Pivoting looks easy. It seems to happen three times a day, per startup in the Valley. It’s not. Pivoting is really hard.

Let’s say you’re the founder of a startup with a product that isn’t working.

First, you have to convince yourself. Then, you have to bring up the fact (to the rest of the company) that the idea they’ve spent months, or years, pursuing is not working. Often, you’re the one who suggested everyone work on it in the beginning. You hired these people to work on this idea. They believed in you. Some of them will think about quitting — some of them will go through with it. This is a hard pill to swallow.

Then, once you have everyone working for the company on-board, you have to pick a new idea and/or market. An idea that someone may not believe in. Or a market that is more monetizable, but less fun. Imagine: your startup now targets enterprises, not consumers! Another pill.

You have to tell your investors to let you use their money for another purpose. You may compete with one of their most prized portfolio companies. Or go into a space that they never invest in. Pop one more.

Any of the above parties may disagree. Maybe it’ll take another month, or even just a week, to hit that tipping point, someone will say. You’ll have to make a decision for everyone.

That’s a lot of pills to swallow. You might overdose before you recover. Many startups do. The press makes pivoting look like a twenty-minute brainstorm session followed by a round of unequivocal “yes!”

I wish it was so easy.

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