A part of an ongoing series of entrepreneur coffee chats, Excelerate Labs' intern Anna Luscombe speaks with BabbaCo founder and 2011 Excelerate graduate Jessica Kim about successfully adapting a go to market strategy.
What did you ultimately learn about pursuing path B over path A?
I think the biggest lesson was discovering the importance of matching your business’ structure to its end goal. For BabbaCo, it was much more about what went into a box, it was about how we built relationships with our customers. A pivot isn’t about changing the entire purpose of your company. It’s about working effectively and matching the best business model to your company’s vision.
What advice would you offer other entrepreneurs facing the need to pivot?
Firstly, you really need to know your business inside and out – what’s working, what needs to change – really break it down into its component parts. You have to be honest with yourself about where the business stands today before deciding to change it. Secondly, you need to be very scientific in understanding how a pivot will impact the entirety of your business – inventory, cash flow, operations, brand message etc. You have to keep that holistic picture in mind while at the same time retaining the vision for where you want it to go as an entrepreneur.
Access the full interview here: http://exceleratelabs.com/2012/04/09/how-babbaco-redefined-itself-an-interview-with-jessica-kim/
