Here are 5 tips that startups like yours can use to not only survive, but thrive during COVID-19.
How to Scale Your Startup During the COVID-19 Pandemic
1. Digitize What You Can
While a solid online presence has always been helpful for businesses, the pandemic has catalyzed many companies to go digital quickly.
If you don’t already have a business website, it’s time to set one up. It’s a great way to establish your online voice, generate valuable content, and showcase products so that your audience can get to know you and trust you enough to purchase from you.
Having an online presence isn’t limited to meeting customer demands. It has enabled accessibility, a wider market base, and lower operational costs. It is widely believed that companies that do not transform digitally will lose to their competitors who do.
2. Adopt a New Business Model
Evolving and adapting is vital to make your business relevant in the new ecosystem.
Companies that have pivoted their business model to meet current demands can leverage the temporary new normal while also creating long-term strategic growth.
While many companies converted their production lines to develop ventilators, face shields, and N95 surgical masks, many technological startups ramped up to develop new technological innovations.
Pivoting also means meeting your customer where they already are. Due to the increased use of social media, collaborating with influencers and brands may work for some businesses as a means of spreading brand awareness.
3. Re-Strategize Your Marketing
It’s time to re-think marketing strategies to focus on areas that’ll bring the most returns. Some ideas include paid online ads, hosting giveaways, discounts and deals, e-mail marketing, SEO and link building, optimizing your website for better mobile viewing, and being active on social media channels.
4. Use This Time to Network
Whether it’s through social media or other mediums, building a name for your business brand in the community is highly recommended. It’s a great way to expand your network, make valuable connections, find suppliers, investors, etc. Building genuine contacts will last longer than the pandemic.
5. Offering Safety for Your Customers
Actively seeking ways to make your products or services pandemic-proof can prove to be beneficial. Some methods include implementing contactless transactions, socially distanced counters, and expanding to outdoor areas.
Other ideas include introducing a new line of immune-boosting products or creating an online community to promote positive mental health. Consumers are attracted to brands that show they care about their health and needs. These are the consumers that’ll always remain loyal to you.
Learn From How Wolven Industries Is Adapting To Seize Opportunity
As consumers continue to adapt and change their way of living, new businesses are figuring out what actions will last long after the pandemic. One of the industries that’s thriving is specialized cleaning services using technologies like fogging and UV light.
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, many are turning their attention to ultraviolet (UV) light. UV-C technology is not new. Thanks to its germicidal properties that destroy 99.99% of microorganisms, UV-C light has been the go-to solution for disinfection and sanitation since the 1800s in many industries, including hospitals, water treatments plants, and food manufacturers.
Keeping that in mind, Wolven Industries was originally planning to focus primarily on military and private military contracts: executing custom engineering contracts. However, in response to the unexpected COVID-19, Mike Norton, the CEO of Wolven Industries, pivoted and adapted his company’s technological direction to develop a product called “the uRay.”
At the time, the market was flooded with misinformation and low-quality UV devices. On the contrary, the uRay is a high-quality, robust handheld electronic device that uses UV-C technology.
Wolven Industries’ mission is simple: to develop technology that will repair, protect, and prepare families against modern-day threats. What can be learned about how Norton adapted to the COVID crisis is how he kept his company mission, yet radically changed the direction of the company’s product development.
The uRay was simply the first step to accomplishing it.
Wolven Industries: Scaling and Growing
While the pandemic brought the company opportunities, it also presented distance, funding challenges, and several delays. Nonetheless, Mike reacted in an antifragile manner to overcome them successfully.
Having lived a life of overcoming obstacles, he developed an anti-fragile mentality to be 100% self-sufficient and self-funded. Below are some steps he took to scale his business:
● Mike built a fully remote team using communication and task management tools like Slack and Asana.
● He worked as a marketing strategist remotely, consulting corporations to generate an initial bootstrapped funding of $200,000.
● With the help of his mentors, tutors, and a Fusion 360 subscription, Mike taught himself both mechanical and electrical engineering.
His academic knowledge, self-taught skills, and investment in tools enabled Mike to build an engineering lab in his own house. This gave him the complete freedom to begin the rapid prototype of any new technological products, lowering potential manufacturing costs.
As a result, Mike’s entrepreneurial dream has now turned slowly into reality despite the challenges presented by the pandemic.
What else can you learn from how companies like Wolven Industries have adapted to not only survive during the pandemic, but thrive?
