As the 1990s drew to a close, Austria’s Emporia Telecom was in crisis. The firm had started out as a B2B provider of landline phones and fax machines, but the company’s core offerings no longer held widespread appeal. Suddenly, inspiration struck from an unlikely source. The firm’s founder and CEO, Albert Fellner, was helping his mother learn how to use her new mobile phone, which was riddled with unfamiliar features. In the process, he realized he’d stumbled across a huge void in the marketplace: providing simple, functional mobile phones to seniors.
