Minimum Viable Product and Pivoting
Lesson
The reason why big companies didn’t flop is because they were willing to listen and fundamentally change their business when their original idea didn’t meet the needs of their market. They were clever observers and nimble enough to pivot their idea whenever it was needed. Watch the video to learn all about this.
Minimum Viable Product and Pivoting: Crash Course Business Entrepreneurship #6
Project Description
Read about the well-known company that had to pivot its business model, then create a small presentation about them.
The presentation should highlight these companies’ brief history and journeys, focusing on the challenges they faced, how they identified the need to pivot, and the successful outcomes of their pivots.
The presentation should include slides with that key information, images, logos, and a brief explanation of each company’s pivot strategy.
Well-known Companies That Had to Pivot Their Business Models
Twitter: Originally, Twitter was developed as a podcasting platform called Odeo. When Apple announced the podcast section in iTunes, Odeo’s future seemed uncertain. The team held a hackathon and came up with the idea of Twitter, a microblogging platform. They pivoted their business to focus on Twitter, which eventually became a global social media platform.
Instagram: Instagram started as a location-based social network called Burbn, which allowed users to check in at particular locations, make plans for future check-ins, earn points for hanging out with friends, and post pictures of meetups. However, it faced competition from Foursquare and was too complex. The founders decided to pivot to focus exclusively on photo-sharing, which led to the creation of Instagram.
Nintendo: Before becoming a leading video game company, Nintendo started as a playing card company in the late 19th century. In the 1960s, Nintendo ventured into various businesses, including a taxi company and a love hotel chain. However, the company faced financial difficulties in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Nintendo then pivoted to focus on the toy and electronic game industry, eventually leading to the creation of iconic video game franchises such as Mario and Zelda.