Navigating Entrepreneurial Challenges: Knowing When to Persist, When to Pivot, and When to Give up
source: https://snl.no/Harriet_Backer
I’ve never been one to idolize people, but I’m all for appreciating good personality traits, values, and convictions in people that resonate with me. Recently, a short video featuring Sam Altman caught my attention on LinkedIn. He emphasized the crucial entrepreneurial trait of resilience — the ability to persevere in the face of the inevitable adversities encountered in any entrepreneurial journey. It struck a chord with me, prompting a reflection on a nuance often overlooked in discussions about persistence.
While resilience is undoubtedly vital, I’ve been an advocate for knowing when it’s time to give up. Sometimes, closing one door is the only way to open another and fully seize new opportunities. This brings me to a deeper discussion: When is the right time to give up, and when should you never give up?
Reflecting on my journey, I realized that giving up on my previous venture, SoBo Community was the right decision. Despite others praising it as ahead of its time, I identified flaws in the business model and the very framing of the problem after a couple of years’ struggle and several pivots. I was trying to solve a problem that is not so critical to solve and moreover, few were willing to pay me to solve the problem in my way. I could have kept going but when the foundation is flawed, no amount of pivoting can solve it.
Contrastingly, with Tørn, despite facing numerous challenges, the thought of giving up doesn’t cross my mind. Why? Because I firmly believe in the problem we’re solving, the solution we’re offering, and the sense it makes from every angle. Problems persist, but they feel solvable with the right approach, utilizing our knowledge, creativity, and grit.
So, how do you distinguish when to persist and when to pivot or to give up? It’s tricky, and I concur with Sam Altman that not giving up is an essential entrepreneurial quality. However, I’d argue it’s more about not giving up on actively and critically evaluating what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and how you’re doing it — steering clear of complacency. As Sam says, there is no shortcut or workaround to being smart, having a good idea, and working really really hard in any case.
Drawing from my experience, I’ve learned there are fundamental questions to answer before diving into problem-solving. What problem are you solving? For whom? How significant is the problem, and is there a willingness to pay for its solution? If others are already paying to solve it, how will your solution offer better value more efficiently?
In essence, entrepreneurship is about first solving the right problem and then solving it in the right way. If you become unsure about the problem itself, it’s okay to give up and reassess. However, if you’re confident that you’re tackling the right problem, then it is all about throwing everything into the mix — leverage your knowledge, energy, network, and expertise to solve it efficiently. That’s when persistence becomes the key, and giving up is not an option.