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YC

Y Combinator Cast

07/22/23

@ Y Combinator

It's possible for a company to pivot too much, which can lead to getting lost in pivot hell, where every week feels like a completely new startup.

Video

YC

Startup Experts Reveal Their Favorite Pivot Stories

@ Y Combinator

Startup Experts Reveal Their Favorite Pivot Stories

07/22/23

Related Takeaways

YC

Y Combinator Cast

07/22/23

@ Y Combinator

Pivot hell occurs when a startup continuously changes its idea without making progress, leading to confusion and lack of direction.

DC

Dalton Caldwell

08/30/19

@ Y Combinator

Pivoting too frequently can lead to whiplash, which demotivates founders and can ultimately harm the company more than working on a less-than-ideal idea.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

03/01/24

@ Y Combinator

Founders often suffer from 'pivotitis,' where they change direction too frequently without learning from their initial experiences, leading to a lack of progress.

JC

Jason Citron

04/29/25

@ a16z speedrun

The emotional toll of pivoting a startup is significant; it feels like a failure when you've invested so much into a product that ultimately doesn't work.

RH

Reid Hoffman

07/08/22

@ Greylock

Pivots are essential for startups, whether it's to find product-market fit early on or to reinvent the company later for sustained success.

GT

Garry Tan

05/21/25

@ Vanta

Recent pivots in startups often involve founders shifting from ideas they think they should pursue to those they know intimately, leading to more successful outcomes.

DC

Dalton Caldwell

08/30/19

@ Y Combinator

Having a little bit of traction can be a trap; it can lead talented founders to stick with a failing idea for too long instead of pivoting to something more promising.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

07/22/23

@ Y Combinator

Pivoting means changing your startup idea; if you're not making something people want, you need to change your idea or your startup will fail.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

05/20/22

@ Y Combinator

At the earliest stages, you need to be able to pivot quickly because you don't know what will happen, and if it takes too long to adjust, your startup might not survive.