Rant: When a company Pivots, a developer gets it's wings. There are no rules to raising money anymore, no path. I don't care what a VC tells me. It invalidates VC funding models, otherwise Color should not exist. They could create a fund with the money they have in the bank. At least that would make sense.
I think the word pivot is over-used. When I think of a person pivoting, I see someone more or less in the same place but facing a different direction. A company that pivots does the same, but changing the product completely isn't a pivot by a leap. Not saying that's bad, but it isn't the same as exploring a particular product space by trying different variations within it.
You're right, but I think pivoting is a failure to admit defeat on many levels; from vc investment to execution. If I was in whatever Fund that invested in Color, I'd be pissed the f off.
e.g. - No reason not to bootstrap.