Lessons that startup entrepreneurs have learned from the 2020 pandemic
While uncertainties caused by the pandemic severely disrupted global value chains in 2020, resilient businesses and pent-up demand have quickly positioned the world economy on the path to recovery. To participate in this story of growth and resurgence, and to build sustainable value for their businesses, entrepreneurs should take lessons from the year gone past and the challenges it presented.
The exercise could be especially fruitful for entrepreneurs in India. The startup sector has battled myriad challenges such as demonetisation and the complications arising from the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), and even the most recent disruption caused by the novel coronavirus outbreak.
If these trends are anything to go by, the primary lesson for Indian entrepreneurs is that, even though trends may fluctuate, they cannot afford to lose agility no matter the circumstances. The most critical lesson that the pandemic has imparted is businesses that adapt stay resilient.
Agility in understanding what the consumer must need:
Take the real estate industry for instance. In the months following the pandemic-related lockdowns, it became clear that buyers and tenants were still looking for homes and preferred online mediums to traditional methods of home-searching. To address this, some real estate players introduced video and Virtual Reality-based property walkthroughs for their customers as customers could not resort to traditional ways of home-searching. Stuck due to lockdown, as they could not visit the homes, homes had to bring to their phones, tablets, laptops in a manner that was almost similar to viewing it for real.
Disruptions brought to real estate by PropTech companies played a crucial role in navigating Covid-related challenges. Leading digital real estate players bundled their society apps with innovative features that brought grocery shopping, maintenance payments, rent payments, safety, etc. to their fingertips. Society management app NoBrokerHood, for example, introduced touchless entry through facial recognition to enable the entry of guests, support staff, and daily workers and mitigate the risk presented by traditional, touch-based biometric systems.
By remolding their products and services according to changing customer preferences, these businesses ensured their survival and thrived despite unprecedented market challenges. Many companies also underwent a complete digital overhaul and adopted a remote working-led operational model. These emerged even stronger post the lockdowns. Entrepreneurs who continue to employ technology to grow their business will find themselves better prepared to mitigate risks and expand their consumer base.
Digital-first approach
The times have also taught entrepreneurs that a digital-first approach needs to be intrinsic to a business, instead of being a complementary solution. A digitised work culture, for instance, presents many cost and efficiency benefits, improves risk management, and helps companies tide over disruptions. Thus, digitisation should form the foundation of the business cycle and should be ingrained in all product development, sales, and marketing processes.
Furthermore, trends from 2020 show that the demand for offline players across industries is steadily shrinking. With a majority of consumers already online, it only makes sense for businesses to embrace digital ubiquity – the sooner, the better.
Letting data decide:
This also indicates the need for entrepreneurs to imbibe the principles of data literacy throughout their business. The road to the future, for every industry around the world, is paved with data literacy. Hence, it would bode well for startup founders/leaders to ensure that every stakeholder becomes data literate. This will enable them to better understand customer preferences and make decisions backed by data. This will also make way for the industry to adopt cutting-edge technologies, like blockchain, and be more efficient through automation and consumers could enjoy the perks of transparency.
Compassion:
At the same time, the pandemic has also shown that HumanTech is irreplaceable, and an essential driver of business. Companies that thrived should take cognizance of the steadfastness of their staff to navigate the pandemic-related challenges. Human experience and teamwork are invaluable assets in the face of difficult situations. For entrepreneurs, this is a lesson in the importance of compassion and support for staff, customers, and partners.
Credibility is central to customer faith:
Startup players also need to realize that brand development can be a major revenue driver for their businesses. Trends from 2020 indicate that millennials, both domestic and NRI, are currently the top consumers in most industries. These demographics tend to prefer dealing with brands that build trust and drive aspiration. Both these objectives can be met through cohesive branding strategies that account for every aspect – from nomenclature to the value proposition. Entrepreneurs must, therefore, seek to build distinct brands that can serve consumers hailing from different demographics with personalized offerings that cater to their stated and unstated needs.
Expect the unexpected:
However, the greatest lesson for entrepreneurs is to expect the unexpected. In the past few months, most businesses have had to deal with several unexpected challenges. The precariousness of the post-pandemic world is just another reminder that businesses would benefit massively from creating backup plans, implementing agile business models, and ensuring the highest possible efficiency in all current and future projects. That, in a world that continues to change at a rapid pace, is the only sustainable way forward.
The author is Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of Nobroker.com
DISCLAIMER: Views expressed are the authors' own, and Outlook Money does not necessarily subscribe to them. Outlook Money shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organisation directly or indirectly.