnosis shows you what to structure first. Feel free to answer only as much as you are comfortable with.
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Key points
- •Kodak and Fujifilm faced the same digital shock, but Fujifilm redefined its asset as 'chemical technology' rather than 'film' and moved into cosmetics and medical imaging, while Kodak went bankrupt in 2012.
- •The popular belief that Kodak hid the first digital camera in 1975 is overstated; the more accurate explanation is that film, a huge source of revenue, slowed the transition.
- •Netflix began investing in streaming in 2007 while its DVD business was profitable, and in 2011 its attempt to spin off Qwikster cost 800,000 subscribers and saw the share price fall about 80%, leading it to reverse course within 23 days.
- •Nokia led the mobile phone market with about 40% in 2007, but its smartphone share collapsed from 48.7% (2007) to 3.1% (2013), and in 2013 it sold its phone business to Microsoft for USD 7.2 billion.
- •The article concludes that what separated the four companies was not technology, capital, or information, but 'whether they could redefine their own assets.'
Frequently asked questions
Did Kodak know about the digital camera and hide it?
The article considers that belief an exaggeration. In 1975 the product was immature and there was no market, and Kodak did go on to develop digital cameras. The more accurate explanation is that film, a large source of revenue, slowed a bold shift to digital.
How did Fujifilm survive?
It assumed a steep drop in film sales and moved the chemical technology it used for film (collagen, antioxidants, nanotechnology) into cosmetics and medical imaging. The turning point was the decision to redefine its core asset as 'chemical technology' rather than 'film.'
How can a solo founder apply these cases?
Start by asking whether you could cut back your best-earning revenue source yourself if it were holding you back three years from now. The article sees it as an advantage for solo founders that the fewer assets you have, the cheaper and faster it is to change direction.
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As an IT service planning and design expert, I research and share success stories from various startups and companies.
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