When Is It Time To Pivot?
Part of Twin Cities Startup Week 2026, September 14–18.
Building a company rarely goes exactly as planned. Sometimes the market isn't responding, sometimes the business is growing in a direction you didn't expect, and sometimes what you built simply isn't the business you want to keep building.
This panel brings together founders and operators who have had to make decisions in that ambiguity: whether to keep pushing, change direction, rethink the business, or walk away altogether. They'll talk about recognizing the signals that something needs to change, separating a difficult season from a fundamental problem, and making decisions when you don't have enough information to know for certain that you're making the right one.
Attendees should leave with a better framework for looking at their own business when something isn't working and deciding whether the answer is persistence, adaptation, a pivot, or letting something go.
Speakers:
Jordyn DiOrio, Founder @ MEND Jewelry - Knowing when growth isn't the goal: Jordyn raised venture capital for MEND Jewelry, expanded into Nordstrom and Anthropologie and opened a Mall of America store, then ultimately made the decision to close the company after six years. She brings the perspective of questioning whether continuing to scale is actually the right outcome and walking away without treating that decision as failure.
Alex Bangs, Founder / Fractional CIO / Advisor - Learning and adapting through the startup rollercoaster: After more than 25 years founding and leading startups, Alex brings the long-term perspective of repeatedly getting things wrong, learning, and adjusting along the way. His experience spans funding, burn rates, teams, culture, leadership, and the personal realities of navigating companies through uncertainty.
Jared Johnson, Product & Design Leader - Making decisions when the answer isn't clear: Jared brings the product and design perspective of navigating ambiguity, including how to create temporary clarity, prioritize with limited information and resources, and use lightweight frameworks to keep moving when expectations and circumstances are changing.
Getting here on Tuesday. Parking, Basecamp, lunch, and the rest of the day: tcstartupweek.com/tuesday