What Houston startups can learn from the power of the pivot

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YouTube, Yelp, and Groupon all pivoted to great success. Here's what lessons Houston startups can take from these pivots. Miguel Tovar/University of Houston

Tons of companies start off as something completely different until they are faced with a challenge that only a change in direction can overcome.

Why should your startup pivot?

Imagine your startup is getting ready to present its product to the world at a tech exhibit. Right before you present, another company shows off their own product. And it's just like yours in every way. Is all lost for your company? No. Because now is the time where you must learn one of the most important principles in business. The startup pivot.

A pivot is a change in strategy. A new approach to your business model. A change in direction.

Companies that pivoted

Did you know that YouTube wasn't always a video sharing platform? That's right. YouTube actually started off as a dating service. You'd send in videos of yourself, essentially selling yourself to potential dates in your area. They even had a catchline: "Tune in, hook up."

Upon realizing the massive potential they had for hosting videos, the company pivoted and is now worth $40 billion. Talk about no regrets.

Yelp started off as an automated system that suggested recommendations from friends. The execution of this idea wasn't well-received. However, the founders recognized that users were writing tons of reviews for businesses just because they enjoyed it. And just like that, Yelp became the billion-dollar third-party directory we all know and love today. It was all because the founders knew enough to pivot.

Groupon actually started off as a social platform whereby people could unite to support charities and socially conscious causes. It was called The Point. This idea soon withered but a branch of The Point proved to be popular: a subdomain called Groupon. This idea turned out to be more popular, as people showed deep interest in pooling together funds to broker a group discount.

What these companies teach about pivoting

These companies' success from pivoting teaches us to focus on what we already have built. If there is an aspect of your business that isn't quite working out, there might actually be a part of your business that is. Look for that part and focus on it. Expand on it. Search for positives within your company and concentrate on developing them into something new and different.

We can also learn to cut our losses. Even if your idea is a genius one, if it's not yielding money, you have to move on. Getting stuck in the "just give it more time it'll work out" quicksand can sink your business fast. If you're hemorrhaging money because of your awesome-on-paper idea, the more chances you give it to succeed, the more money you'll lose. You have to know when to say when.

Another thing these three companies did was to follow the trail of money. They recognized areas of strength, and rode those areas to the bank. They concentrated on the aspects of their startups that yielded the most revenue. And you should too.

Don't be afraid of change. Your company doesn't have to be a success over night. It's okay to give it some time. But there is an art to knowing when give up and try something else. You have to master that art, just like the aforementioned companies did. Open yourself up to bigger possibilities. Sometimes, when working on the idea you thought was so brilliant, you stumble on to a different idea that proves to be more financially auspicious. Then it's time for a startup pivot. It's up to you to spot those instances and run with them, just like YouTube, Yelp, and Groupon did.

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This article originally appeared on the University of Houston's The Big Idea.

Rene Cantu is the writer and editor at UH Division of Research.

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Chevron enters the lithium market with major Texas land acquisition

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Chevron U.S.A., a subsidiary of Houston-based energy company Chevron, has taken its first big step toward establishing a commercial-scale lithium business.

Chevron acquired leaseholds totaling about 125,000 acres in Northeast Texas and southwest Arkansas from TerraVolta Resources and East Texas Natural Resources. The acreage contains a high amount of lithium, which Chevron plans to extract from brines produced from the subsurface.

Lithium-ion batteries are used in an array of technologies, such as smartwatches, e-bikes, pacemakers, and batteries for electric vehicles, according to Chevron. The International Energy Agency estimates lithium demand could grow more than 400 percent by 2040.

“This acquisition represents a strategic investment to support energy manufacturing and expand U.S.-based critical mineral supplies,” Jeff Gustavson, president of Chevron New Energies, said in a news release. “Establishing domestic and resilient lithium supply chains is essential not only to maintaining U.S. energy leadership but also to meeting the growing demand from customers.”

Rania Yacoub, corporate business development manager at Chevron New Energies, said that amid heightening demand, lithium is “one of the world’s most sought-after natural resources.”

“Chevron is looking to help meet that demand and drive U.S. energy competitiveness by sourcing lithium domestically,” Yacoub said.

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This article originally appeared on EnergyCapital.

International Space Station welcomes astronauts from successful Axiom Mission 4

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The first astronauts in more than 40 years from India, Poland and Hungary arrived at the International Space Station on Thursday, ferried there by SpaceX on a private flight.

The crew of four will spend two weeks at the orbiting lab, performing dozens of experiments. They launched Wednesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

America’s most experienced astronaut, Peggy Whitson, is the commander of the visiting crew. She works for Axiom Space, the Houston company that arranged the chartered flight.

Besides Whitson, the crew includes India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, a pilot in the Indian Air Force; Hungary’s Tibor Kapu, a mechanical engineer; and Poland’s Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, a radiation expert and one of the European Space Agency’s project astronauts on temporary flight duty.

No one has ever visited the International Space Station from those countries before. The time anyone rocketed into orbit from those countries was in the late 1970s and 1980s, traveling with the Soviets.

“It’s an honor to have you join our outpost of international cooperation and exploration," NASA's Mission Control radioed from Houston minutes after the linkup high above the North Atlantic.

The new arrivals shared hugs and handshakes with the space station's seven full-time residents, celebrating with drink pouches sipped through straws. Six nations were represented: four from the U.S., three from Russia and one each from Japan, India, Poland and Hungary.

"It’s so great to be here finally. It was a long quarantine," Whitson said, referring to the crew's extra-long isolation before liftoff to stay healthy.

They went into quarantine on May 25, stuck in it as their launch kept getting delayed. The latest postponement was for space station leak monitoring, NASA wanted to make sure everything was safe following repairs to a longtime leak on the Russian side of the outpost.

It's the fourth Axiom-sponsored flight to the space station since 2022. The company is one of several that are developing their own space stations due to launch in the coming years. NASA plans to abandon the International Space Station in 2030 after more than three decades of operation, and is encouraging private ventures to replace it.

Screen-free hiking app developed in Houston earns 'Best of the Best' award

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An AI-powered, screen-free hiking system developed by Varshini Chouthri, a recent industrial design graduate from the University of Houston, has received Red Dot’s “Best of the Best” award, which recognizes the top innovative designs around the world.

Known as NOMAD, the system aims to help users stay in the moment while still utilizing technology. It will go on to compete for the Red Dot Luminary Award, the highest recognition given at the international event.

“NOMAD was truly a passion project, inspired by years of hiking growing up, where the outdoors became a place of peace, challenge, and reflection,” Chouthri said in a news release.

“I wanted to design something supporting those kinds of experiences by helping hikers feel more grounded and confident while staying present in nature. It was a way to give back to the moments that made me fall in love with the outdoors in the first place.”

The app “reimagines” outdoor exploration by removing the dependence on screens by using adaptive AI, contextual sensing, and an optional, wearable companion device. It employs a circular learning model that enables hikers to receive real-time guidance, safety alerts, personalized trip planning, hands-free navigation and more through a natural interface, according to UH.

NOMAD was developed at the Hines College of Architecture and Design’s PXD LAB. In 2023, Lunet, developed by David Edquilang at Hines College, received the “Best of the Best” recognition and went on to win the Red Dot Luminary Award.

The PXD LAB offers a platform to expand concepts into system-level designs that address real-world challenges, according to UH.

“Varshini’s work on NOMAD exemplifies the future-focused, systems-driven thinking we promote in the Advanced UX Design curriculum,” Min Kang, director of PXD LAB, added in the release. “NOMAD goes beyond being just a product; it reimagines how technology can enhance outdoor exploration without disrupting the experience.”

In addition to the Red Dot honors, NOMAD has already earned distinction from the FIT Sport Design Awards and was a finalist for the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) presented by the Industrial Designers Society of America.
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