Hard Pivot
One of our teams is going through a hard pivot.
They were working for about 18 months on a certain idea, and came to the realisation across Q1 this year that the market pull isn't there. They are super ambitious, and so even if there may be a path to a profitable small business, it's clear that outcome is in no way interesting for them.
We went for a drink to talk about what might be next.
The tone of the conversation was a reflection of a general sentiment I'm hearing and feeling across conversations with founders and investors alike.
On one hand, there has never been a more accessible time to build a company. The breakthrough of AI as a technology is changing every single industry on planet Earth in some way. And not only is the disruption potential there, the tools to participate in it are more accessible than ever. This truly feels like an unprecedented moment in history.
At the same time, though, it's arguably never been harder to build conviction in an idea being 'venture backable' i.e. a breakout opportunity to build a massive company.
There is so much competition from every angle right now. Unlike past disruption cycles, we have a triple threat scenario where (i) very well-capitalised incumbents; (ii) very well-capitalised start-ups; and (iii) thousands of hungry young start-ups from every corner of the world, are all building in and around the same spaces and competing for the same eyeballs and dollars.
That means it can feel both liberating and existential - and I think the only way through it is to appreciate those two things are true at once, and embrace the uncertainty.