Loading...
Answers
MenuWhen should you pivot your business model? After how many month / customer interviews?
This question has no further details.
Answers
I would try selling it to 10 customers (without changing your pitch) and if you don't get 3 customers to buy, then adjust.
It's less about time and more about # of learnings. I don't like interviews, I like asking if they have the problem, showing them our solution (verbally or with a visual) and then asking for their business and taking their money.
If they don't pay, doesn't count.
Don't spend it, test the complete group (or 10 min) and then decide to pivot, or preservere.
It's impossible to give a credible and useful answer to your question, based on how this has been framed. The decision to pivot is a fundamental leadership decision that can only be made based on the very specific information you have been presented unique to your team and market opportunity.
I'd be happy to talk to you in a call to understand what has happened to date to help provide some clarity into your decision-making process but I'd be highly skeptical of any generalized advice you get to this question.
Hello ... I've pivoted a few times and can tell you that the answer to your question is not binary. There is no answer to your question based on time, quantity of customer interviews, or even a sales figure.
Sorry to say this, but I don't think that this question will really get you the answers you're looking for.
If your challenge is that you feel that you've put in enough "time" and, hence, think you can start to pivot your model to the next phase - you're looking at it the wrong way.
If you've managed to start-up and align the company along your mission, vision and values ... then the key is to hone in on the sweet spot. That 20% of your customers, contacts, employees, etc that drive 80% of your results. You need to refine your model to a sustainable competitive advantage that is a beacon to the customers you want, the employees you need, and the resources to bring them all together.
You turn on the light and become that beacon when you start to build organizational alignment around mission, vision, and values. The key is then based around getting the Right People in the Right seats and working on the Right things. Suggest you read the Rockefeller Habits by Verne Harnish if you haven't already.
You can focus on your BHAG, but keep the focus on the next step. You can focus on innovation and marketing in that space and that's where the company needs you.
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, you need to bring people with you ...
When you've built the systems and structure around alignment you're ready to pivot and scale.
I have lots of blog posts on this subject, just follow this link: http://wisenapkin.com/tag/growth/
Make it a great day!
Related Questions
-
how to start earning on clarity.fm
Most of the earnings come from the people you are in contact with. The platform is not that big at the moment but it can be earned. My recommendation is to create content on your private page web, facebook, instagram ... and leave a clarity link through your work. If you need extra help call me for 15 minutes.DB
-
What is the average series A funding round at pre revenue valuation for a enterprise start up w/cutting edge tech on verge of our first client.
With all respect to Dan, I'm not seeing anything like that. You said "pre-revenue." If it's pre-revenue and enterprise, you don't have anything proven yet. You would have to have an insanely interesting story with a group of founders and execs on board with ridiculous competitive advantage built in. I have seen a few of those companies. It's more like $3m-$5m pre. Now, post-revenue is different. I've seen enterprise plays with $500k-$1m revenue/yr, still very early (because in the enterprise space that's not a lot of customers yet), getting $8m-$15m post in an A-round. I do agree there's no "average." Finally, you will hit the Series A Crunch issue, which is that for every company like yours with "cutting edge tech" as-yet-unproven, there's 10 which also have cutting edge tech except they have customers, revenue, etc.. So in this case, it's not a matter of valuation, but a matter of getting funded at all!JC
-
What does it mean to 'grandfather you in' in the tech world?
It stands for allowing someone to continue doing or use something that is normally no longer permitted (due to changing regulations, internal rules etc.)OO
-
For every success story in Silicon Valley, how many are there that fail?
It all depends on what one decides to be a definition of a "success story." For some entrepreneurs, it might be getting acqui-hired, for some -- a $10M exit, for some -- a $200M exit, and for others -- an IPO. Based on the numbers I have anecdotally heard in conversations over the last decade or so, VCs fund about 1 in 350 ventures they see, and of all of these funded ventures, only about 1 in 10 become really successful (i.e. have a big exit or a successful IPO.) So you are looking at a 1 in 3500 chance of eventual venture success among all of the companies that try to get VC funding. (To put this number in perspective, US VCs invest in about 3000-3500 companies every year.) In addition, there might be a few others (say, maybe another 1-2 in every 10 companies that get VC investments) that get "decent" exits along the way, and hence could be categorized as somewhat successful depending on, again, how one chooses to define what qualifies as a "success story." Finally, there might also be companies that may never need or get around to seeking VC funding. One can, of course, find holes in the simplifying assumptions I have made here, but it doesn't really matter if that number instead is 1 in 1000 or 1 in 10000. The basic point being made here is just that the odds are heavily stacked against new ventures being successful. But that's also one of the distinguishing characteristics of entrepreneurs -- to go ahead and try to bring their idea to life despite the heavy odds. Sources of some of the numbers: http://www.nvca.org/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ven... https://www.pwcmoneytree.com/MTP... http://paulgraham.com/future.html Here are others' calculations of the odds that lead to a similar conclusion: 1.Dear Entrepreneurs: Here's How Bad Your Odds Of Success Are http://www.businessinsider.com/startup-odds-of-success-2013-5 2.Why 99.997% Of Entrepreneurs May Want To Postpone Or Avoid VC -- Even If You Can Get It http://www.forbes.com/sites/dileeprao/2013/07/29/why-99-997-of-entrepreneurs-may-want-to-postpone-or-avoid-vc-even-if-you-can-get-it/MB
-
How can I become an idea person, as a professional title?
One word: Royalties This means you generate the idea and develop it enough to look interesting to a larger company who would be willing to pay you a royalty for your idea. This happens all the time. Rock stars, authors and scientists routinely license their creative ideas to other companies who pay them a royalty. Anyone can do it. Your business, therefore, would be a think tank. You (and your team, if you have one) would consider the world's problems, see what kinds of companies are trying to solve those problems, and then develop compelling solutions that they can license from you. You have to be able to sell your idea and develop a nice presentation, a little market research and an understanding of basic trademark and patent law. The nice thing about doing this is that if you develop enough cool ideas you will have royalties coming in from a lot of different sources, this creates a stable, passive revenue stream that requires little or no work to maintain. Start in your spare time and plan on the process taking 3-5 years. Set a goal to have a few products in the market that provide enough revenue (royalties) to cover your basic living expenses. Then you can quit your day job and dedicate more time and increase the momentum. A good idea business should have dozens, if not hundreds of license contracts generating royalties. It's possible to pull this off. And it is a fun job (I'm speaking from experience).MM
the startups.com platform
Copyright © 2025 Startups.com. All rights reserved.