Sunsetting a bunch of features

After getting our first paying customer in August last year, Pluckd went through a pivot. I had decided to move away from being a tool to measure and manage your company's skill set. Instead, the idea was to use that capability to improve the culture of companies working remote. To reach that goal, we've deployed 3 features:

• Users could set their self-development goals;
• They could also commit these goals in public in the company's feed. Kind of like an internal IndieHackers for companies;
• Finally, we could match their goals to their peers who could mentor them. For example, if you wanted to learn JavaScript, Pluckd would introduce you to people in your company who already skilled in it.

Within the next months we will be removing theses features - thus burying the 2nd pivot of the product.

I had hoped this pivot would help Pluckd grow without having to rely on sales effort. Employees would try the tool out. If they found value in it, they would tell their bosses who in turn would create a paid account. That was the plan at least.

What I found out however is that employees have very little incentive to try to solve a problem they don't own. Not only the potential users I was talking to lacked a budget, but their bosses - who did have a budget - were not expected to tackle the issue of employee morale. Which was exactly the problem Plucked tried to solve.