What If Your Product Doesn't Sell?

Jesse Wolfe created a delicious hummus that people loved, but he struggled to make big sales. Then he discovered that to succeed, you have to spot the opportunity in failure.

- Jason Feifer

Jesse Wolfe had a crazy idea: He wanted to build the Ben & Jerry’s of hummus. He created a brand called O’Dang Hummus in 2014, whipped up some wacky flavors, and started selling at farmers’ markets. Customers loved it. New employees eagerly joined to help O’Dang grow. Friends and family invested, sharing Wolfe’s vision.

Then, three years later, he gathered all his employees and partners to make an announcement: They were no longer selling hummus. “We had the whole room up in arms, especially investors,” Wolfe says. “They were like, ‘We invested in a hummus company! We bought the hummus dream! I don’t understand!"

He had a good reason. He’d just gone through one of the hardest transitions an entrepreneur can make—when you test the market, discover flaws in your original plan, and realize that survival will require radical change. But as Wolfe learned, there’s also a bright side to this process. Oftentimes, while the first plan is failing, an entrepreneur can spot a far better opportunity along the way.