Does COVID-19 mean Stop for Startups?
The Looming Question in our Community
These are unprecedented times — that is for sure… Most of us have never experienced anything like this before, a war-time mentality with state intervention. Wow.
We are experiencing difficult times where health, family and friends should come first. The mentality and state of mind I’m questioning here is shaped by one big looming question we have in the startup community that we have heard often:
Does COVID-19 mean Stop for Startups and those at early stage?
The winding down of business we are now seeing and feeling everyday due to this pandemic is ubiquitous. The spread of the pandemic poses questions of economical and social preparedness. We know that there will be a significant economic hit; we will suffer, but we don’t know for how long.
Most people are now, or will soon be, working from home. So clearly I’m no expert here, but by my finger-in-the-air based thought process leads me to, this WFH period will last anywhere upwards of eight weeks and that’s a lot, isn’t it?
Some people that have never worked from home for more than a handful of days a month or even at all, now have an open channel to the 24/7 news cycle warning of diminishing supplies in shops and the dire need for self-quarantine. Everyone is forced to manage their days autonomously.
Of course, that inspires panic, and rightly so when the general atmosphere is nothing short of barely-managed chaos.
But what happens if you are in the middle of a product cycle?
If you have an early-stage startup or maybe you a founder in the critical stages of getting a business off the ground, what now — stop, pause, slow down?
Well no, I don’t think so.
In fact, although no one should outwardly seek financial gain directly from (or through) adversity, there is definitely a mindset change here that should be explored, and that can benefit most.
At Squid40 we are not sitting back and letting this ‘blow over’, there’s no ‘play it by ear’ strategy, we are communicating and listening and have set an agenda based on truths such as: Currently, there is the largest and most captive audience in this life-time stuck at home welcoming contact and looking for good news.
I’m in a great position at the moment, working closely with a really experienced and great guy who wrote an article in late 2017 here on Medium on avoiding anarchy. That guy is Neil Patel and in that article, he basically outlined that the key areas in society are changing drastically and that we as a global population are not ready, for multiple reasons. Neil highlighted that in around 2020 there will be events that lead to chaos and potentially anarchy.
However, that which comes from chaos can be an opportunity of rather massive proportions.
Neil also outlined that the changing environment and economic climate triggered by said event, would effectively push exponential technologies (such as Blockchain) to the fore and ultimately force change for good and present opportunity. So here we are, early-2020 and there’s a main event happening already— COVID-19. It is spreading rapidly and people are adapting as they should, but does it present the opportunities at all?
Well… yes. It really does, and from my positioning as a key conduit for creating momentum with early-stage tech products and from my talks with Neil these last few weeks, I can tell you that there is opportunity and a mindset to adopt and adapt, to push the envelope with technology and ideas that forge us forward.
Connecting — Analogue engagement enabled by a Digital approach
At Squid40 our main game is to partner with early-stage founders and teams to make their dreams a commercial and product reality. We take people who say ‘I have the next big tech idea’ to a point where that idea can move on, or not depending on whether there is Product Market Fit.
We recognise that stopping the flywheel mid-crisis is not attractive, and ultimately not affordable, so we must adapt to succeed. A crucial part of any early-stage product is validation — our mantra is test early and don’t apply tech until user adoption is written in stone; so until you’ve reached the place where your feature set and product-market fit are more than cemented.
So why not use these times where people are at home and more receptive, to power-up your testing and validation cycle? There is a massive proportion of the population at home eagerly reading emails, looking for entertaining messaging and awesome ideas to research, revere and adopt. People and communities will respond and get involved in validating and testing — its a cause, its engagement, they have time and technologies will as predicted become more and more dependable.
At Squid40 we are adapting because testing and validation require questions and connections. In this time where we are being told to limit contact with others in person, connections and engagement need to persevere virtually through phone calls, VC calls, Slack, WhatsApp — the list goes on, this is genuinely possible.
Figure out quickly how to bring your offline, online.
Another area we can demonstrate this mindset is funding and strategic partnerships. Every early-stage startup needs money and finds it tough to get it. Investors don’t have time, competition is rife and bagging a pre-seed round is super tough — but right now, a majority of people who have the cash to make commercials dreams a reality are sitting on their couch or in their home offices without the distraction of teams, nor their normal daily routine and maybe struggling to be as productive as normal. They may even be watching a dwindling portfolio. This is a great time to send compelling information about positive products and founding teams that will soon be able to flourish.
So, sharpen up and shorten the pitch, get the email addresses and numbers ready and be proactive. Now is the time. Be polite, be caring as a global community member and don’t be full front-and-center or you will be ignored, but be aware of what works now and get onto it. Be honest about why too as people respect and respond.
Commercial reality means that certain markets and verticals are being hit hard at this time. Tourism, for instance and all that comes with it, leisure activities such as entertainment and venues are all affected — large business is open to opportunities around sustainability and de-risking. On a large scale, boards of directors are watching asset value and low market cap rates, looking at options to stabilise and protect. At a more micro level, commercial space and daily interactions are suffering and this may well present opportunities to seal mid-long term deals in multiple channels.
Now is a time for strategic alignment, for doing, for contacting all those leads on LinkedIn you haven't got round to. People are receptive and there is a definite hint of ‘war spirit’ and camaraderie that could help propel you forward. Believe me, when the global community comes out the other end of this crisis, which will surely happen in a matter of months, people will be in an extraordinary rush to make up for ‘lost time’ and decision-makers will be so busy that it will be tough to get an acknowledgment, let alone a meeting!
Take-Aways and WFH Hacks
- Be prepared. Change your plan for the next 8 weeks based on achievable milestones that add overall value to your wider business goals.
2. Break this down into daily achievable tasks — what do I need to get done today for it to be a good day? Record the progress.
3. Routine when WFH is everything. Exercise and clear thinking are key elements — make time, find space, speak to partners and write up a rota if needed. Try not to get up too late or go to bed too late, it’s tricky to recover.
Help first. Listen and offer help where you can. It will come back more often than not.
4. Combine the comforts of your home that make it great, like family, the TV and Netflix, the option to cook, etc — you don’t have to travel and you have more time now — compartmentalise and don’t be afraid of doing the things that make being at home great. However, set clear work sections in your day and stick to them.
5. If you can — turn your phone off when in work sections. 1.5 hours, 4 times a day with no distractions and breaks will see you super productive — residue from multi-tasking is a productivity killer — focus.
#stayhome and stay-safe.
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