THE PIVOT PYRAMID - A Practical Guide to Smart Pivots

What is it? 

The Pivot Pyramid is a framework created to help founders rethink their business strategy in layers—starting small before jumping into big changes. Instead of scrapping your entire idea, it helps you figure out what exactly needs to change to get traction. 

 The Pivot Pyramid was developed by Selcuk Atli, a startup founder, investor, and Y Combinator alum. He built it as a practical guide for founders struggling with stalled growth but unsure if they should pivot the whole product, the business model, or just tweak the messaging. 

Pivot Pyramid Framework by Selcuk Atli

How to Use It:

Think of the pyramid as levels—each one bigger and riskier than the last. Start at the bottom, test, and only move up if necessary.

POSITION Change your messaging or target audience. Are you solving the right problem for the wrong people?

CHANNEL

Try new ways to reach the same customers. If social ads aren’t working, try partnerships, SEO, or outbound sales.

REVENUE MODEL

Revisit how you charge. Subscription? Pay-per-use? Licensing?

PRODUCT FEATURE

Refocus on a specific feature that’s working and cut what’s not.

TECHNOLOGY The biggest move—change the underlying tech or approach entirely.

THE GOAL? To stop as soon as you find traction. No need to climb all the way up if the fix was just at the positioning level.

When to Use It

• Growth has stalled.

• Users love the idea but won’t pay.

• You’re unsure if it’s the market, the model, or the product that’s wrong.

  
  

Example: Instagram’s Pivot They started as Burbn, a location check-in app loaded with features. The team realized the photo-sharing feature was the only thing users loved. They pivoted positioning and product focus, dropped everything else—and became Instagram.