🪴 The pivot pyramid

The goal of great startups is to find:

• The right customer to focus on.

• The right problem to solve for these customers.

• The right product to build to solve these problems.

• The right technology to build this product on.

• The right growth channels to scale their product and achieve product market fit.

These are not separate issues of a business, rather each is a part of a concept called The Pivot Pyramid.

Grow beyond the app stores with today’s partner: Paddle

Expand your reach, save on fees, and boost LTV by selling your app on the web with Paddle. As a merchant of record, Paddle manages your payments, tax, and compliance needs so you can focus on what matters: growing your App.

‘Pivot’ (n.)
A fundamental shift in a startup’s direction — often the difference between failure and breakout success.

Startups don’t just pivot randomly. The best pivots follow a structured approach, tweaking only what’s necessary while keeping what works.

That’s where the Pivot Pyramid comes in. It breaks down five key layers that drive growth, helping you pinpoint the smallest, most effective pivot instead of rebuilding everything from scratch.

Let’s start from the bottom 👇🏻

Customers

Customers are the foundation to every startup. Without customers — there’s no business. All other layers in the pyramid depend on who your customers are. The problem you solve, the technology you build or the product you have is all dependent on who your customer is.

If you change who your customer is, you need to change every other part of your business. Not an easy pivot, if you ask me.

Problem

If you’ve found your bottom two layers of the pyramid (customer + problem) — you’ve identified the correct market. This is where most startups start to grow.

If you have the customer but the problem you are trying to solve is either non-existent or just unimportant, you will need to rethink the problem layer. Your company will never grow with solving something people do not want.

Solution

You’ve identified the problems your customers face. Here, your goal is to build a product that resonates with the customers better than the competing products.

Technology

This layer’s responsibility is the overall experience of your startup. If your technology solves the problem, is simple to use and encourages customer retention — you are mostly set.

One of the most common startup mistakes is starting with the technology and trying to fit everything else around it. If you built your product without thinking about the customer or the problem they are facing, you have a problem.

Technology also defines the max cap of the growth you are able to experience.

Growth

All changes in the pivot pyramid lead to growth. Some changes do not require significant changes to your product or technology. These changes happen at the top of the pyramid. Think of changes like improving a retention loop, increasing customer activation or improving your sales funnel.

This is the layer where most experiments should happen. Your marketers, sales people, and other departments are all working on micro-improvements to the growth layer.

Key lessons from the pyramid

1. Start with the customer, not the product: The strongest startups obsess over their customers first, then build solutions that truly matter.

2. A weak foundation kills growth: If your startup struggles with customer acquisition or retention, the problem might not be your marketing—it could be deeper in the pyramid. Fix the foundation before scaling.

3. Technology should serve the problem, not vice versa: Avoid "tech-first" thinking. No matter how innovative your tech is, if it doesn’t solve a meaningful problem for a defined customer, it won’t succeed.

4. Scaling amplifies strengths, as well as weaknesses: If you scale too early, you’ll amplify inefficiencies. Ensure your foundation (customer, problem, solution) is solid before pushing for aggressive growth.

5. Not all problems are worth solving: Just because a problem exists doesn’t mean it’s worth building a business around.

6. Simplicity scales: Complex products, messaging, and business models create friction. The simpler your solution and go-to-market strategy, the easier it is to grow.

7. All experiments should lead to growth.

✈️ How We Can Help