Transition Points Are Fertile Ground for Reinvention

I didn’t start out as a founder. I started out as an arms dealer. Not in the literal sense — but in the early days of Silicon Valley, I was on the front lines of sales, business development, and corporate development. I knew how to close deals, spot trends, and move fast. I was valuable but always on the periphery of the real action. I was building.

I watched teams turn ideas into companies and products into platforms. After a while, it became clear — I was contributing but not creating. So I made a move.

I joined Ooma as a founding executive. We set out to reinvent home phone service and take on the telcos. It was bold and ambitious and taught me what zero to one really looks like.

From there, I co-founded Jangl, a privacy-forward voice platform that lets people connect without giving out their real number. We raised money, built the team, and got real traction. Then, the market shifted, and we hit the wall.

That kind of moment can knock you down — or wake you up.

What I’ve learned across every chapter since is this: transition points represent some of the most valuable terrain upon which you’re ever likely to stand. They’re confusing, uncertain, and usually uncomfortable. But they’re also where reinvention happens — if you let it.

Too many people try to erase what came before when they make a change. I’ve done the opposite. I’ve treated every shift in my career like compound interest. Sales taught me how to tell a story. Founding taught me to see around corners. Product leadership taught me to zoom out and engineer systems at scale. Every new move built on the last.

That’s the difference between a pivot and a reinvention. A pivot is reactive. Reinvention is expansive.

Recognizing when it’s time

But how do you know when it’s time for a reinvention? Here are five signs that I’ve learned to watch for:

1. You know it’s time to move when you’re always executing someone else’s vision.
2. You know it’s time when the job starts to feel too small for what you’ve grown into.
3. You know it’s time when people keep pulling you back into what you’re already great at instead of asking what you want to learn next.
4. You know it’s time when you feel a quiet envy toward the people doing what you wish you were doing.
5. And you definitely know it’s time when the story you’re telling about yourself no longer fits who you’ve become.

The key is to treat transition points not as gaps, but as launchpads.

When Ooma ended, I didn’t run back to sales. I leaned harder into product. After two more startups, I shifted into leadership roles at companies like Facebook and VEVO, then helped build Disney+ and led streaming product and engineering at TelevisaUnivision. That kind of reinvention required unlearning, taking risks, and putting myself in uncomfortable rooms. But every time I did it, I unlocked new capabilities.

Carrying forward what matters

The trick is not to over-index on any one chapter — the startup that fails; the role that runs its course; the team that changes. All of it is temporary. What’s permanent is what you carry forward — the grit, the pattern recognition, the following your hunches. That’s the raw material for whatever comes next.

Reinvention isn’t something you do once. It’s a muscle. And the people who stay relevant, energized, and dangerous in the best ways are the ones who keep flexing it.

If you’re standing at a crossroads, don’t freeze. Don’t cling. Ask yourself: “Am I building something that reflects who I am right now?” And if the answer is no — what’s stopping you?

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Michael Cerdá is a veteran product and technology leader who has served as Chief Product Officer and executive at several of the world’s most influential companies. As VP of Product for Disney Streaming, he helped launch Disney+ to over 100 million subscribers. Previously, he was Chief Project Officer at Goldman Sachs’ Marcus division, Chief Experience Officer at Live Nation/Ticketmaster, and Director of Product at Facebook. He has also founded multiple venture-backed startups and holds two technology patents. His new book, Build Something: Building Products, Business & Culture – A Journey of Hard-Won Lessons and Impactful Outcomes (Feb. 20, 2025), reveals the untold true stories behind some of the most transformative technologies of our time. Learn more at www.build-something.com

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Posted by Michael McKinney at 09:01 AM
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