Hey there, amigos and amigas! It's time for another riveting edition of Fresh Salmon.

But first, I'd like to share with you a personal story.

I cold emailed this company from my hospital bed, for a job position that didn't exist.

I was in the hospital for 25 days in Berlin, Germany, with what turned out to be a rare lung infection that started as a boil on my shoulder.

5 days before getting discharged, I bumped into a company called GoDerma, which was doing telemedicine in dermatology.

As soon as I learned about it, I could only think of one thing - if I had something like this, I might not have ended up in the hospital due to delayed care.

That's when I decided I was going to help build this company. No matter how early-stage they were.

I arranged the meeting with the founders. We felt strongly connected to the mission and vision of the company.

The deal was sealed, and I started working there.

Not even a year at the company, we do a big pivot. We shut down all our EU operations.

At the time, the EU/German market was still not mature enough for digital health and had very tight regulations. Therefore, the company decided to go to the US market and prove its business model there.

GoDerma becomes Klara and comes to New York.

The founders convinced me to take this big bet with them. I literally packed my bags, left my apartment there in Berlin, and flew to New York!

I gave up my EU residency and gambled big time on making the company work in the US.

If it fails, I would probably have no choice but to go back to India, thanks to complicated visa scenarios.

And then starts the real fun part. Building everything from scratch here in the US.

And the rest is history!

It worked. We survived, we scaled, and we got acquired.

Despite moving to the US, we didn't make a single dollar of revenue for the first 18 months, surviving solely on VC funding. There were multiple pivots involved.

However, that's a story for another time, but today I'd like to focus on the lessons learned from another superstar company that pivoted from B2C to B2B.

The Epic Journey of Vimeo: How They Became a B2B Powerhouse

Those of you who are captivated by the fast-paced world of digital innovation should hold onto your hats as I reveal the spectacular transformation of a video-sharing platform.

This week we're diving deep into the captivating journey of Vimeo, a company that started out as a humble B2C player with big dreams. Guess what? It was no cakewalk to domination.

This company intends to become the "indie YouTube." Sounds intriguing, doesn't it?

Nevertheless, Vimeo found itself embroiled in the fierce battleground of content creation despite its ambition. The competition was fierce, and the struggle was real.

They didn't give up, though.

Suddenly, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, a game-changer appeared.

It was in 2017 that Anjali Sud, the visionary CEO who would rewrite Vimeo's destiny, took the helm. In an instant, she recognized the key to success lay in the B2B market.

There was a trend toward shorter content uploads, and more business-oriented videos, and customers were demanding more. Sud saw the golden opportunity with her finger firmly on the pulse of the market.

You can feel the pivot in the air, can't you?

The company shifted its focus from indie dreaming to B2B. Overcrowded content viewing no longer has to be a struggle. Vimeo chose to focus on social SaaS (software as a service), an area less explored by its competitors.

Despite the billions of dollars invested in original content by tech giants, Vimeo chose a different route.

Now fast forward to the present, and the results speak for themselves. In 2021, Vimeo had over 1.5 million paying subscribers, and their revenue soared by 54%. I think it's a success story worth a standing ovation.

Let's not just admire Vimeo's incredible journey, but dissect the key takeaways:

1. Be open to pivoting:

Vimeo's leadership didn't cling to their original vision. The company listened to the winds of change, observed the shifting tides of the market, and had the courage to pivot when necessary.

2. Focus on the B2B market:

Vimeo's pivot into the B2B market was nothing short of a game-changer. Offering software tools to their community of social creators, they found their niche and found success.

3. Listen to customers:

Vimeo's leadership engaged directly with its customers instead of relying solely on data. The team dug deep into their needs and desires, uncovering a massive demand that Vimeo is uniquely positioned to meet.

4. Offer a higher revenue share:

With a more enticing revenue share than its competitors, Vimeo attracted professional creators, brands, agencies, and small to midsize businesses. This is a lesson in how to win your partners' and users' loyalty.

The triumphant journey of Vimeo proves that a company can rewrite its future and emerge victorious if it has the right vision, is willing to adapt, and is attentive to customer feedback.

I urge you to remember the name Vimeo - a testament to the power of strategic evolution in the ever-changing business landscape.

Interesting Thing That I Read This Week

Here are a few 🔥🔥🔥 tips from Jesse on driving growth on LinkedIn.

Tweet That I Noticed This Week

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What Do You Think?

This concludes this edition of Fresh Salmon.

I would like to hear what you thought of today's newsletter.

Also, let’s connect on Twitter, LinkedIn, or TikTok.

Cheers,

Vivek

PS. I love you ❤️