Article · 12 min read

3 founders on their experience pivoting their companies

Mercury (Meghan Gunn), featuring Dave Rogenmoser (Jasper), Andres Klaric (Fuse), Hillary Lin (Curio) · Mercury blog Free Intermediate

Three founders describe, in their own words, exactly how they handled investors through a pivot, and the contrast is the lesson. Jasper's Rogenmoser went heads-down and let traction do the talking before he updated anyone. Fuse's Klaric ran an 'open kimono', showing investors his full thought process so the direction change read as judgment, not flailing. It is the founder-side counterpart to coming with conviction: you earn confidence by showing the reasoning and the early proof, not by asking permission.

  • Reconstructing the company narrative is the hardest part of a pivot, so walk investors through the logic, not just the new plan
  • Transparency about your thought process ('open kimono') preserves trust better than a polished announcement that hides the struggle
  • Early traction on the new bet is the strongest possible investor update, so consider what the next stretch proves before you over-explain
Open on mercury.com ↗

It answers 2 questions

  1. How do I tell my investors we need to pivot without them losing confidence in me?
  2. My co-founder wants to pivot and I don't. How do we break the deadlock?

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