Being a Founder in times of uncertainty
My humble effort not to use COVID-19 or Coronavirus in the title
Being a Founder ain’t easy.
eing a Founder and not knowing what’s going to happen to the market in general and to the investment ventures worldwide, is overwhelming.
Economic crisis are not new and Paul Graham explain it well in one of his essays.
Also, Sequoia and other VCs, Business Angels wrote about it.
They’ll survive this, for sure, but some startups won’t.
What about a founder’s perspective?
YData is a deep tech early stage startup. We will celebrate 1 year this summer since we officially incorporated.
Will we?
We didn’t plan for this. Nobody did.
So what should we do now?
Stick to what you know — your company and your team.
What are your options at this point?
- Planning for mid-term instead short term
- Rethink your product in a more conservative market
- Prepare your team for an impact (if you’re running low on budget)
Want some more practical advice?
Extend your runway
- Avoid new hires
- Cut non essential expenses
Rethink the market
- Prepare for a more conservative market
- Prepare for lower budgets, specially for innovation
- Check how the market reacted in your industry niche in the last economic crisis
Investment
- Valuations will be lower, as the bull market is now over
- Investments can be lower as well
- Probably your current investors are your best option, or maybe the ones that already know you
Enhance your strengths, fix the weaknesses.
Not everything is bad news, specially if your company’s product helps other companies going remote.
If not, you’ll expect some casualties in your revenue and a longer sales cycle. Don’t give up.
Start working for the last semester and not for Q2.
Since everyone is remote, they’ll spend more time on the computer, reading emails. It is a unique opportunity to step up your cold emailing game.
It is true that people are consuming more digital content than ever and spending more time on email. It is also true that you won’t get the deal done during the outbreak. But you can start the relation now.
Maybe your biggest trouble is not external but internal, meaning, the change of the way your company operates.
YData is remote-first (office not mandatory) since its foundation. Here are some tips if you are working remote for the first time:
Create a routine and have a workspace — Helps you focus on work and disconnecting afterwards
Privilege asynchronous communication — You don’t know the availability of your peers, so don’t interrupt them unless it is something urgent.
Have processes and Document decisions — You can’t say to everyone in the office that you have decided X. Have a process and document everything somewhere your coworkers can easily find.
Trust your peers — And they’ll trust you. Remote working is about results and hours spent at work. Take advantage of the situation to cultivate this value.
Feel free to get in touch with me if you want to discuss something in more detail!
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Gonçalo Martins Ribeiro is CEO at YData
YData unlocks data with privacy by design
