Founder Vision Thema

Six months after launching, we had a painful realization: No one was using our most innovative feature—the one we had spent 70% of our development resources building. We faced a critical decision: A) Keep pushing the feature we believed in B) Follow the data and pivot to what users actually wanted After two sleepless nights, we chose option B. We deprecated our "revolutionary" feature and doubled down on the simple tool our users were actually engaging with. Results within 90 days: • User retention jumped 46% • Word-of-mouth referrals increased 3X • Revenue growth accelerated from 5% to 22% monthly The lesson was humbling but critical: Sometimes your vision of the problem doesn't match reality. The best founders don't fall in love with their solutions—they fall in love with the problem and stay committed to solving it, even when it means killing their darlings. What's a pivot or change in direction that ended up being crucial to your success?