Sounds like a scammy “Meet single women nearby” website scheming to steal your credit card info?
It was the 2005 slogan of YouTube — a video-dating site that kicked off on Valentine’s Day.
Few tuned in. Fewer hooked up. So, for kicks and giggles, the co-founder Jawed Karim posted a zoo video gushing over the “really, really, really, long trunks” of elephants.
This triggered a trickle, then a flurry — of funny, then funnier videos by other uploaders.
Google noticed and swooped up YouTube for $1.65 billion — today, YouTube is a 100x behemoth with 2.1 billion active users!
YouTube isn’t the only company to grow exponentially after “pivoting.”
Airbnb started off leasing mattresses. Instagram was a local catchup app. Starbucks initially sold coffee beans and machines. Twitter began as a podcasting platform. Wrigley pivoted twice — from soaps to baking powder to chewing gum.
The $52-billion gaming colossus Nintendo? A pivot-filled struggle — from playing cards, it experimented with taxis, hotels, TV, food, toys, and more.
While companies that pivoted (as necessary) created history, ones that didn’t became history.
Recall Polaroid cameras? How about Kodak films? The sturdy Nokia 3310? Yahoo answers? The slick Blackberries we thumbed away on? Sony Walkmans?