Easier to Restart Than to Pivot
Naval: One thing I've learned the hard way — it is easier to tear down a company and restart it in Silicon Valley than it is to constantly try to pivot or keep something alive.
There's very little stigma associated with shutting down and restarting. Investors want to back entrepreneurs of experience. They know how difficult it is.
It's easier to tear it down and restart than to keep pivoting. Very little stigma.
Nobody Succeeds First Try
Naval: People on Twitter say 'you're backing failures and losers.' They know nothing. It is so difficult to build something brand new that very few people succeed in the first go around.
Even Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs — it wasn't just their first thing. They built many projects along the way. They started younger than you. They parallel-tracked. They got lucky and they were good.
Very few succeed first try. Even Zuckerberg, Gates, Jobs — they built many projects along the way.
The Ideal Failed Founder
Naval: As an investor, you want to back previously failed entrepreneurs. The ideal is someone who failed through no fault of their own — or they've learned their way past it. The whole sector failed. A co-founder left. They followed the bet properly, it didn't pay off, they realized it and moved on.
It's easier to start over. Trying to cling through with your fingernails to something that's not working — it can waste you a lot of time.
Trying to cling with your fingernails to something that's not working can waste you a lot of time.