Startups: The Corona Impact

“The worldis going to be different once the Corona virus Pandemic is over”, said someoneyesterday, to which all of us would fully agree. It is a known fact that thispandemic broke out in an unexpected manner and every country is putting up avaliant fight to control the same. We are hopeful of finding solutions towardsan early containment of the crisis, possibly a couple of months. However,Corona or Covid-19 is there to stay for a much longer period, albeit withreduced intensity and consequences.

Theaggressive spread of the disease, lockdowns, confinement and isolation is goingto take a toll on our contemplation. Even when everything is normal (which maybe much longer than all of us presume), there will be radical changes in ourlifestyle. People will be extra cautious about social distancing, and wouldavoid crowded places for many months to come. There could be multiplescenarios, some contradicting others. Most people would be scared of thecontinuing contagion and may not venture out, while a section may pour into theopen to vent out their frustration of having remained indoors for long. It isdifficult to predict the volumes for either state, as human nature is highlycomplex and not easily foretold.

   

Primarily,this pandemic is going to make a huge difference in people’s approach to life,and will force them to re-adjust their priorities, resulting in a changedscenario of individual requirements. Secondly, the extended Lockdown andreduced transactional volumes are bound to lead to an Economic slowdown. Theinitial signs of this slowdown are clearly visible, and global economy is goingto be at an abysmal low for quite some time, maybe a couple of years or so.

This crisisand lockdown, coupled with market recession is making it difficult forstartups, some of them struggling for survival. One can’t afford to just wait for the situation to heal itself, which isgoing to take inordinately long. It is time to get into action.  Entrepreneurship means trying to findopportunities even amongst the worst of situations. So, seek out advantages andopportunities in this time of crisis. At this juncture, startups need toconsider several factors to streamline their operations. There is a strong needto scour for low-cost and innovative solutions. Existing startups may have to look at optimisation of processes,re-aligning workforce and redesigning of products/ services to meet thechanging customer requirements. Given the evolving scenario, there has to be anextreme focus on reduced physical contact and substantial increase in remoteworking and support from geographically diverse locations.  In case of multiple offerings, startups mayhave to look at changing their product mix. The undeniable point is thattechnology and innovation is going to be the key to success in these unusualcircumstances. For startups who are in their infancy, or the ones who want todiversify their offerings, an earnest suggestion would be to focus on thechanging priorities of people and their requirements. This goes with the basictenet of a startup to address the unfulfilled needs of the society.  With a renewed backdrop, focus has to shiftto the fresh set of needs and improvisations to address these.

The economicslowdown has a direct impact on people’s spend patterns. In a recessiveeconomy, majority of folks are bound to limit their spending to basicrequirements, giving extravagances a miss. There is an expected downslide inthe areas of Travel/ Tourism, Adventure Sports, Outdoor Entertainment,Dine-outs and Luxury. However, there should be an increased demand fornecessity items, Healthcare, Edutech, Home delivery products, IndoorEntertainment, Communication and Collaboration tools. We are already seeing ahuge supply gap for low-cost respiratory devices. Likewise, the demand forMedical consumables and personal hygiene products is going to soar in thecoming times. Regular Classrooms, tuitions and Coaching centres are beingreplaced with online education.  Webinarsand Video conferences are becoming the order of the day. Anything andeverything which is home-delivered without a physical contact would be in highdemand, and startups need to align their products on these lines. A promisingstartup would look towards the replacement of a ‘Physical delivery’ with ‘Homedelivery’ (in case of tangible products) and ‘online fulfillment’ (forservices).

Covid-19 mayhave played havoc with us. The irreparable loss of lives, the suffering ofpatients, struggle of doctors and paramedics is something that would haunt ourmemories for decades. But, this pandemic has also opened new opportunities toaddress our remodeled lifestyle. So, go ahead, take full advantage of thelockdown, put on your thinking caps and transform your ideas into action.

The authorhas three decades of industry experience in global delivery management. Hisexpertise lies in Entrepreneurial strategy, mentoring, and career counseling.He is currently acting as consulting advisor and mentor to several startups.

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