Turning Setbacks into Success: Founder Brigit Torborg’s Strategic Pivot
Grow Your Entrepreneurial Mindset by Embracing Setbacks and Pivoting Strategically
Startup journeys rarely follow a straight path. They're winding roads filled with tough lessons, pivots, and growth. Brigit Torborg's experience, shared candidly on the latest episode of Startup Stories from the Treehouse podcast, offers valuable insights into navigating startup challenges and turning setbacks into opportunities.
Here’s what startup founders can learn from Brigit’s experience:
Lesson 1: Confront Difficult Realities Early
Brigit founded Fomeno, a fashion-tech startup aggregating secondhand clothing from Poshmark, ThredUP, and Depop. The idea gained momentum, winning competitions, raising angel funding, and getting press coverage.
However, Brigit soon faced three key problems:
Lack of Technical Expertise: Development was challenging and costly without a technical co-founder, especially before today's AI tools.
Unit Economics Problem: Selling secondhand clothing meant items were unique. Once sold, they're gone. Unlike businesses with reusable inventory (e.g., hotel rooms), scalability and profitability became challenging.
Limited Product-Market Fit: The product was "cool," but it didn't solve a significant pain point sufficiently to drive consistent user retention and monetization.
When these issues became clear, Brigit made the tough call to acknowledge reality. "Saying your baby's ugly," as Todd put it, can be difficult.
Actionable Advice for Founders:
Regularly revisit your business fundamentals: Is your solution addressing a significant problem? Are the unit economics viable for long-term success?
Be honest with yourself when something isn't working. Putting off difficult conversations makes them harder later.
Lesson 2: Communicate Honestly with Stakeholders
When Brigit realized Fomeno wasn't viable, she didn't hide from it. Instead, she communicated with her co-founders, investors, and customers, sharing the reality and her plans moving forward.
She followed a clear and organized approach:
Internal Team: Had honest, direct conversations to align everyone on the reality and next steps.
Investors: Clearly explained the business state, took responsibility, and welcomed feedback and advice.
Customers & Community: Communicated openly about the transition, shared learnings, and maintained a positive outlook for future opportunities.
Actionable Advice for Founders:
Don't avoid tough conversations. Embrace authenticity and transparency.
Create a clear communication strategy for transitioning or pivoting. Prioritize internal stakeholders, then investors, and finally customers or users.
Frame setbacks as valuable learning experiences rather than defeats.
Lesson 3: Be Strategic About Changing Direction
Instead of abandoning entrepreneurship, Brigit pivoted her business model using insights from the first startup. She transitioned from the Fomeno digital aggregator model to a community-driven, in-person event experience called Host Happy Hour.
To view a full transcription of the podcast, click here.
The Pivot in Action:
Brigit identified a new model: hosting curated closet clean-out events at upscale venues, creating a fun experience around secondhand clothing resale.
She validated initial traction by selling out rack spaces and attracting numerous shoppers at each event, proving demand.
She utilized partnerships (wedding venues, local influencers, and vendors) to create unique, memorable experiences.
Actionable Advice for Founders:
Pivot based on real insights: Brigit's deep understanding of her audience and industry from the previous startup informed her new, practical approach.
Quickly test and validate. Before expanding, Brigit experimented at a small scale.
Utilize partnerships to expand your reach and reduce initial risk.
Lesson 4: Prioritize Mentorship and Trusted Advice
Brigit emphasized the significant impact mentorship had on her journey:
Before joining Wildfire Labs Accelerator, Brigit struggled to make important strategic decisions alone.
Having experienced mentors who offered concrete guidance, a structured framework, and honest feedback significantly accelerated her pivot's success.
Actionable Advice for Founders:
Seek mentorship from experienced professionals in your field.
Ensure your mentors can provide tough, actionable, and constructive feedback, not just support.
Lesson 5: Be Ready to Learn and Grow
Brigit learned more from Fomeno's struggles and early failures than from success:
She reframed external failure as internal success, valuing her growth, learning, and relationships.
She embraced that entrepreneurship involves risk, uncertainty, and setbacks, but the personal and professional growth outweighs short-term failures.
Actionable Advice for Founders:
Develop a growth mindset: every experience—positive or negative—is a chance to learn and improve.
Don't fear failure; fear stagnation. The best entrepreneurs use setbacks as motivation for improvement.
Wrap-Up: Brigit’s Top 3 Tips for Founders
Brigit distilled her experience into three key tips for entrepreneurs:
Find Mentorship Early: It is critical to have a trusted person to call for difficult problems.
Build Genuine Relationships: People buy from individuals they like. Approach partnerships authentically, provide value first, and foster community around shared values.
Align Passion with Purpose: Choose a startup idea aligned with your values and passions. Even if the business fails, you'll view it as a success due to your growth and relationships.
Key Takeaway for Startup Founders:
Face reality early and adjust strategically.
Prioritize openness and genuineness with stakeholders.
Invest in mentorship to enhance your learning.
View setbacks as growth opportunities.
Brigit’s journey from Fomeno to Host Happy Hour exemplifies resilience, strategic pivoting, and mentorship. Her lessons provide a guide for startup founders navigating their own paths.
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