This week we’re talking pivots. Not minor tweaks, but fairly significant shifts in a company’s direction. This could mean changing the products or services you offer, changing who it’s made for, or even your entire business model.

Pivots can often be seen as a negative - ‘the thing we bet on isn’t working so we’re having to change tack’. But actually, a whopping 75% of founders who pivoted their business in some capacity reported that it was a key factor in their subsequent success (CNBC, 2023).

The strategic shift is often driven by knowledge gained through early failures or customer feedback, market shifts or world events, or even new opportunities that simply didn’t really exist when you first started.

Pivoting is not an admission of defeat; it’s a testament to a company’s agility and commitment to success. It demonstrates a relentless focus on the problem you’re trying to solve, not a specific solution. It shows a willingness to learn and adapt. And ultimately could be the difference between success and failure.

‍

What is a Pivot?

In the startup world, a pivot is not just a minor tweak but a significant shift in a company’s direction. This could mean changing the company’s products, services, target market, or even its entire business model. Pivots are often driven by insights gained from initial failures, customer feedback, or new opportunities that were not previously considered 

‍

Why Pivoting Should Not Be Viewed Negatively

Pivoting is not an admission of defeat; rather, it is a testament to a company’s agility and commitment to success. It shows a willingness to learn and adapt, which are invaluable traits in today’s fast-paced market.

‍

Examples of Companies That Have Pivoted

The landscape of global business includes numerous tales of successful pivots.

1. Twitter: Initially started as Odeo, a platform for podcast discovery, before pivoting to become the microblogging service we know today.
2. Shopify: Began as an online store for snowboarding equipment, then pivoted to become a global e-commerce platform.
3. Groupon: Started as a platform called The Point, which focused on social campaigns, before pivoting to focus on group coupons.
4. Instagram: First launched as Burbn, a check-in app with gaming elements, before transforming into the photo-sharing app that revolutionised social media.
5. Youtube: Originally created as a dating site, Youtube users would create videos of themselves describing their ideal partner so that they could potentially find their perfect match. But the founders had trouble finding people who wanted to use the platform in this way, so they shifted to allow users to host any kind of video — making YouTube what it is today.

‍

‍

‍

‍