The art of the pivot, part 1: The definitive list of successful pivots

Details behind 30+ pivots, including how they knew it was time to pivot, how long it took them to pivot, and much more

👋 Hey, I’m Lenny and welcome to a 🔒 subscriber-only edition 🔒 of my weekly newsletter. Each week I tackle reader questions about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career.

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Q: How do I know if I should pivot or stay the course?

Based on my research, one in three B2B startups, and one in five consumer startups, pivot before finding their big idea. That’s a lot! Pivoting is the second most consequential decision you’ll make as a founder (second only to committing to your original idea). But it’s a surprisingly under-explored topic, and there’s very little tactical information on how to make this incredibly hard turn. 

To give the topic the time it deserves, I’m making “The art of the pivot” a two-part series. For part one (this post), I’ve spent the past few weeks combing through my podcast episodes, newsletters, and online interviews to put together the most definitive and detailed breakdown of startup pivots you’ll find anywhere. For 30+ successful pivots, I’ve collected:

1. Why they pivoted

2. How long it took them to pivot

3. How they discovered their new idea

4. What they kept from the original idea

5. The story behind the pivot

Here’s a peek: