I just read this question on Quora: ‘What good books tell the story of the business model iterations and pivots of a notable company?’ My response is not a book, but a video of a talk at Y Combinator Startup School
This is a tale of pivot after failure after pivot after failure, over and over, until Brian Chesky of AirBnB (after four unsuccessful launches) finally hit on the formula which became the astonishing success that it is today. The moral? When you’re feeling ready to quit, just try one more pivot.
The three books which were given as answers to the pivot question on Quora were:
(1) What would Google Do, by Jeff Jarvis
(2) The Mouse Driver Chronicles by John Lusk and Kyle Harrison
(3) Founders at work by Jessica Livingston
My favourite quote from the video?
We’re told that when founder of Justin.TV Michael Seibel was offering Brian advice he “channeled his inner Paul Graham” (founder of Y Combinator)
You’ll have to watch the video to understand (I’m not sure I really understood, but unlike Brian, I’m not a YC alumnus)
Does anyone else know of any other good Pivot videos or books? Please feel free to put your suggestions into the comments.
