Segway's Breakdown
Inventor Dean Kamen promised that his superscooter would change the world. Then reality hit - hard.
Before he'd sold a single one, Kamen blithely forecast that by the end of 2002, his enterprise would be stamping out 10,000 machines a week. Meanwhile, his best-known backer, venture capitalist John Doerr, predicted Segway would rack up $1 billion in sales faster than any company in history.
Segway officials acknowledge their factory sat largely idle last year but refuse to disclose specific sales or production figures. "My sense is they're producing 10 per week," University of Pennsylvania professor Karl Ulrich estimated near the end of 2002.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.03/segway.html
Inventor Dean Kamen promised that his superscooter would change the world. Then reality hit - hard.
Before he'd sold a single one, Kamen blithely forecast that by the end of 2002, his enterprise would be stamping out 10,000 machines a week. Meanwhile, his best-known backer, venture capitalist John Doerr, predicted Segway would rack up $1 billion in sales faster than any company in history.
Segway officials acknowledge their factory sat largely idle last year but refuse to disclose specific sales or production figures. "My sense is they're producing 10 per week," University of Pennsylvania professor Karl Ulrich estimated near the end of 2002.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.03/segway.html
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