ZEENAT MOORAD: How Kodak lost focus
Can a company ever really live up to the legacy of its storied past?
Kodak is due to enter the world of cryptocurrencies. Yes, you read right — the company of little yellow box fame. After a four-month delay, the KodakCoin initial coin offering (ICO) is set to begin next week, with funding of between US$10m and $50m being sought. KodakCoin will be used to pay photographers, help them licence their work and track the unlicensed use of it. This will be the latest crack at reinvention for 130-year-old Kodak — and I got to wondering about corporate makeovers and whether a company can ever really live up to the legacy of its storied past. While it’s still hard to see the wood for the trees when it comes to cryptocurrencies, one can understand why Kodak has moved (and swiftly, I might add) to play in this area. Remember that this is the company that invented the first prototype of a digital camera in 1975. This is also the company that didn’t back its invention because it was deemed too esoteric. Because Kodak’s film business was printing money (it had cap...
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