When we look at markets, especially technology markets, we see recurring themes.
A window of opportunity opens, and many try to catch the wave. A few succeed, and even fewer survive for long. Established companies are often not the leaders in a new wave; they become complacent with their more prosaic offerings that are selling well enough (“If it’s not broken, don’t try to fix it”). Such was the case in Los Angeles in the late 1920s and early 1930s radio market.
‘Startups’ have some advantages over established firms. Many begin as garage-shop operations with low overhead. Entrepreneurs are willing to spend their otherwise leisure hours working on their dreams. In many cases, friends and family provided the initial seed investment capital. These startups often ignored patents or deferred paying licensing fees, at least initially.
Several ‘startup’ companies emerged to make radio practical for the average homeowner. This blog will follow the story of Jackson-Bell — from a garage in 1926, to the largest radio manufacturer in Los Angeles by 1930, to the company’s demise in late 1932 — with the founder’s rebirth in the radio business two years later.