Launching a tequila at a time when the consumption centers were closed. Close a deal by videoconference. Change the business plan to accelerate growth and be able to support your users … The coronavirus changed the way we all lived, but for a startup, the challenge may be greater, because the company faces a critical moment of growth.
Deborah Dana, founder and CEO of Canasta Rosa; Bertha González, co-founder and CEO of Casa Dragones, Pablo Viguera, co-founder and co-CEO of Belvo, and Arturo Duhart, founder and CEO of Sunwise gave in this week’s Expansion Live, ‘Entrepreneurs: challenges and opportunities in the current situation’, the keys to their learning.
1. Adapt to the context. Deborah Dana and her team at Canasta Rosa, a marketplace for entrepreneurs, had to grow in a month what they planned to do in a year. They expanded technology and also the work team. The platform experienced an unexpected growth in users, which went from 5,000 to 12,5000. “We did not want to be a barrier for entrepreneurs, we had to accelerate,” says the founder, who before Canasta Rosa created the Kiwilimón cooking recipe platform.
In the case of the Casa Dragones tequila company, the closure, overnight, of bars, hotels, discos and other essential consumption centers for this type of alcoholic beverages was a brutal challenge that the increase in e-commerce in the retail channel helped to alleviate, although it was not enough. In addition, the company had to create production protocols to take care of the personnel. Thus he managed to have zero infections.
2. Remote work. Businesses like Belvo, which practically carry out remote work from the day of their birth, had an easier time adapting to a work environment. “We are in Barcelona, Mexico and Brazil. Our first employees were remote, we were born with delocalized DNA, we learned to work with a time difference. That is a lot of preparation in processes and efficiency, which made us ready in this situation ”, explains Viguera. The company was launched commercially in Mexico in January. “We do not know any other normality than this”, acknowledges the entrepreneur.
That does indicate that the pandemic normalized something that was not at all obvious until a few months ago: closing a deal by videoconference. “In the software world now it is the most normal thing, but this situation has helped a lot,” he says.
3. Manage uncertainty. González points out that at the beginning of the health emergency there were many doubts: the company did not know if it could continue producing or exporting. He prepared a protocol following international experiences, which they continue to update to take care of the team’s health. “When things aligned, we decided to move on and even managed to launch a product at a virtual level,” says the management. “And it was a successful and effective launch.”
4. I lost my job, is it time to start a business? The participants in the panel agree that an alternative in the current situation is to look at self-employment options, without having to seek to create a business. “Now there are platforms that help you generate income from day 1,” says Dana, from Canasta Rosa, about the opportunities to place products on the market. In the case of betting on creating a business, the entrepreneur points out that, although what is consumed has not changed so much, the way it is done has. “There is an area of opportunity there and we must ensure that what we do offers value.”
Duhart recommends taking advantage of the training platforms that exist today to prepare yourself to start a business.
In addition, Viguera explains that it has never been easier than up to now to have a quick validation of the market. “That allows us to know if the business makes sense and move on, without having to wait a year for the first results,” he says.
5. Work, as a team. Duhart points out that the three elements that an entrepreneurial CEO must have is knowing how to give the correct vision to his team, select it well and make sure that his bank accounts have a favorable balance.
This team will be key to facing the challenges. “My main learning during the pandemic has been to learn to depend and count on my team. Alone, I could not have been kidding myself to carry out everything that happened in the company, ”says Deborah Dana.
6. Content creates value. Companies like Belvo or Sunwise have found inbound marketing a business strategy that allows them to reach more customers and users. Viguera points out that Belvo has started generating webinars, “the new normal.”
