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YC

Y Combinator Cast

07/22/23

@ Y Combinator

Brex started as a virtual reality headset company but pivoted back to payments after realizing they lacked the necessary hardware expertise.

Video

YC

Startup Experts Reveal Their Favorite Pivot Stories

@ Y Combinator

Startup Experts Reveal Their Favorite Pivot Stories

07/22/23

Related Takeaways

DC

Dalton Caldwell

08/30/19

@ Y Combinator

Brex pivoted from a VR hardware headset idea to a credit card for startups, achieving product-market fit quickly and raising hundreds of millions in just two years.

MS

Michael Seibel

04/29/23

@ Y Combinator

Brex pivoted from a VR headset idea to understanding the needs of other founders, which led them to develop a product that addressed real customer pain points.

DC

Dalton Caldwell

05/10/19

@ Y Combinator

Breck's, a credit card for startups, pivoted from a VR headset idea to a successful business by quickly realizing their initial idea wasn't viable and iterating through multiple concepts.

MS

Michael Seibel

04/29/23

@ Y Combinator

Brex's founders spent time with potential customers to understand their complexities, allowing them to quickly ship a relevant product.

DC

Dalton Caldwell

08/30/19

@ Y Combinator

The founders of Brex had prior experience in fintech, which contributed to their success after pivoting, demonstrating the importance of founder-market fit.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

07/22/23

@ Y Combinator

Tom Blomfield's first startup idea was a group payments app, which failed to deliver value, leading to a pivot towards business payments.

NP

Nirav Patel

05/20/25

@ EO

We decided to optimize for quickly establishing the virtual reality ecosystem to understand what works and what doesn't in VR, which required us to take risks and build products rapidly.

DC

Dalton Caldwell

08/30/19

@ Y Combinator

Relying on external factors outside of your control, like mainstream virtual reality headset adoption, can be a sign that you should pivot if your startup's success depends on those factors.

NP

Nirav Patel

05/20/25

@ EO

Leaving Apple to join Oculus was a significant leap, as Apple was rapidly growing while Oculus was a scrappy startup focused on building virtual reality technology.