The Last Startup Event before the Emergency State and where do we go from here
Am creat și o versiune în limba română a acestui articol.
Between 13–15 March, I took part as a mentor at an event organised by and for entrepreneurs in Cluj which are just starting their business: Startup Weekend Cluj 2020. It was my first Startup Weekend and, at the same time, the first event I took part in during a health crisis (which was soon to become, in a matter of days, a social and economic one as well).
As a mentor, I worked with the teams that prepared their projects and presentations, from my perspective of my experience as a lawyer specialized, among other, in personal data protection.
Although the participants’ ideas were great (more details about this here), what impressed me was the solidarity that all those present showed, for such an event to take place under the given conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. No one would have blamed the organizers if they had decided to cancel the event under the new measures taken by the authorities, regarding meetings and events with large numbers of people. However, a tacit consensus between everyone involved — organizers, mentors, participants — was born, that the “show must go on” if we all agree to abide by the new rules imposed.
And the effort was substantial, since the organizers collaborated with the Public Health Directorate to ensure every part of the event was taking place with all safety measures in place. From the building entrance to the event spaces, we had sanitary and disinfectant products at our disposal, and any participants and mentors that decided to not take part in person at the event or who were unable to do so, had the possibility of attending remotely, via video conferences and calls.
Everyone was aware of the importance of strictly adhering to the rules of the game: without any need of being reminded by the organisers, we all acted, instinctively, in order to protect ourselves and the people around us.
In addition to ensuring that the event was successful, all these small gestures have achieved something more important: they reminded me that such a situation requires adaptation and that, the sooner we adapt, with patience and discipline, the sooner things will go back to normal.
Startup Weekend Cluj 2020 was an example of how important it is for everybody to realise that we are in a crisis that will pass, but it’s important how it will pass, and what we learn from it. We can use this period of time to think about where we will be — ourselves and the people around us — after the crisis. This medium-to-long term vision is important both from a personal and professional perspective, and for the wider business community in general.
The way society looks after the crisis concerns us all, whether we are entrepreneurs, lawyers, doctors, corporates, freelancers, public service people. This entails a collective effort of patience, discipline and not the least small gestures that may have a big impact.
Pieces of information that I have gathered over the past week from different actors on the market are not at all promising. Startups are thinking of other financing sources if professional investors’ activity halts until the market stabilizes. New projects are currently in standby while the attention shifts to keeping current business afloat, and many people working in community infrastructure — from events organizers to co-working spaces — are thinking whether and how they will be able to adapt to the new state of affairs.
I am unsure how our life will be after the crisis, which businesses will hold on and what we will learn from this, but it seems that many of the things we are forcefully getting accustomed with will be part of the new norm after the crisis.
These days, full of economic and social uncertainties, those who can still do their jobs have a moral obligation to do them — even if from afar. Let’s pay our bills on time to lower the burden of other not so fortunate companies. Let’s keep employing the people that have helped us when things were going great. Let’s help the people around us in order to overcome a new situation which most of us have never faced before.
