Doppel successfully raised a Series A from a16z while actively pivoting. This was possible because they demonstrated 10x revenue growth, a strong pipeline in the new cybersecurity market, and a compelling vision that the team was uniquely positioned to execute.
Doppel's founder argues PMF must be re-established with every pivot, platform expansion, or new market entry. For modern SaaS companies building platforms, founders must earn PMF for each new product they ship, treating it as a constant, iterative process.
Doppel secured its first $5k/month contract before having a product. The key was finding a forward-thinking early adopter and offering a month-to-month agreement. This de-risked the decision for the buyer, incentivizing them to pay for development to begin.
Doppel initially sold to trust & safety and legal teams. However, they realized cybersecurity teams were the "power users" who derived the most value, evangelized the product, and were willing to spend more. This insight drove their successful pivot to the cybersecurity market.
Despite reaching seven figures in revenue, Doppel's founders pivoted from serving NFT marketplaces. They recognized the market's trajectory was poor and their ambition to "serve the whole world" required a shift to a larger, more sustainable market like cybersecurity.
Doppel's first enterprise customers came from referrals via their existing crypto clients. Founders from the crypto space, who previously worked at larger tech or finance companies, made introductions to their former colleagues, creating a warm path into new verticals.
After raising a $5M seed round, Doppel kept its team lean at just five people. The founders realized their bottleneck wasn't engineering capacity but founder-led sales and product discovery. This preserved capital while they iterated towards a scalable GTM motion.
Doppel's founders didn't start with a specific user problem. Instead, they analyzed macro trends (AI, Crypto) and identified a high-level threat: the erosion of "digital authenticity." This broad vision allowed them to explore initial markets like NFTs before pivoting to cybersecurity.
Doppel shut down its original API for detecting fake NFTs after realizing it had only one real customer and other prospects weren't willing to pay much. This decisive action, based on clear market feedback, freed them up to focus on their more promising pivot to cybersecurity.