Ah, the pivot.

Did you know that Nokia started out as a paper mill in Finland? Or that Nintendo once made instant rice? Many of the world's leading companies started out in radically different markets.

Cleantech is the same. Sales cycles are often slow, technologies don't work as planned, and customer needs are constantly evolving. In the tumultuous world of energy, companies pivot all the time.

On this week's episode of The Interchange, we celebrate the pivot.

We'll look back throughout history and choose the most successful and unsuccessful pivots of all time. What do they tell us about how to succeed in this market?

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Recommended reading:

  • Forbes: 14 Famous Business Pivots
  • Wall Street Journal: How a Florida Utility Became the Global King of Green Power
  • LA Times: How SunEdison Went From Wall Street Star to Bankruptcy
  • Vestas: The History of Vestas Wind Turbines
  • GTM: Hard Lessons From the Algae Biofuel Bubble

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