Hard Pivot

About Hard Pivot

Authentic, vulnerable stories of startup founders who are pivoting or pivoted.

Publisher

Jeff Tang

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

18 Mar 2023

Latest episode

7 Apr 2023

Latest episodes

4 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   7 Apr 2023

   Tim Sae Koo | Founder, Angel Investor, and Ayahuasca Facilitator

   Connect with Tim: Instagram, (http://instagram.com/timsaekoo)Twitter, (https://twitter.com/timsaekoo)LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsaekoo), Medium (https://timsaekoo.medium.com/), Website (https://www.timsaekoo.com/) We talk: The hard pivot he made from B2C to B2B for his first startup. The growth hacks he did to bootstrap to millions of ARR and get acquired, and how the product is still running and making money today! Some of his angel investments like Third Wave (https://thethirdwave.co/) and Weekend Fund (https://www.weekend.fund/) (as an LP). Why he invests in plant-based alternatives both for personal reasons as well as from a thesis point of view. The life hard pivots he made from tech founder to nomad to ayahuasca facilitator. The upbringing which led to the chip on his shoulder, and how it went away. Background on the founder of Reunion, Brad, who built a hundred million dollar+ company over 25 years, did ayahuasca, which prompted him to sell his company to a PE firm, come out of the closet as a gay man, and together with his wife amicably conclude their 25-year marriage. The difference between religion, which is necessarily coupled with power structures versus plants, which have no ego. The three common personas of people who do ayahuasca retreats. How he explains what he does to his Christian, Asian immigrant mom. What advice he has for founders, creators, and leaders hard pivoting. Why people in the normal western world are addicted to food, their phones, alcohol, and work. How psychedelics are really a crusade against pharmaceutical world: anti depressants, SSRIs, anti anxiety, etc. How plant medicine lets people reinterpret the relationships and narratives they have with trauma. How entrepreneurs can weave surrender, spirituality, and consciousness into their startups and lives, leading to magic and intention.

2. 

   5 Apr 2023

   Colton Morris | Based Biohacker on Steroids, HGH, Testosterone, and Much More

   We talk: How Colton got to 1400 ng/ml testosterone (not natty) Where Colton injected his testosterone Cialis as a pre-workout How to avoid a bodybuilder’s worst nightmare — “bitch tits” The "Cum Holy Grail" Why Colton ices his balls Otterpops Boofing Steroids, HGH Going Gorilla Mode Joe Rogan, Trump, Liver King, and Bryan Johnson The Green Giant by Bryan Johnson The Political Compass of Horse Drugs (and where Ketamine is)

3. 

   3 Apr 2023

   Kai McKinney - Co-founder of Relay Product, a 0 → 1 product-studio

   Kai Twitter⁠ (https://twitter.com/kai_mckinney), ⁠Substack⁠ (https://l.instagram.com/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmovingbalance.substack.com%2F&e=AT0WlJAifPwpxpsXnq5sVvj9hbRIeBL2rumJIGrPNS6teQcFjtyPz44ficiYudPHz_KtYuYRZ6l7Tk94m8GPqdm3Ad0IEKvmu2ZhSA), ⁠LinkedIn⁠ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kai-mckinney/) Highlights "Moving balance" means to embrace fluidity and stay in motion, rather than being static and falling over. Founders often struggle with having too much conviction and betting on themselves to the extent of forgetting the point or better options. Knowing when to pivot is difficult, but it's important to be able to cut your losses when a project is not going in the right direction. Young founders who get it right the first time often have been hacking for many years. Building an agency can provide exposure to different industries and verticals, similar to consulting, and can be a way to gain experience and knowledge. Increasing commitment tends to increase opportunities, as it gives a clear direction and purpose. The desire for optionality, or the ability to explore multiple paths and opportunities, is a core issue of our times, stemming from the move away from religion and core doctrines to align oneself to. Immigrant children often feel a sense of obligation to their parents, which can lead them to prioritize practicality and stability over their childhood ambitions. Kai's parents' business was not affected by the 2008 recession that caused many of their peers to lose their jobs and stability, leading Kai to lose trust in corporate stability. Some of the notes that Kai's dad left him include: "never do something to run away," "only make big changes when you're running towards something," and "are you fighting against something or for something?"

4. 

   18 Mar 2023

   David Phillips from Fondo (YC W18)

   Introduction for David Philips LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/davjphillips/), Twitter (https://twitter.com/davj/), Fondo (https://www.tryfondo.com/) CEO and founder of Fondo, which just announced a $3M pre-seed round. CEO and co-founder of Hackbright, a coding academy for gender equality, acquired by the public company Capella University. Co-founder of safeXai, which went on to raise $220M from Softbank and others. Previously an accountant at Deloitte! Angel investor in dozens of companies, notably Rippling, Flexport, Liquid Death, and Career Karma. Key Insights & Takeaways By ✨ GPT-4 ✨ Pivoting a company can be a better option than shutting down and starting from scratch, especially if there are valuable assets in the current company, such as being a part of the YC community. Building relationships with investors and keeping them informed of the company's progress is important, even if they don't always respond. Being honest with team members about the company's struggles can lead to better collaboration and problem-solving. Having a long-term commitment to a startup is crucial in navigating the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, as persistence will pay off. Talking to users and understanding their needs is essential in building the right product or service. Worst advice: Disregard advice from investors who claim to know whether an idea will work or not, as nobody can predict the success of a startup. David and his friend Ali attempted to become landlords in San Francisco, subleasing apartments on Airbnb, but had to stop when the city started cracking down on Airbnb properties. David's brother Dylan had a Facebook page with 700,000 followers called "nights that end up being a crazy story to tell the next day," which they turned into a meme page called Pizza Bottle. David created a WordPress blog for Pizza Bottle, which eventually grew to 100 million page views a month. The idea for Bloom Joy, David's current venture, came from his experience with Pizza Bottle. David felt burnt out while working on Hack Bright, a coding bootcamp, due to the pressure of helping people change their lives and careers. For founders pivoting right now, David advises focusing on getting customers and solving problems for them, even if it means doing it for free initially.

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