A short-sighted entrepreneur gave up selling typewriters to sell a product that helped him to see better. The product didn't sell because potential customers assumed it was similar to previous similar products so he tried a different approach and started a multimillion dollar industry. Who was he, what was his product and how did he persude customers to buy it?

m_west_gaul

I think that it was Thomas Edison and the product was the Light Bulb. Not sure how he persuaded customers to buy it... Jan 15 06, 7:01 AM

gmackematix

Was Edison short-sighted and did he sell typewriters? Nice try, but it isn't Edison's light bulb. Jan 15 06, 9:40 AM

gmackematix

Oh and it isn't Swan's light bulb either. This is about 20 years after Swan and Edison were making their incandescent lamps commercially viable. Jan 15 06, 9:46 AM

gtho4

William Coleman, who founded the Hydro-Carbon Light Company, which later became the Coleman Lamp Company http://homepage.ntlworld.com/munwai/history.htm http://homepage.ntlworld.com/munwai/history.htm William was a typewriter salesman. Business was slow. William also had trouble with his eyesight- 75% blind in one eye; 50% blind in the other. This was in the year 1899, before electric lights were commonly used. William had a devil of a time seeing after dark, in the dimly lit offices of his sales prospects. Gas lanterns were usually in use, and not only was their light dull, but the lanterns were not reliable. One night he walked into a drugstore and was surprised to find that he could see perfectly well in the light of a new gas lantern. He tracked down the salesman of the lantern and decided to quit the typewriter business to sell these new lanterns instead. Sixty sales calls later, after managing to sell only two lanterns, William found that people were so accustomed to dealing with inferior lamps (which often clogged and quit) that they were unwilling to pay cash for a lantern that they were convinced would be the same. So William decided that instead of selling lanterns, he would RENT lanterns! He promised people that they could rent a lantern for $1 per month, and any lamps that quit working would be immediately replaced. William had invented the nation’s very first service contract. Four days later, he was out of lanterns and he was in business. http://www.myfavoriteezines.com/TopPicks/040715.html">http://www.myfavoriteezines.com/TopPicks/040715.html Jan 15 06, 7:26 PM