Startup Pivot to $1.1B Exit in 2.5 Years

"To me, the grind of a startup is just doing an enormous number of low probability things... If you don't do an enormous number of those things and compile them together, your company has very little chance of actually succeeding."

• Don't be deterred by low odds.
• Consistent efforts compound over time.
• Persistence leads to breakthroughs.

"Our emotions were very, very mixed... we very much believe we made the right decision and are extremely excited... but there's some fear, there's some regret over the path not taken."

• Expect mixed feelings of excitement and loss.
• Giving up independence can be challenging.
• Reflect on long-term goals and definitions of success.

"I think one of the biggest reasons why Bridge is what it is, is because we started the company outside of San Francisco... Being able to remove yourself from the status games that come with starting a company... was hugely helpful for us."

• Avoids comparison and distractions.
• Builds deep conviction in your idea.
• Focus on solving real problems.

"I would tweet, 'Hey, we just launched, we have these APIs.' At the time I had like 2000 Twitter followers... and every time I would do that, we'd get like two customers inbound to our website."

• Announce launches on personal networks.
• Small followings can bring valuable customers.
• Direct outreach generates initial traction.

"Every time one of these bank failures happened, it became harder to build what we were building... all this disruption in the market was making the moat around our business bigger. And so we had total confidence that we'd be able to solve this thing."

• Stay committed to core beliefs despite challenges.
• Market disruptions can eliminate competitors.
• Persistence turns obstacles into opportunities.

"Dan was like, 'This is amazing. This is what I signed up for. Let's go. Let's start talking to people and seeing what's possible.'"

• Small teams can pivot faster with less overhead.
• Early team members embrace challenges.
• Lean teams focus resources on the product.

"Very quickly after we launched, this customer Zulu came to us... He was like, 'Hey, I'm interested in using this for cross-border payments.' And I was like, sure, I have no idea what you're building... let's onboard you."

• Embrace customers outside your initial market.
• Adapt to new use cases they present.
• Early adopters can uncover scalable opportunities.

"I felt like a complete moron. I had just gone to all these folks and told them about this thing we were going to build. Then we start this company, we raised this money, and then it was immediately not a good idea."

• Investors often back teams over ideas; communicating honestly can strengthen trust.
• Pivoting early can prevent wasting resources on a failing idea.