Making difficult decisions is a fundamental part of being an entrepreneur. Sometimes, these decisions require a pivot in the company's direction. This was the case for Framer, a design and prototyping tool for web and mobile interfaces.
Listen to This Podcast Episode
In this blog post, I'll share the story of Framer’s pivot, as I also told in a podcast episode I recently was on. The podcast details the difficult decision to pivot and the disagreements that arose during the process.
Lessons in Entrepreneurship
At Framer, the team had been working on a new feature for the platform called Framer Sites. This feature was intended to help users quickly build and deploy websites without having to write code. However, as the team worked on the feature, they realized that it was taking them further and further away from their core focus on design and prototyping.
Koen Bok's Vision for Framer
Koen Bok, one of Framer's co-founders, recognized that the company was losing sight of its original mission. He suggested pivoting away from Framer Sites and refocusing on design and prototyping. However, not everyone on the team agreed with this decision.
Disagreements and Reflections
In the podcast episode, one team member recounts their initial disagreement with Koen. They believed that Framer Sites had the potential to be a successful product and that pivoting away from it would be a mistake. However, after some discussion and reflection, the team member eventually came around to Koen's perspective.
Pivoting Back to the Core
Ultimately, the team decided to pivot back to their roots in design and prototyping. They made the difficult decision to scrap Framer Sites and refocus their efforts on their core product. This was a significant decision for the company, but one that ultimately proved to be the right one.
Leveraging Expertise for Innovation
As the team refocused on design and prototyping, they were able to leverage their expertise in these areas to create new and innovative features for the platform. They launched new tools for collaboration and design handoff, as well as a new component library that made it easier for designers to create and reuse design elements.
The Value of Staying True to Your Core Mission
The story of Framer's pivot is a valuable lesson for entrepreneurs and startup teams. Sometimes, it's necessary to make difficult decisions and pivot away from what might seem like a promising idea. But by staying true to your core mission and expertise, you can create even more innovative and successful products in the long run.
