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I made the decision after a lot of reflection. We still had ~6 months of runway so I could have spent more time "pivoting" around. The issue was that what I wa

I made the decision after a lot of reflection. We still had ~6 months of runway so I could have spent more time "pivoting" around. The issue was that what I was hearing from prospects, customers, users signaled a bigger issue that could not be solved with a product tweak or two. At the end of the day, I felt like the story I would need to tell a future investor (and new/existing employees) would increasingly become disconnected from the reality I was experiencing talking to customers/users. I didn't feel at peace about it at all. I considered it to be a form of lying.

carimura 4y ago
much respect. those are hard feelings to deal with especially given you had users, customers, investors, and a team to think about as well, none of which you can easily and cleanly ask for advice on this matter.
pedalpete 4y ago
This is a great answer, I felt the same way about my previous start-up Ayvri.com We make enough to cover our costs, so I've kept it going for the last 2 years. As I kept looking for new ways for us to grow, and what pivots might work, one of our existing investors said to me [paraphasing] "we'll invest more if you know what to do with it, but I [the investor] think you should start thinking about what your next thing is. We'll invest in that, but there comes a time you need to move on". That chat was really impactful, they were happy to see us launch a product, get customers, and try to build something really amazing (and we kinda did). The same team that created Ayvri (most of us) have come back together to create https://soundmind.co https://soundmind.co - we haven't taken investment yet, but the same investors are ready to back us when we do. Did you have that kind of support from your investors @Lukethomas? I think many of us are so scared of letting our investors down, but I am super happy with the character of our investors, who supported us in the best way possible.

carimura 4y ago

much respect. those are hard feelings to deal with especially given you had users, customers, investors, and a team to think about as well, none of which you can easily and cleanly ask for advice on this matter.

pedalpete 4y ago

This is a great answer, I felt the same way about my previous start-up Ayvri.com We make enough to cover our costs, so I've kept it going for the last 2 years. As I kept looking for new ways for us to grow, and what pivots might work, one of our existing investors said to me [paraphasing] "we'll invest more if you know what to do with it, but I [the investor] think you should start thinking about what your next thing is. We'll invest in that, but there comes a time you need to move on". That chat was really impactful, they were happy to see us launch a product, get customers, and try to build something really amazing (and we kinda did). The same team that created Ayvri (most of us) have come back together to create https://soundmind.co https://soundmind.co - we haven't taken investment yet, but the same investors are ready to back us when we do. Did you have that kind of support from your investors @Lukethomas? I think many of us are so scared of letting our investors down, but I am super happy with the character of our investors, who supported us in the best way possible.