From chapter 5:
I became obsessed with a small company called Worlds of Wonder
(WOW as it was known on Wall Street). This company excelled in
designing toys that used technology innovatively. Around the time
Cabbage Patch kids were popular, this company came to the market
with a doll that had in it an embedded computer chip. Today, these
toys are prevalent, but at the time it was the only one of its
kind. The toy could respond to a child's voice, sing and cry,
and carry a simple conversation with a child. It was programmed
to recognize key words and respond accordingly. When introduced,
I bought one for my daughter who was 5 years old at the time.
She is now in college and still has this doll. Simply put, this
was one of the best gifts I had ever given her. This doll never
left her side. It was literally indestructible and it gave my
daughter many years of pleasure and entertainment. I was so impressed
with this doll that I eventually bought shares in the company.
I was so convinced that this doll would be a big winner that I
did not even bother to check the company's finances. After all,
this company had successfully introduced a best seller a year
earlier and there was no reason to believe that this doll would
not be a repeat best seller. I suspected by the extent to which
my daughter loved this doll that all the other young girls her
age would be equally infatuated. If this happened, the impact
on this little company's earnings would be phenomenal. This could
be the home run I was looking for.
However, at over a hundred dollars, the doll was very expensive
even by today's standards, let alone the late 80s. The company
was small and as such could not afford to market it aggressively.
So, sadly, despite its appeal, the doll failed to capture the
imagination of young girls and the pocket books of their parents
(myself excluded). I should have known better given that I was
initially more excited about this doll than my daughter was. It
was not one of those dolls for what she had pleaded and begged
when we went Christmas shopping; rather it was I who was adamant
on buying this doll for her as a Christmas present. It took training
the doll to respond to my daughter's commands for her to get attached
and infatuated by it. It was, therefore, not my daughter (the
natural consumer) who wanted to buy it, but me. Needless to say,
I was part of a very small minority of parents who were willing
to do so that year. Despite having a great product, the company
was not able to generate enough sales that year to meet its financial
obligations. It did not take long for its creditors to move in
and force the company into liquidation. The stock that I had bought
only a few months earlier had become worthless. I wish I had kept
the toy in its original mint condition, for it might now be a
collector's item and I would be able to recoup some of my losses
on it. Instead, my daughter got years of enjoyment from it. I
guess it was worth the price I paid after all.
