survivalpath Pro Tips — Week #2

Survivalpath aims to shed light on the business-related problems caused by the Covid-19 crisis and how to tackle them. Each week day we hold broadcasts on our Youtube channel in order to bring the best names in the ecosystem to help guide you through these challenging times.

survivalpath broadcast guests for week #2

Monday: Our first guest last week was Aslı Kurul Türkmen, managing director of Endeavor Turkey. We discussed the state of global startup ecosystems post Covid-19, Endeavor startups and actions in times of uncertainty.

The highlights of the conversation were:

1. Endeavor is a non-governmental organization with offices in 40 different countries around the world. Endeavor discovers growth promising startups and provides them with opportunities such as networking, market expansion, and mentoring.
2. The crisis environment will bring changes to laws and regulations. For example, interstate medical practice rules for doctors in the U.S. have become less strict to allow doctors to respond to the crisis.
3. We should focus on reading the needs and the circumstances of the moment rather than trying to anticipate the future.
4. We are devoted to keeping our conversations genuine and sincere as we carry all communications from face-to-face to digital.
5. As Endeavor we are working eagerly through this process and currently have 3 active investments.
6. Turkish startups should work on extending their runways.
7. Entrepreneurs should focus on the big picture. Slow down and consider different perspectives.

Tuesday: Our second guest was Arın Özkula from Revo Capital. We discussed how startups can extend their runway and survive during these unprecedented times.

The highlights of the conversation were:

1. Revo invested around $60M in 19 different startups since it was founded 4 years ago. We are now forming a new fund of about the same size to be invested in Fintech, B2B SaaS, marketplace, machine learning solutions and software oriented health technologies.
2. In this new era everyone will be more cautious. Demand will decrease and investment funds will focus on their portfolio companies rather than expanding their portfolios.
3. Revo Capital can invest in the future during this period. We are considering to invest in companies that promise growth in the long run.
4. Primarily, we are supporting our portfolio companies financially, by helping them extend their runway and adjust their financial plans.
5. We will continue investing actively. In that regard, we are taking into consideration the applications we receive from our website and continuing our meetings with new startups.

Wednesday: Survivalpath’s third guest in its second week was Ali Rıza Babaoğlan, managing partner of Grow in EMEA. We talked about crises and the opportunities presented by them.

Here are the highlights:

1. We are faced with a problem that has affected the greatest number of people since World War II. The crisis escalated much more than we would have guessed and we all need to start taking it seriously.
2. We try to invest in a wide array of industries. In developing economies, such as Turkey’s, different industries may suddenly become prominent. By investing in different sectors we are dividing the risk.
3. Startups need to focus on the problems of the people in the rising industries. Coronavirus accelerated the digital transformation. Many companies are forced to move their operations online so identifying the problems in the growing sectors such as education or e-commerce and responding to them will be most beneficial.
4. It might be a long time before we go back to normal so startups should make careful financial plans.
5. Investor behavior will be parallel to 2018 and 2019.

Thursday: Our fourth guest this week was Ali Karabey, founding partner of 212. We talked about the ways startups can follow to stay strong.

Here are the highlights of our conversation:

1. We’ve been investing in technology startups since 2009. We are especially interested in startups founded in Turkey but aim to go global.
2. This is a global crisis that brings about great uncertainty. In a way there is always uncertainty for entrepreneurs but this time it has a name. Personally the current crisis affected me in that I began to work alone and was forced to stay distant to entrepreneurs.
3. The effects of Covid-19 process can be divided into two categories: business and psychological. As we said, there always has been uncertainty businesswise. At this point awareness is critical for teams. The first thing a company should do is to make a plan that ensures their survival for the next 12 months.
4. Teams need to give the right reactions as we have a long road ahead. Another critical point is the cash flow. Minimize your spending by taking the worst case scenario into account.
5. Rest your brain. We don’t know when this is going to end. Keep your mind and soul healthy to keep your business healthy.
6. This is not the last crisis you’ll witness. What’s most important is to adapt and act quickly.

Friday: Our last guests in our second week were Merve Gürel and Emre Ölçer from the Workup team. We discussed the Covid-19 period activities of organizations that support entrepreneurs.

Here are the highlights of the conversation:

1. Workup is a entrepreneurship program that successfully combines corporate and entrepreneurship ecosystems.
2. This is a time when ecosystem stakeholders can together with collective consciousness can produce value.
3. Workup, an entrepreneurship program run by Kolektif House, which is sponsored by Isbank, has not lost value during the crisis due to online weekly meetings, one-to-one communications with each team, did not lose network support, continued meetings with the investors, and continued motivational activities such as Happy Hour online .
4. Startups need to think in the time of crisis.Think about which problems you are solving and if your problem solving channels are still relevant.
5. Improving or pivoting your business model immediately is crucial. Crisis management should be taken seriously. Those who can read and react to the crisis well will win.
6. Startups that are surviving through this period are the who take quick actions playing on their strengths, evaluate costs, and keep the team together.
7. Self-help, distance education, agriculture and food improvement, mobile banking, educational content, and automation service industries will come out of this period with the least damage and maybe even with profit.

Key Tips from the second week:

1. Communication is key. Keep your conversations genuine and sincere!
2. Focus on the moment. Assess the needs of the market and try to answer them.
3. Play to your team’s strengths.
4. Motivate your team! Keeping your people united is crucial.
5. Respond to the changing environment immediately. Take quick actions!
6. Rest! A healthy brain means a healthy business.

If you would like to contribute to the survivalpath email us at hazal@survivalpath.co

Hazal Ozkan