Sam Eitzen

Building AI-powered photo and video experiences for events.

[Sam Eitzen @sameitzen]

How do you pivot a company?

How about a product? Even an idea?

Over the last 4 years, I've had the responsibility of pivoting our company multiple times 😬

Forced pivots. Voluntary pivots. Big ones that up-ended the entire business model. Smaller ones that shifted it slightly. And every level in between.

So pretty often, when people read about those, or they hear my story, they ask: "How do you pivot a company?"

They want the inside scoop. Some tactics for how they can do it for themselves.

And whether it's to keep up with the changing times or because they desperately need to for the success of their venture, my answer is usually the same:

"In my experience, it depends on 3 things."

Now at face value an 'it depends' answer is kind of lame...even though it's true.

So let me explain the basic '3T' framework I think of which I find helpful:

1. It depends on your team.

This is the biggest factor, in my opinion. If you do not have a team that can handle change, it will be ROUGH. If you do not have a team that's willing to adapt when change comes anyway, it will be ROUGH.

You need a team who's willing to pivot. Who understands the risks and the rewards. A team that's committed to trying to figure it out...because it's never easy.

Do you feel your people can handle and adapt to a pivot? If there are some you feel won't and you NEED to pivot, it might be necessary to send them somewhere more stable...for your sake and theirs.

2. It depends on your time.

How much time do you have to pivot? If you're forced to in a matter of weeks, it's extra tough and you approach it differently. If you have a year, you can be far more strategic. This also feeds back into the first dependancy...your team.

Pivoting in a matter of weeks will feel that much more violent than a gradual pivot. Pivoting your company will feel harder than pivoting one product.

So the time you have to make a pivot matters a lot. How much time can you buy to make your pivot?

3. It depends on your tact.

Google tact and you'll get a definition that looks like this: 'sensitivity in dealing with others or with difficult issues.'

Tact is tactics. Your strategy.

Tact is the playbook you'll follow. It's important to understand the tact you'll need for your pivot...and the playbook changes depending on your team and your time.

For some of our pivots, my tact was lacking. The saving grace was that everyone could tell we were up against the wall with limited options, so they were merciful.

More than once I've had to apologize to the team for mistakes I've made, quick decisions rendered carelessly or in the heat of the moment. Tact is hard.

So before you pivot, even if you're being forced to, consider the tact you'll use.

It doesn't have to be perfect, but you'll want to spell it out, at the very least to yourself, and ideally even tell you team how you're going to go about navigating the pivot over the coming (however much time you have)

[Sam Eitzen @sameitzen]

.@TrungTPhan Dang. You are right up there with global events.

Clicked for the article and laughed when I saw the actual post 😂

[Sam Eitzen @sameitzen]

Don’t optimize your life away.

[The Kobeissi Letter @KobeissiLetter]

Legitimate question:

How could you, as a Tesla $TSLA shareholder, NOT back Elon Musk's pay package?

The FULL package is paid out if Elon builds Tesla to be worth $8.5 TRILLION.

That's +500,000% above Tesla's IPO price.

Vote "YES" for the greatest innovator of our lifetime.

[Sam Eitzen @sameitzen]

@iamheci @base Always bullish

[Sam Eitzen @sameitzen]

@pudgypenguins Pengu Morning!

[Sam Eitzen @sameitzen]

@AMAZlNGNATURE A group of snakes is called a NOPE

[Sam Eitzen @sameitzen]

@CoinbaseSupport @brian_armstrong Ya might wanna check into this before it turns into a news story. Seems pretty key to let people know why their performance data is missing.

[Sam Eitzen @sameitzen]

It's wild to find entire reddit threads on @coinbase issues and still have CS agents be completely useless when you call them...

https://t.co/3Yz2r2ZlUs

[Sam Eitzen @sameitzen]

@lvcidia Love it. Any easter eggs for us to find?

[Sam Eitzen @sameitzen]

@lvcidia @Joe_Eitzen @SarahJEitzen @KYC_Smiling

[Sam Eitzen @sameitzen]

@easyJet trying to purchase EasyJet Plus. Have used 3 different browsers, multiple credit cards, called my banks and confirmed it’s not on me.

Sent an email about this 4 days ago and have yet to hear back. I just wanna pay you money! Please help.

[Sam Eitzen @sameitzen]

Within weeks, we had a new product, new clients, and a lifeline for our business.

What started as a desperate pivot turned into a new revenue stream that’s still thriving today.

[Sam Eitzen @sameitzen]

Sometimes the thing that saves you isn’t what you’re good at—it’s what you’re willing to try when your back’s against the wall.

[Sam Eitzen @sameitzen]

We didn’t know the first thing about creating gift boxes.

But we knew how to deliver an experience.

We took our event expertise and poured it into crafting memorable, custom gift boxes for virtual events.

[Sam Eitzen @sameitzen]

Are you feeling burned out?

During the holiday season of December 2021, I was feeling great. A bit tired, but would never have assumed anything was wrong....

A couple days later, I thought I was dying and in that moment started my own journey dealing with the sneaky crisis of entrepreneurial and professional burnout.

Unfortunately, this topic is often swept under the rug even though it's affecting more people than ever.

In fact, a recent study by Future Forum revealed that over 40% of people with ‘desk jobs’ are feeling burned out, which is a pandemic-era high.

I was one of them.

My wake-up call 🛑
Just days before Christmas 2021, I woke up in the middle of the night with my heart racing. It felt like it would pound out of my chest. I thought I was having a heart attack. I was genuinely afraid.

In the aftermath and after a couple cardiologist appointments, medical tests showed I was physically fine, but the diagnosis was clear: stress-induced anxiety and burnout. I was perplexed.

I had felt FINE the day before. I didn't feel stressed, at least not in the way I normally think of stress.

But 'under the hood', things weren't so great. It HAD been a difficult season. Not just for me, but for everyone.

Pivoting my company multiple times during the pandemic, the long hours, the added responsibility of family (I have 3 kids) and many other factors were eroding my strength mentally, physically and emotionally.

That night was just the breaking point. The rubber band finally snapped after being stretched too far.

I had a panic attack right out of my sleep.
My cortisol levels were through the roof.
I experienced insomnia for weeks.
My heart would race uncontrollably at random times.
My mind felt dark. I just couldn't work.

This all led me to take a 6-week sabbatical which played a big part in healing me (I'll write about that another time).

So that's my little PSA. Burnout is more than just exhaustion; you can actually feel pretty normal until it hits you.

If you have questions, or want to DM me about any part of the experience feel free.

I don't love talking about it as I'm a pretty hard charging, Enneagram 8, kinda guy...but I hated the experience and would be happy to talk with you through yours.

[Sam Eitzen @sameitzen]

This is one of the reasons I love @X.

Scrolling for 1 minute, see something that catches my eye and before you know it, a new entrepreneur I'm following because he's transparent and honest about how brutally tough it is.

Thanks for sharing this @huntercdurham.

[Hunter Durham @huntercdurham]

Here's the timeline towards bankruptcy:

HINT: Don't do this. Give your lessons time to simmer.

Mar. 2019: Quit job at Facebook

May: Joined largest client

Sep: Got fired

Oct 2019: Went down Warren Buffet rabbit hole. The idea of Impact Industry was born.

Jan 2020: Found search funder community (should joined Twitter)

Feb 2020: put together documents to buy a business.

Mar. 2020: COVID happens E-commerce blows up.

April: Start taking on new client's full time at Impact Industry marketing.

May 2020: Have second child

August: landed first 5-figure client.

October: Go under contract to buy first company.

2020: Impact Industry Marketing: $250K Rev.

Feb 2021: Close $1.2M deal for e-commerce furniture store. 10% down 10% Seller Finance. 6.5% interest. Agency at $35K MRR.

Mar 2021: Freeze in Texas, main foam chemical supplier looses power. Massive foam shortage in industry. Lead times go from 14-16 weeks to 28-32 weeks.

Apr. 2021: Everything going as planned.

Aug 2021: Cracks start to appear in E-commerce business we bought, things are softening google traffic down.

September: Agency hits $60K MRR.

October: Go under contract for $2.6M on two furniture delivery businesses.

End of 2021:
E-com closes at $1.2M
Agency closes at $562,000

Jan. 2022: Bring on a biz partner, this was the beginning of the end for me.

February 2022: Transaction closes for $2.6M, 10% down, 0 seller finance.

Now there are three businesses and I'm trying to spend time in each.

March 2022: Biz partner gets really sick, loses control over his life, but still tries to work.

April 2022: Lose $750K account.

May 2022: Demote General Manager.

June 2022: Accounts receivables balloon from $150K to $600K. Should have died here as we didn't have enough working capital.

July: Heavy customer concentration is starting to form. went from 10% to 50% of the business as we grew the account. Didn't support with enough additional sales.

August 2022: Shipping business needs full attention but we now have a floundering ecommerce website, the agency is still humming but starting to see cracks. Interest rates rapidly rising.

September: Land a public company as client after working on them for a year. Mid 5-figure monthly contract.

Nov. 2022: Biz partner no longer can work, given up a lot to him. Have to pivot and put someone else in place.

End of 2022:
Agency: $775K (Covered losses and expenses)
Ecommerce: $775K (Huge Loss)
Delivery Company: $5.7M (Serviced over $300K in debt)

January 2023: Interest rates continue to rise, servicing about $40K a month now soon to be $45K by summer.

February 2023: Major cracks are starting to form in all businesses. I don't have enough time to fill them and resources are getting constrained as i've had to personal supply working capital into shipping biz.

March 2023: Things feel stable at shipping business for once but Ecommerce is getting into a cash crunch as overall demand as slowed. Churned a couple of clients on agency.

June 2023: -Lost our largest client at the agency
-Largest shipping customer owes us $400K and contemplating bankruptcy.
-Ecommerce sales almost non existent.

July 2023: We reach an agreement with shipping customer and get paid a large amount.

-Agency loses all revenue and employees

-E-commerce continuing to suffer.

Third child born.

August 2023: Mitchell Gold Bob Williams shuts down. Owes us $400K, Other businesses cease to exist at this point.

September 2023: Working with bank to liquidate. Have a little over $2M in personally guaranteed loans.