So you have a great idea that you're sure everyone's going to love. You probably talk to friends and family about it, get good feedback, then go out and start building it. You either bootstrap it and do it all yourself, or you get a few people to buy-in to the dream and work on it with you.
Then you launch. Granted, it's just an MVP and you can't wait to get feedback and iterate. You tweet the heck out of it, post to Facebook and LinkedIn and do the social media dance. You share with family and friends and retweet and repost.
And then you wait. And refresh. And wait...and despair. No one is biting. People may have liked and retweeted, but no one is actually buying!
You try not to despair. It's early days yet. You go through the above for a few more days...You even spend money on Facebook/Twitter/Google campaigns to no avail.
Then the despair sets in. If you can get beyond the despair, the humility and boundless pivots await. You thought you knew what people wanted but you were wrong.
Most entrepreneurs have personal experience with the above and a pivot or two...or three or four. Sometimes all you can do is keep trying and hope that something will work. If you're lucky to get actual feedback, you apply it but otherwise, you admit you were wrong and rethink everything.
The only way to get beyond this is to stay humble and to stay true to your purpose. Yes, the package and/or idea and/or business plan may need to change, but there was something you strongly believed in. If you can stay true and excited about that, then you will be able to keep throwing things against the wall until one of them sticks.
If you can't get over being wrong and/or can't stay excited, then this life is not for you.
Have you had to pivot? How have you dealt with the despair and uncertainty?
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