In this episode of Behavioral Profit, Debbie Longo speaks with Jack Siney about business pivots, market feedback, change management, and the willingness to change direction when an idea is not producing the expected results.
Jack shares the story of GovSpend, a company he co-founded to help government agencies purchase more efficiently. The original concept aggregated government purchasing data so agencies could compare vendors, pricing, and purchases. After investing significant time, money, and effort into the technology, Jack and his partner took the idea directly to government purchasing professionals—and the response was overwhelmingly negative.
Rather than abandoning the technology, they examined the value of the data and began asking who else could benefit from it. That process led to a complete business-model pivot. Instead of selling the database to government agencies, they offered it to government contractors that wanted insight into what agencies were purchasing, who they were buying from, and what they were paying.
The change required far more than a new sales pitch. Jack explains that they changed their marketing, website, CRM, contacts, processes, and target customer. The new market responded positively, the product took off, and the company operated successfully for more than 12 years before being sold to private equity.
Debbie and Jack discuss the behavioral side of making major business changes. Entrepreneurs can become emotionally attached to an idea because of the time, money, and energy already invested. Moving forward sometimes requires accepting that the original plan is not working, listening to feedback, changing your mindset, and being willing to take a completely different approach.
Jack explains that the market will tell business owners what works if they are willing to listen. At the same time, he cautions against changing direction because of one person's opinion. His approach was to pay close attention when the same feedback appeared three or four times because repeated feedback often signals a real issue that needs to be addressed.
The pivot ultimately helped GovSpend grow to a nine-figure valuation, demonstrating how a business that begins in the wrong direction can achieve significant success when its leaders remain open to change.
This episode explores business pivots, entrepreneurship, market feedback, change management, leadership behavior, adaptability, business growth, decision-making, resilience, and taking action when something is no longer working.
Contact Debbie Longo, Executive Behavioral Coach, Founder and CEO Life In Bloom NY
Behavioral Profit
Website: https://www.debbielongo.com/
Email: debbie@lifeinbloomny.net
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-longo-life-in-bloom-ny/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/debbie.longo.2025
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debbie.life.in.bloom.ny/?hl=en
Contact Jack Siney
Jack Siney, Co-Founder + Chief Revenue Officer at FrontRace
Email: jack@frontrace.com
Web: www.frontrace.com
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