Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • August 2021
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Mylestone: Can Multiple Pivots Preserve the Life of a Death Tech Startup?

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Marilyn Morgan Westner
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:18
ShareBar

Abstract

Dave Balter and Jim Myers co-founded Mylestone, a death tech startup that applied technology to transform how grieving people memorialize the dead. The startup addressed a cultural problem and promised to solve a pressing need in the antiquated, multi-billion dollar death industry. But despite a well-defined market and positive response to the idea, Mylestone made little headway in the funeral industry during its first eighteen months. In response to a series of obstacles, the company made a number of pivots.

All startups pivot. But recent changes felt more fundamental. The company had moved away from its initial purpose, business model, and early team. Now, user demand suggested the startup should pivot again, away from death tech to produce custom photo books. The company had pivoted so much already that it barely resembled the venture they founded. Had they pivoted to an entirely new business? With each major change, the passion both founders felt when they started Mylestone waned. Did they want to continue leading the company in the new direction?

Balter believed that the new direction would limit the startup's growth capacity and, to complicate matters further, Balter and Myers recently discovered a mutual interest in cryptocurrency. They started a side project in crypto trading that showed signs of taking off in a way Mylestone never would. If they harbored doubts about Mylestone, should they inform investors, close the company, and focus their energy on founding a venture based on their side project? What legal and ethical obligations did they have to Mylestone’s investors and employees?

Keywords

Pivot; Startup; Business Model; Cryptocurrency; Ethical Decision Making; Emotions; Growth and Development Strategy; Ethics; Market Entry and Exit; Customer Relationship Management; Loss; Change Management; Relationships

Citation

Ghosh, Shikhar, and Marilyn Morgan Westner. "Mylestone: Can Multiple Pivots Preserve the Life of a Death Tech Startup?" Harvard Business School Case 822-018, August 2021.
  • Educators
  • Purchase

About The Author

Shikhar Ghosh

Entrepreneurial Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • August 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Ava Labs: Structure and Challenges of Establishing a Blockchain

    By: Shikhar Ghosh and Liang Wu
    • August 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Art Blocks: NFTs and Digital Art

    By: Shikhar Ghosh and Liang Wu
    • August 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Moderna: Everything, Everywhere, All at Once

    By: Satish Tadikonda, Shikhar Ghosh and William Marks
More from the Authors
  • Ava Labs: Structure and Challenges of Establishing a Blockchain By: Shikhar Ghosh and Liang Wu
  • Art Blocks: NFTs and Digital Art By: Shikhar Ghosh and Liang Wu
  • Moderna: Everything, Everywhere, All at Once By: Satish Tadikonda, Shikhar Ghosh and William Marks
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College