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Fab's Second Pivot

betashop.com

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Re: Fab's Second Pivot

#21

Post by mikeryan »

ghc wrote: post #6

I feel like they don't know what pivoting means. The first pivot doesn't sound like a pivot; they built a new business with the same venture money. The second pivot isn't a pivot either. I think reasonable people would call that "growth and expansion." Pivoting is supposed to mean that you changed strategic direction based on validated learning. Twitter and Instagram started as pivots. This sounds nothing like that.

I agree the second "pivot" doesn't sound like a pivot,

However w/r/t The first pivot doesn't sound like a pivot; they built a new business with the same venture money.

That sounds like a pivot, the way I define it. I agree most pivots do have some tangential relationship from the previous goal thats because you learn where the market is from what you've done. Thats not to say its the only way to find a new market opportunity. I'm not sure why you define Twitter as a pivot and not Fab. Twitter was Odeo which was a podcasting company which was sinking. Evan Williams had blogging experience but Jack Dorsey (as I understand it) was the original idea guy behind Twitter.

A lot of pivots aren't related to the original idea that founded the company. For the VCs doing something else with that money is almost more important then just continuing to chase an idea without legs, since once the money is invested they can't reinvest in new ventures.

Re: Fab's Second Pivot

#22

Post by logn »

betashop wrote: post #11

Hi. @betashop here, CEO of Fab. Happy to answer any/all questions. With regards to the "was it a pivot" comments below. Fab was first fabulis, for 13 months. We built a ton of product and a small but loyal following. We then shut it down to pursue our passion. That's a pivot. Regarding Fab's 2nd pivot in 2012, we pivoted our business from a drop-ship model to an inventory model. That's quite a pivot.

Do you think Fab's time as a gay social network was important to getting a critical mass on-board for the Fab design site? Meaning, if you launched day one as a cool place to shop do you think you would have found the same success, at least as easily?

Re: Fab's Second Pivot

#23

Post by o_sam_o »

mikeryan wrote: post #21
ghc wrote: post #6

I feel like they don't know what pivoting means. The first pivot doesn't sound like a pivot; they built a new business with the same venture money. The second pivot isn't a pivot either. I think reasonable people would call that "growth and expansion." Pivoting is supposed to mean that you changed strategic direction based on validated learning. Twitter and Instagram started as pivots. This sounds nothing like that.

I agree the second "pivot" doesn't sound like a pivot, However w/r/t The first pivot doesn't sound like a pivot; they built a new business with the same venture money. That sounds like a pivot, the way I define it. I agree most pivots do have some tangential relationship from the previous goal thats because you learn where the market is from what you've done. Thats not to say its the only way to find a new market opp…

Moving away from flash sales could be considered a pivot. They may have discovered others (i.e. Gilt) where buying up all the good seconds, or that their buyers where buying the wrong thing and their flash sales where not selling out.

Re: Fab's Second Pivot

#25

Post by nwh »

untog wrote: post #7

Presumably their second pivot involved buying an e-mail list from someone, or reactivating deactivated accounts. I started receiving newsletters from them (Ashton Kutcher's favourite gifts? Well, if I wasn't already going to unsubscribe...) on the 11th, and again yesterday- the last e-mail I received from them before then was in September '11. Unsubscribed again- hopefully this time it's permanent. It appears I am no…

I too, have no idea how I ended up on their mailing list. I certainly never gave them the address they emailed me at.

Re: Fab's Second Pivot

#26

Post by hglennrock »

dusing wrote: post #17
proee wrote: post #12

Why did Fab succeed? Why would someone shop here instead of say Amazon? I don't understand the reason for the huge growth and expansion. What problem are they solving that is creating such huge growth? Very Impressive, but I don't understand WHY they are successful.

I would ay its curation. Sure amazon may have all this stuff (probably not) but Fab only shows you "cool" stuff. Thats also why I like http://thefancy.com

Yes, this. I never browse Amazon - I am always searching for a specific item. Fab is the opposite experience. I could spend hours just browsing. It is dangerous. I've told my boyfriend that if he is ever at a loss for a gift idea, just go to fab.com and pick something at random and there is a 99% chance it would work out.

Re: Fab's Second Pivot

#27

Post by o_sam_o »

proee wrote: post #12

Why did Fab succeed? Why would someone shop here instead of say Amazon? I don't understand the reason for the huge growth and expansion. What problem are they solving that is creating such huge growth? Very Impressive, but I don't understand WHY they are successful.

Amazon does have an offering in this space: http://www.myhabit.com

Re: Fab's Second Pivot

#28

Post by jacobian »

betashop wrote: post #11

Hi. @betashop here, CEO of Fab. Happy to answer any/all questions. With regards to the "was it a pivot" comments below. Fab was first fabulis, for 13 months. We built a ton of product and a small but loyal following. We then shut it down to pursue our passion. That's a pivot. Regarding Fab's 2nd pivot in 2012, we pivoted our business from a drop-ship model to an inventory model. That's quite a pivot.

Can you please respond to the accusations of spam, above? I, too, have suddenly started receiving email from Fab even though I've opted out repeatedly.

I really hope this is a mistake and not part of this third "pivot".

Re: Fab's Second Pivot

#29

Post by gojomo »

scottrblock wrote: post #14
betashop wrote: post #11

Hi. @betashop here, CEO of Fab. Happy to answer any/all questions. With regards to the "was it a pivot" comments below. Fab was first fabulis, for 13 months. We built a ton of product and a small but loyal following. We then shut it down to pursue our passion. That's a pivot. Regarding Fab's 2nd pivot in 2012, we pivoted our business from a drop-ship model to an inventory model. That's quite a pivot.

I don't think "shutting down to pursue a passion" is what most of HN considers a pivot. A pivot is named as such because your business is keeping one foot in the ground while changing direction. This is done after testing your initial assumptions, normally with no more than an MVP. This might just be semantics, but it seems like a significant difference to me.

Sometimes the "one foot in the ground" is only the team, as they chase a completely different product and market.

Re: Fab's Second Pivot

#30

Post by cagenut »

betashop wrote: post #11

Hi. @betashop here, CEO of Fab. Happy to answer any/all questions. With regards to the "was it a pivot" comments below. Fab was first fabulis, for 13 months. We built a ton of product and a small but loyal following. We then shut it down to pursue our passion. That's a pivot. Regarding Fab's 2nd pivot in 2012, we pivoted our business from a drop-ship model to an inventory model. That's quite a pivot.

Hi Jason, thanks for taking questions.

Do you see Etsy as competition?

You mention a custom built supply chain tech and strong mobile/ecommerce sales. You also share a lot of stats and operational details about the biz on your blog. Would you consider encouraging your tech team to be similarly open? Blogging, open sourcing code, conferences/presentations.

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