What matters most when deciding to pivot a startup?

Daniel Lubetzky

Host

Listen to the market

Daniel Lubetzky says founders need to really listen to what the market is telling them; he says it's hard to know when to pivot versus keep going and be patient.

Angelique Taylor

Founder · Addmaple

Design a small test

Angelique Taylor says founders should design a small test—something doable enough that they cannot not do it—to see whether there is life in their concept and reduce the risk overhead.

Sam Kroonenburg

CEO & Co-Founder · Cuttable

Stay aligned with vision

Sam Kroonenburg advocates sticking to the vision and having conviction in it, asking whether the company is making progress toward the vision rather than getting tied down in the weeds.

The answer starts at 25:55.

Yasser Elsaid

CEO · Chatbase

Adapt to new inputs

Yasser Elsaid says founders should adapt to new inputs, revisiting decisions when what changed no longer makes them make sense, since letting ego stop you from going back on a decision is a recipe for failure.

CM

Coco Mao

CEO & Co-Founder · Openart Ai

Start small

Coco Mao says to start small, because you'll eventually see the full picture and train yourself to see further as you go.

Jesse Stein

Founder & CEO · Hermetic Ai

Double down on what's working

Jesse Stein says one of the keys is to double down and triple down on what's working, since entrepreneurs often get distracted by the shiny and new instead.

Sharad Kumar

Co-Founder & CEO · FluidCloud

Reality check

Sharad Kumar says founders need a reality check rather than assuming their idea will work, urging them to do the market study and take time before reaching a decision.

Aizada Marat

CEO & Founder · Alma

Focus on a real problem

Aizada Marat says the most important thing is to really think about the problem they want to solve, whether it's a real problem — a must-have rather than a nice-to-have — because founders fall in love with the idea too early.

Colin Zima

Co-Founder, CEO · Omni

Be thoughtful about time

Colin Zima says founders should be thoughtful about where they spend their time and what they do, because the company only gets more valuable each day based on what you do.

Mike Grossman

Board Member · Filmhub

Be methodical

Mike Grossman says founders should be methodical about pivoting, because his history of repeated pivots made his board reject a pivot he proposed; he says being more methodical earlier would have won support faster.

Lin Qiao

CEO and cofounder · Fireworks Ai

Quick validation

Lin Qiao says quick validation matters because startups often lack enough data, so decisions rely on intuition and then need a feedback loop to validate and adjust; not deciding is a bad decision.