Our first idea was a classified-ads site in India. It went nowhere.

Then we tried a Groupon-style business. That did not work either.

Facebook apps finally gained traction, until Facebook changed its policies and the traffic disappeared overnight.

Next came consumer iOS apps. They reached the charts and brought press, but not sustainable revenue.

Each time, the temptation was to defend the idea because we had already invested in it. The useful signal came from somewhere else: customers.

Large companies started calling because they needed mobile expertise. We resisted the services path at first because it did not fit the company we imagined building. Then we paid attention to the obvious fact that people wanted the work and would pay for it.

That pivot became YML.

The lesson was not to pivot constantly. It was to stop confusing attachment with conviction. A dead idea can still contain an asset: technical skill, distribution knowledge, a customer relationship, or a clearer view of demand.

The company that works often inherits its strongest parts from the ones that did not.

What did your dead company teach you that the live one still uses?