He pivoted at $1M ARR—then raised $120M. | Kevin Tian, Co-Founder of Doppel

Episode notes

Kevin was building a successful startup in the NFT space. They'd hit $1M ARR. But he looked at the market and realized it wasn't big enough. So he made the terrifying choice to pivot the entire company into cybersecurity. In this episode, Kevin breaks down how he navigated that transition without killing the business. He reveals how he sold his first $5k/month contract with no product, why he raised a massive seed round he didn't need, and how he convinced Andreessen Horowitz to lead his Series A in the middle of a strategic shift. Why You Should Listen How to pivot from a bad market to a unicorn opportunity. Why he sold a $5k/month contract with zero product. How to raise a Series A from a16z during a pivot. Why you never truly "find" Product Market Fit. The danger of building for a niche market (and how to escape).