Pivots are essential to a start-up. A start-up is like a boat sailing in a deep wide ocean with a ‘feeling’ that the shore is on the other side. But there is fog everywhere. There are winds. And storms. Oh! And did we mention the sea creatures? A start-up ride is like that. If you see storm coming ahead, you have to immediately pivot your boat route to another direction for a while. And it is natural.
Imagine if ‘drying out of funds’ is a storm, you surely want to steer your boat away from that direction before you drown. And that also means chasing some revenue sources (or clients) for a while before finally settling down again on enriching quality of your product. While these pivots are essential, it is actually dreadful for the people on-board. Here is how you can ensure smooth pivoting:
1) Realise when your way is not working out. The later you realise, the more distress the company will feel.
2) Let your people know as soon as possible. Because when as bystanders, they find that their vessel is moving towards another direction for some unknown reason, they may panic. Clarity in your team is of utmost importance.
3) Plan for the worst scenarios and make a ‘Plan B’. Don’t start pivoting all of a sudden. It will always cause distress. But if you prepare in advance and have room for Plan B anyway it will be much smoother.
4) Embrace the new plan. As long as you are not convinced that what are you doing is right for the company, you will never be able to deliver it downwards.
5) Keep a track of metrics. Even if you pivot, you should be clear on what are you going to track now. Is it unit sales or profit or revenue or traffic or something else. This has to link with the core strategy of your start-up. If you lose the sight of right metrics, you will never know if the pivot was right or not.
Don’t shy away from pivoting. Happy sailing!
If you have any queries, feel free to write to me on Rajeev@TBSPlanet.com
Rajeev Tamhankar
Twitter@rajeevtamhankar
The writer is the founder of TBS Planet Comics. He is ex-Flipkart, Xiaomi employee, and IIT-R Silver medalist.