The dynamicity of the market nowadays is unprecedented. How do you make sure that your success is prolonged? The reality is that to keep up, you need to be open to change and ready to pivot, which often results in further growth and the ability to make a bigger impact. A more harsh reality is that pivoting is the only alternative to bankruptcy.
In the last year and a half, we’ve all witnessed how many companies jumped on the Corona-bandwagon, pivoted to use the pandemic in their advantage. We’re grateful to those that were able to help our society through rapid action by developing vaccines, ventilators and tests, but also contact-tracing and support applications. The decision for many to pivot towards Corona was trivial – it disrupted the complete playing field.
Nevertheless, when we’re now looking ahead, we’re coming out of the pandemic and going back to a ‘normal’ life. The normal life won’t really be what it used to be with all the new trends that emerged and matured. Digitalization has been widely adopted and we have unprecedented connectivity through widely available 5G. Alongside these generic enablers, more focused market trends may be identified, for instance within digital health, decentralized clinical innovation and others.
How do you now find that unique challenge, opportunity or new market for your technology?
This is not trivial. We need to be aware that the next shiny object, is a common pitfall. The willingness to change, to avoid falling in love with your original idea, is instrumental a successful pivot.
To exemplify Nintendo started as a playing card company, pivoted to a taxi service company, subsequently to a ramen noodle company to finally become a video gaming enterprise. Some of the largest companies, from Twitter to Instagram, and Intuitive Surgical have undergone drastic pivots before obtaining their current market share.
What can you do to increase the likelihood of success of your pivot?
Don’t rush. In determining your next pivot, make sure there’s no space for biases and assumptions or jumping to conclusions. Take your time to determine your focus, ideate, test and validate before executing.
Do it again. Take your original pivot concept as a baseline and define a new market opportunity or a better problem to tackle. Weigh the development risks, including technical and regulatory hurdles, determine the market size and potential share. Contact and understand your respective stakeholders and investors.
Do it together. Work with your existing executive board, as well employees throughout the process to ensure a smooth and broadly supported transition. Include your current customers and future stakeholders, understand your core competencies and identify knowledge gaps.
Be confident. Avoid changing everything, remain confident within the fundamentals of the pivot. Ensure your team is complemented to fill knowledge gaps. Believe in and dedicate yourself and your resources to make a successful pivot.
In an ever changing world, it’s essential to continue to explore and innovate. Disruptive innovations in adjacent markets are challenging and more importantly, rewarding.
With the overlap between technologies in the biotech, medtech and consumer healthtech, pivoting between these areas are topics to investigate. What can wearable technology do for biotech and vice versa?
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