Publications
Publications
- November 2023 (Revised January 2024)
- HBS Case Collection
Bridgit: Persevere or Pivot?
By: Reza Satchu and Patrick Sanguineti
Abstract
In late 2012, Mallorie Brodie and Lauren Lake, two young women in their final year of college, founded Bridgit, a technology startup that developed solutions to simplify vital but laborious processes within the construction industry. In the Fall of 2013, after months of intensive, iterative research with potential customers on construction sites, the duo launched their first product, Bridgit Field. A point solution for 'punch list management,' a common pain point within the industry, Field synthesized the feedback the cofounders had received into an intuitive, streamlined platform that customers loved. By 2016, Bridgit Field had secured a devoted core of repeat customers across the United States and Canada, but at the same time, its project-based business model created a troubling amount of churn, according to traditional SaaS (software as a service) metrics. After implementing measures that only partially addressed the issue, the duo faced a concerning development in 2017: a major competitor had added some of Field's once-unique elements to its platform, essentially ubiquitous in construction management.
Leaning on their roots in hands-on customer research, Brodie and Lake discover an executive-level pain point sticky enough to potentially warrant a pivot away from their existing product and the complications associated with it. Yet, seemingly only their gut is pushing them in this direction. Should the cofounders go for the pivot against the advice of their board and the conviction of their top employees, and potentially risk losing the support of their loyal customers? Or, should they keep at it and risk getting muscled out by the existing titans of the industry?
Leaning on their roots in hands-on customer research, Brodie and Lake discover an executive-level pain point sticky enough to potentially warrant a pivot away from their existing product and the complications associated with it. Yet, seemingly only their gut is pushing them in this direction. Should the cofounders go for the pivot against the advice of their board and the conviction of their top employees, and potentially risk losing the support of their loyal customers? Or, should they keep at it and risk getting muscled out by the existing titans of the industry?
Keywords
Entrepreneur; Founder; Co-founders; Women Executives; Pivot; Startup; Business Model; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Applications and Software; Product Launch; Research and Development; Competition; Construction Industry; Technology Industry; United States; Canada
Citation
Satchu, Reza, and Patrick Sanguineti. "Bridgit: Persevere or Pivot?" Harvard Business School Case 824-118, November 2023. (Revised January 2024.)