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Chatbots basically killed a startup I was working with a couple years ago. We had really nice apps, with a realistic exit strategy. Then came "The Pivot", and w

Chatbots basically killed a startup I was working with a couple years ago. We had really nice apps, with a realistic exit strategy. Then came "The Pivot", and we were all working on chatbots. Didn't take long for me to leave that company, who went out of business not long after.

busterarm 8y ago
The PTBs at my last place of employment wasted an enormous amount of cycles on chatbots, despite pleading that the available platforms to use all sucked.
anoncoward111 8y ago
Interesting, was the picot made for a financial reason, a product/market fit reason, etc? Like, was the company in financial distress, and the first product wasn't doing well, so they said "I know! We'll make a chatbot!"?
freddie_mercury 8y ago
Sounds like the company was dead anyway and you are mistaking causation. Companies that are "alive" don't pivot. Companies that are dying people to avoid death. That the company had to pivot suggests the owners decided the exit strategy wasn't actually realistic.
- rspeer 8y ago
  > Companies that are "alive" don't pivot. They can pivot into being a company that is alive, though. Remember that Slack was a pivot from an online game.
  - pbhjpbhj 8y ago
    I did not know that, any good rendition of that story available online?
    - rspeer 8y ago
      I found this: https://mastersofscale.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/13-the-big-pivot-with-slacks-stewart-butterfield-.pdf https://mastersofscale.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/13-the... You can also see a piece of the game on Slack's 404 page! http://slack.com/404 http://slack.com/404
- jmull 8y ago
  Definitely. A pivot is like a "Hail Mary" pass... risky and unlikely to work -- something that only makes sense when time is running out and you have nothing left to lose. Or... if your company pivoted when the end wasn't near, the leadership was greatly incompetent, which means you pretty much never had a chance in the first place. Interesting to note: the poster read the signs and made the right move at the right time in any case.
Apocryphon 8y ago
I don't think you were working for this company, but this infamous case study was also a pivot to chat bots: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10662128 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10662128

busterarm 8y ago

The PTBs at my last place of employment wasted an enormous amount of cycles on chatbots, despite pleading that the available platforms to use all sucked.

anoncoward111 8y ago

Interesting, was the picot made for a financial reason, a product/market fit reason, etc? Like, was the company in financial distress, and the first product wasn't doing well, so they said "I know! We'll make a chatbot!"?

freddie_mercury 8y ago

Sounds like the company was dead anyway and you are mistaking causation. Companies that are "alive" don't pivot. Companies that are dying people to avoid death. That the company had to pivot suggests the owners decided the exit strategy wasn't actually realistic.

rspeer 8y ago
> Companies that are "alive" don't pivot. They can pivot into being a company that is alive, though. Remember that Slack was a pivot from an online game.
- pbhjpbhj 8y ago
  I did not know that, any good rendition of that story available online?
  - rspeer 8y ago
    I found this: https://mastersofscale.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/13-the-big-pivot-with-slacks-stewart-butterfield-.pdf https://mastersofscale.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/13-the... You can also see a piece of the game on Slack's 404 page! http://slack.com/404 http://slack.com/404
jmull 8y ago
Definitely. A pivot is like a "Hail Mary" pass... risky and unlikely to work -- something that only makes sense when time is running out and you have nothing left to lose. Or... if your company pivoted when the end wasn't near, the leadership was greatly incompetent, which means you pretty much never had a chance in the first place. Interesting to note: the poster read the signs and made the right move at the right time in any case.

Apocryphon 8y ago

I don't think you were working for this company, but this infamous case study was also a pivot to chat bots: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10662128 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10662128