first product didn't take off, we started something completely new, the second product is doing much better

i went through something similar, felt really bad when i dropped the first product. but then i thought, the market is telling you what it wants why should i interfere? we switched to the second product much better

important rule in product development: when customer demands conflict with your product vision, you have to assume the customer is right. because the customer is the one paying you. you did the right thing by listening to customer demands and switching to the second product.

pivots work under these conditions: 1- decide after celebrating the first product, 2- the second product hypothesis develops from customer feedback, 3- you have enough cash flow before switching to the second product (cover burn rate) 4- customers are eager for the new product but i mean yours seems to satisfy all four points.

i'm curious: how much was your financial loss when you dropped the first product? what did investors and employees say? there's usually social pressure in pivot decisions...

bro the success of the second product came from the failure of the first! if the first product had taken off in the market you wouldnt have even thought about the second one. founders who quickly learn lessons from life win in the long run!

edit: fixed a few typos.

Ill try it.

I agree, and I'd like to emphasize that. Second-time founders don't make the same mistakes but find new ones.

Everything goes well for the first three months; problems arise in the fourth.

I went through the same thing.

Quick summary for newcomers: If it's your first time, start small; scaling comes later.

When we decide without measuring, we always end up in the same place.

I was thinking the same thing. Second-time founders don't make the same mistakes but find new ones.

The reason for failure isn't one big mistake, but the accumulation of small decisions. If you post the result here, it will help others too.

Timely topic.

This is exactly what we experienced. The real issue isn't the number, but what it's based on.

Any unwritten clause becomes a point of disagreement later, as both sides remember it differently.

Same here.

sorry, but this doesn't apply in every case. when the closure decision was made is as decisive as the decision itself.

I went through the same thing two years ago. The moment you depend on a single client, you no longer set the price.

Good luck with that.

I feel the same way. People defend habits, not processes. Resistance comes from there.

Just leaving this note, it might be useful.

i agree with this. if you get three different answers on a topic the question was asked wrong.

if I were you I'd go this route.

This approach has a cost which isn't discussed. Any unwritten clause becomes a point of disagreement later, as both sides remember it differently.

The first thing to break as you grow is communication not the numbers. tbh that's all sorry if I went on too long.