Josh Levy and Ross Cohen spent 11 months pitching an identity badge nobody would buy. Their pivot - from asking people to verify themselves to helping customers investigate the world around them - became a portfolio of data products used by millions.
onX began with a Montana hunter loading property lines onto a GPS chip. It now sells millions of subscribers something more valuable than a pin on a screen: confidence about where they can go, what they will find and how to get back.
Snapchat made disappearing photos feel natural. Now Snap is using that private, camera-first habit - plus ads, subscriptions and an army of Lens creators - to finance a much stranger bet on what comes after the phone.