How to Pivot a Business: Types, Examples, and When to Do It
Stay grounded in what you've learned — change the rest.
By Tristan Kromer · Quick Answer: A business pivot means changing one specific aspect of your business model—while keeping validated elements constant—based on market feedback. The main types are product pivots (different solution, same problem), customer need pivots (same solution, different problem), market pivots (same solution, different market), and zoom pivots (narrowing or broadening use cases). As product managers, we use customer discovery signals to decide what to change and what to keep, staying grounded in what we’ve learned rather than jumping to an entirely new vision.
Concept: Pivot Business Skill Goal: Be able to alter a business model to achieve product / market fit “Successful startups change directions but stay grounded in what they’ve learned.” - Eric Ries
- A pivot is changing one aspect of your business model while keeping other aspects constant.
- The decision of what to change is based on market feedback. Aspects that have been validated by market feedback are kept constant.
- Although anything in a business model can be changes and therefore pivoted, the concept is normally associated with a search to find product / market fit.
- Types of pivots include:
- Product Pivot
- § Can we solve the problems of our target market with a partly or entirely different product?
- Customer Need Pivot
- § Can we use the same solution or technology for a different customer problem within the same target market?
- Also sometimes referred to as “a problem looking for a solution.”
- Market Pivot
- § Can we apply the same solution or technology within a different market with the same problem?
- § Subtypes include “Customer segment pivot,” “Business architecture pivot,” and “Platform pivot.”
- o Zoom Pivot
- Can the solution / product be focused on fewer or a singular use case?
- Can the solution / product be broadened to a broader or greater number of use case?
- Product Pivot
Example: Zoom-In Pivot Paypal originally supported payments via PDA as well as the web. After discovering their customers were primarily using email, they dropped support for PDA payments to focus on their primary customer value. Example: Market Pivot and Zoom-In Pivot Flikr was originally a multi-player on-line game which included a photo sharing functionality. They recognized that the photo sharing aspect could be retargeted to a broader market and abandoned the game. Additional readings: Pivot, don’t jump to a new vision The Taxonomy of the Lean Startup Pivot What’s the best pivot in business you’ve ever heard? Individual Exercises:
- Based on your current business model, list at least one possible pivot for every pivot type.
- If the customers do not like the solution, can you solve their problems in a different way?
- If the customers do not have the problem, is there another customer who may?
- Etc.
- Create a strategy tree of possible pivots based on your next planned experiments.
- Example:
- IF the customers do not have , test .
- IF the customers do not have , test with .
- Example:
- Imagine possible pivots for:
- Yelp
- Could Yelp’s technology be used for another purpose?
- IBM
- IBM has made several pivots. What are some future possibilities?
- Lady Gaga
- Is it possible to have a personal career pivot?
- A sushi restaurant in Mexico City
- Yelp
Group Exercises:
-
Describe one member’s product / market fit hypotheses.
-
- Based on feedback from Customer Discovery, what are the possible pivots?
- Does the customer feedback warrant a pivot? If not, what circumstances would indicate it’s time to pivot?
- Which pivots should be tested first?
Thought / Discussion Exercises:
- What are the possible barriers to implementing a pivot for a company that is funded? What about a company that is not funded?
- How can you tell if your company needs to pivot?
- Which types of pivots are easiest to implement?
- Which successful companies have never pivoted? Why not?
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to pivot a business?
A pivot business strategy involves changing one specific aspect of your business model while keeping the validated elements constant. As product managers, we make pivot decisions based on market feedback — keeping what customers have validated and changing what isn’t working. The goal is typically to find product/market fit without throwing away everything we’ve already learned.
What are the main types of business pivots?
There are four primary types: a product pivot (solving the same problem with a different product), a customer need pivot (applying your solution to a different problem within the same market), a market pivot (targeting a different market with the same solution), and a zoom pivot (narrowing or broadening your product’s use cases). Each type keeps certain elements constant while changing others.
What is a zoom-in pivot with a real example?
A zoom-in pivot means focusing your product on fewer or a single use case. PayPal is a classic example — they originally supported payments via both PDAs and the web. After discovering customers primarily used email-based payments, they dropped PDA support entirely to focus on their strongest customer value proposition. This sharpened focus helped them achieve product/market fit.
How do you know when your company needs to pivot?
We know it’s time to pivot when market feedback consistently shows that our current business model isn’t achieving product/market fit. The key is that the decision should be driven by what we’ve learned from customers — not gut feeling. If customer discovery reveals they don’t have the problem we assumed, or they won’t use our proposed solution, those are strong signals to pivot.
Can a company pivot into an entirely different market?
Yes — a market pivot applies your existing solution or technology to a different market that shares the same problem. Flickr is a great example: it started as a multiplayer online game with photo-sharing functionality, then pivoted to target the broader photo-sharing market after recognizing that feature had far wider appeal. This was both a market pivot and a zoom-in pivot combined.
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