Hey Game Changers!

You’re building your dream product, and the feedback is exactly what you hoped for. Momentum is building, people are paying attention, and everything seems to be heading in the right direction. 

But then, unexpectedly, a tech giant like Google comes out with a similar product.

What would you do? 

Would you keep charging forward, hoping to outlast the competition? 

Or would you pivot, sacrificing your original vision to focus on a smaller but stronger opportunity?

This is the story of MongoDB and its co-founders—Dwight Merriman, Kevin Ryan, and Eliot Horowitz—who faced this exact crossroads and made a pivotal decision that reshaped their startup journey and created a billion-dollar company.

It’s a tale of courage, adaptability, and bold choices. It’s also a reminder that sometimes, what we start with isn’t what leads us to success.

In this in-depth analysis, key takeaways for startups:

The Birth of a Vision

In 2007, Dwight Merriman and his co-founders had a clear goal: they wanted to solve a massive problem plaguing the tech world. Traditional databases—built in the pre-internet era—simply couldn’t keep up with the explosive growth of modern internet companies. As applications scaled, these databases frequently crashed, leaving companies struggling to stay online.

They founded a company, 10gen, to create an open-source platform-as-a-service that would solve this problem. 

Part of this platform included a new database system called MongoDB. It wasn’t the main product, just one piece of a much larger offering. Things were moving forward, and the feedback was positive.

But here’s the kicker: just as they were gaining traction, Google launched App Engine, a platform that was eerily similar to 10gen’s vision. Overnight, their whole strategy was put into question.

 The Crucible Moment

Now, think about this for a moment. You’ve spent months building your product, and suddenly, one of the world’s biggest tech companies releases a similar version. 

 What would be going through your mind? 

 Would you double down and try to compete head-to-head with Google? 

 Or would you rethink your approach entirely?

Dwight Merriman had a realization during a family vacation. 

He stepped back from the day-to-day grind and thought about the bigger picture: 10gen’s platform vision was too broad for a startup. Competing against Google’s resources wasn’t just difficult—it was unrealistic.

This is what we call a crucible moment, where a founder faces a decision that could make or break the company.

Dwight and his team had two choices: stick to their original vision and risk burning through their resources without gaining enough traction, or make a bold pivot. They chose the latter. 

They decided to scrap their platform idea and focus entirely on MongoDB, the database component that had received positive feedback from developers.

Imagine having to throw away months of work and lay off some of your team in the process.

 It wasn’t easy, but the founders realized that the database, not the broader platform, was their ticket to success.

 The Power of Focus

By narrowing their scope and betting everything on MongoDB, the team tapped into something powerful: focus.

The database was exactly what developers needed to solve the scaling issues that traditional databases couldn’t handle. 

MongoDB, unlike relational databases, stored data in a flexible, document-based format, making it easier to handle modern applications.

They also made MongoDB open source, allowing developers to use it for free, which quickly created a community of passionate users. 

The team hustled to promote it, traveling to meetups and conferences, doing live demos, and spreading the word city by city.

Their decision to focus on MongoDB was a game-changer. By 2010, the product had gained significant traction, and Sequoia Capital saw the potential, investing in the company. 

By 2013, the company changed its name from 10gen to MongoDB, reflecting their new identity as a database provider.

What about you? Is there a part of your business that’s getting strong feedback, while other areas are lagging behind? 

Could focusing on that one thing be your breakthrough?

️ The Move to the Cloud: MongoDB Atlas

Fast forward a few years. MongoDB was successful, but there was a new trend sweeping the tech world: cloud computing. 

More and more companies were moving their databases to the cloud. MongoDB users were deploying the software on platforms like AWS, but here’s the catch—they weren’t paying MongoDB to do it. This was a huge missed opportunity.

MongoDB faced another crucial decision. Should they stay focused on downloadable software, or should they shift their business model to a fully managed cloud service? 

They took the leap and launched MongoDB Atlas in 2016, a cloud version of their database.

This wasn’t just a small tweak—it was a complete transformation of their business. 

They went from shipping software to managing databases for their customers. It was a risky move, but it paid off. 

Atlas grew rapidly and eventually became the core of MongoDB’s business, representing 70% of their revenue.

What shifts are happening in your industry? 

Could embracing a new trend, like cloud services, unlock a bigger opportunity for your business?

The Fight Against the Giants

But the story doesn’t end there. In 2018, Amazon, the behemoth of cloud services, launched DocumentDB, a direct competitor to MongoDB’s Atlas. 

Imagine the nerves in MongoDB’s boardroom as the news broke. Their stock took a hit, and investors worried that Amazon would crush them.

But instead of panicking, MongoDB’s leadership saw this as validation. If Amazon was copying them, it meant MongoDB was onto something big. 

They doubled down on their strengths and kept improving Atlas. In the end, MongoDB's bet on cloud services paid off.

What would you do if a giant competitor entered your space? 

Would you retreat, or would you use it as motivation to level up your product?

 Navigating the Open-Source Challenge

There was still another challenge lurking. MongoDB’s open-source model meant that other companies could use their software for free and even offer competing services. 

To protect themselves, MongoDB made a bold change in their licensing model, switching to the Server Side Public License (SSPL). This move ensured that anyone using MongoDB’s code for a paid service would either have to pay MongoDB or open-source their own code.

The decision wasn’t easy—there was backlash from parts of the open-source community. But MongoDB stuck to their guns, knowing that it was essential for their long-term survival.

What’s the one change you need to make in your business, even if it’s risky or unpopular? 

Sometimes, the toughest decisions lead to the biggest breakthroughs.

 From Product to Platform

Here’s the twist: after all those years of narrowing their focus, MongoDB is now evolving back into a platform. 

Customers are asking for more—they want to do everything on MongoDB, from search functions to handling large-scale data analysis. 

MongoDB’s founders started with a vision for a platform, pivoted to a product, and are now coming full circle.

As a startup founder, it’s important to start small and focused but never lose sight of your larger vision. Once you gain traction, you earn the right to expand.

➡️ Your Next Move

Now it’s your turn. 

What can you do today to take your business to the next level? Are you focusing on the right product? 

Are you tapping into the latest trends like cloud services, AI, or automation?

And most importantly, are you ready to make the bold decisions that could turn your startup into the next MongoDB?

Share your current challenges and crucible moments with your community. What decision do you need to make that could change everything?

And if you’re ready to take the next step, start thinking about how you can leverage focus, customer feedback, and bold moves to unlock new opportunities for your business.

 Let’s get to work!

**Special thanks to Sequoia Capital and the Crucible Moments podcast team for providing invaluable insights into the pivotal decisions that shaped MongoDB's journey.