@Kobo: It’s been a slice

Today was my last day at Kobo.

Over the past seven years, I have forgotten more war-stories than I remember. What is left are positive memories of Kobo, née ShortCovers, bringing digital reading to the masses through our mobile apps; anytime & anyplace. It’s followed by us dreaming big and making our mark on the world by building the world’s first “affordable” eReader.1 We expanded and grew the Kobo family quickly with early innovations in gamification and social reading. We did this all while taking on industry titans like Apple, Amazon and Google.

In that time, companies like Palm, Nokia, Borders and Oyster are no longer. Sony exited the eReading market.2 Barnes and Noble have all but left the market.

Kobo has played a big role in changing the way people read and I am positive that future historians will talk about Kobo alongside the other companies (west of Toronto) when they talk about the shift to “digital reading”. More importantly, Kobo has played a huge part in moulding the person that I am today.

I’ve had a spectacular time there.

Keep on, keeping on.

Tai


  1. People don’t remember that Kobo was the first to start the eReader price wars. 
  2. Sony actually founded the entire E INK eReader space a decade before Amazon entered.