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Ask HN: Which startups have the most interesting pivot stories?

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Re: Ask HN: Which startups have the most interesting pivot stories?

#101

Post by yesenadam »

joegahona wrote: post #52
palijer wrote: post #7

This is a pretty decent list if you are interested in the concept and looking for examples. https://github.com/fikrikarim/companies-with-successful-pivo...

Thank you for sharing this -- I didn't realize this existed. Instagram is covered in your link, and you can hear about it from the founder in this really good Lex Fridman podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pvpNKUPbIY These lists always kind of remind me of popular bands that changed music over time. The most drastic "pivot" I've ever come across in a known band is Ministry, who went from a benign new-wave Depe…

Thanks, the Ministry evolution was funny, and made me think of this comparably drastic one:

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (1959) [0] to Live-Evil (1971) [1] to Rated X (1974) [2]

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAxefAW4J1g

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_sDYPbiwMA

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrjFtbGKqFk

Re: Ask HN: Which startups have the most interesting pivot stories?

#102

Post by garrickvanburen »

sshine wrote: post #27
palijer wrote: post #7

This is a pretty decent list if you are interested in the concept and looking for examples. https://github.com/fikrikarim/companies-with-successful-pivo...

On this list, Nokia originally producing rubber is probably the funniest.

Nokia always wins the pivot contest.

Re: Ask HN: Which startups have the most interesting pivot stories?

#103

Post by avg_dev »

mtmail wrote: post #77
rmason wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope, YouTube really did start out as a dating site where you could record videos. Quite simply it didn't work very well. They pivoted and history was made. Others had tried earlier with the same idea but the pieces weren't in place. Plus being members of the PayPal mafia they knew how to execute.

I was wrong indeed. Screenshot of the dating-site youtube.com https://web.archive.org/web/20050428014715/https://www.youtu...

Something about that capture gave me a good chuckle.

> I'm a [Male] seeking [Everyone] between [18] and [45].

Re: Ask HN: Which startups have the most interesting pivot stories?

#105

Post by KerrAvon »

qznc wrote: post #51

Warren Buffet turned a textile manufacturing company into a holding. An automatic loom manufacture got turned into one of the biggest automobile companies: Toyota Nokia was initially a pulp mill. Microsoft initially sold a BASIC interpreter, then a Unix, then MS-DOS.

I don’t think MS counts as a pivot. Those were all software products for early microcomputers.

Re: Ask HN: Which startups have the most interesting pivot stories?

#106

Post by creakingstairs »

cperciva wrote: post #67
tristor wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's even more interesting than that. Nintendo was created shortly after Japan made it no longer illegal to manufacturer or play card games (seen as something from the West to be banned). They started creating original card and board games, as well as card designs. They focused on playing cards, not necessarily trading cards, though. The entire business was able to exist or started due to government regulations and a…

I thought the issue with card games wasn't that they were Western, but rather that they were gambling.

Isolation from the West has been strictly mandated until a US ship opened it forcefully, hence the ban.

https://99percentinvisible.org/article/flower-cards-japanese...

Re: Ask HN: Which startups have the most interesting pivot stories?

#107

Post by er4hn »

tristor wrote: post #39
ak_111 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually Nintendo started (140 years ago!) also as card trading company before becoming a console giant

It's even more interesting than that. Nintendo was created shortly after Japan made it no longer illegal to manufacturer or play card games (seen as something from the West to be banned). They started creating original card and board games, as well as card designs. They focused on playing cards, not necessarily trading cards, though. The entire business was able to exist or started due to government regulations and a…

> Studio Ghibli famously managed to prevent Disney from destroying it's films when released in the US by pulling a power play (they sent a samurai sword to Harvey Weinstein... yes that Harvey with a note that just said "No cuts.").

What's worth noting here is this was in response to a very bad cut of "Nausicaa Valley of the Wind", which is the studios first movie and where their name comes from.

Re: Ask HN: Which startups have the most interesting pivot stories?

#108

Post by ErikAugust »

cercatrova wrote: post #100
axit wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny thing is this was the second time Stewart Butterfield tried to build a massively multiplayer game and pivoted the company. The first one was Flickr! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewart_Butterfield

The man just wants to make MMOs but accidentally keeps creating billion dollar companies!

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.”

― Norman Vincent Peale

Re: Ask HN: Which startups have the most interesting pivot stories?

#109

Post by jonnybgood »

qznc wrote: post #51

Warren Buffet turned a textile manufacturing company into a holding. An automatic loom manufacture got turned into one of the biggest automobile companies: Toyota Nokia was initially a pulp mill. Microsoft initially sold a BASIC interpreter, then a Unix, then MS-DOS.

Lehman Brothers started as a dry-goods store.

Re: Ask HN: Which startups have the most interesting pivot stories?

#110

Post by bombcar »

1270018080 wrote: post #86
Xcelerate wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So what goes wrong with budgeting apps? Sounds like there would be a huge market for personal (or small business) finance, targeting traditional CPA/CFP approaches.

My dumb guess: The people financially-conscious enough to budget aren't the ones willing to pay for a budgeting service.

And everyone wants one customized for their exact setup. Excel works and wins.
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