A young founder has to be flexible
Robert Bosch was feeling upbeat when he opened his workshop in 1886. However, he wanted to sell electrical products and something was foiling his plans. A long-planned electricity works was stalled until 1895.
Fits into any closet
This prevented the development of his electrical engineering business. And so he switched course, as he and his co-workers needed to earn their daily bread. He had to make do from one contract to the next, never gave up, and completed whatever orders customers happened to request — lightning rods, cigar-tip cutters, typewriters for the blind. The list of what Robert Bosch built and repaired is long and curious.
But then everything changed again. Bosch was able to breathe more easily and focus more on the business that had been in his sight from the start — constructing and installing electrical systems. When Stuttgart’s electricity plant went into operation in 1895, every household and company was able to connect to the permanent supply and then operate electrical appliances. This ensured the existence of Bosch.
Author: Dietrich Kuhlgatz
