“Quarantine” mode. 5 tips for a startup to make it through a crisis

How does startupper overcome a crisis? Are there any positive aspects and how to find them? What does s/he need to do? How to get rid of the constant anxiety and fatigue of uncertainty?

In our next article of the series “Quarantine mode” Bolat Sultangazin, the Head of Business Accelerator PI “NURIS” shares his useful tips.

– There is an old motivational story about the word “crisis”, which became popular thanks to John Kennedy. It says that in Chinese the word “crisis” consists of two symbols, one means “danger” and the other means “opportunity”. In my opinion, only this approach will help a startup not only get over this difficult period but also to survive,” Bolat said.

Below are the five tips for startuppers from Bolat.

1.Area.

During distance work, the working area has become very important. It is easier for those startuppers who live alone during the quarantine to arrange an appropriate space. Those with families, however, should fight for a quiet place and use virtual backgrounds during video conferences. There are some solutions on the Internet that help you find any background you want while video chatting (like Snap camera) and applications or plugins that neutralize sound while calling (Krisp.ai a startup, which has more than $2 M in investments). As for the question about finding a place at home, this might be solved by scheduling times for different household members to use the space. Make a schedule for who is going to work, including when and where.

2. Pivot.

Pivot means a turning point, for the startup, it is a test of development to move in a new direction. For many startups, pivoting during a crisis means adapting to sudden changes in external circumstances. Offline projects go online, of course. But online it is not that easy either. Yes, there are many more potential users but the competition for the user’s attention has also increased. So, in a time of crisis try to make quick (and cheap) experiments, and decide quickly which way your startup needs to go to continue to develop.

3. Collaboration.

Another possibility of crisis is the opportunity to work together. This means new partners, many of whom may not be obvious, or you may have not previously considered. A so-called newly created startup #bizbirgemiz. For example, the Russian food delivery service “Delivery Club” partnered with the restaurant “Many Salmon” and “Zigmund.Online” (an online platform for psychological counseling) to provide an interesting service. They have developed a special menu “Soul dinner”, where a user will receive not only tasty food with their order but also online consultation with a psychologist.

4. Self-development. 

Education is one of the segments that has become synonymous with “opportunity” during the current pandemic. Universities and educational centers around the world have opened some of their content for free to all. Every second professional advisor in such important areas for a startup as marketing, sales, law, etc. hosts webinars regularly. This is an ideal opportunity for a startup to access a previously expensive resource.

5. Sport.

Another personal aspect of the crisis is health. Health is the startupper’s main resource, and it will be in great demand after the pandemic. A couch-potato lifestyle during quarantine can negatively affect performance now or in the future. It is better to be proactive because action now will be easier and cheaper than dealing with consequences later.

The simplest thing to do is work standing up, for example, a window sill can be used as a standing desk. Sitting for long periods is less healthy and standing more is a simple way to add some physical activity. In an upright position, the body uses more muscles and as a result – better blood circulation. For amateurs looking for more physical training at home, there are a lot of videos online. There is something for you, whatever your current fitness level, and however much time you have – 5 minutes or 60 – for almost any activity (yoga, step aerobics, dancing, boxing, etc.).