How Did Startups Flourish during Covid?
“How Did Startups Flourish During Covid?” by Chris Brown, Founder of Pitchsocial
Startups can be challenging. However, Covid has taught us as a society that being an entrepreneur is a safe and valid bet for your future, providing more security than any paid employment role that can be at risk from spontaneous pandemic situations.
If you have ever pitched a product to a buyer, you will know that the process is notoriously challenging and sometimes a bitter pill to swallow if the result does not go the way you had initially planned.
Previously, and we are talking before the Covid Pandemic, there would be so many considerations to make, such as:
- Is my product good enough to pitch?
- Where do I look for a buyer?
- How can I get my ideas in front of their eyes?
- Will they like the pitch?
- Will they believe in my product vision?
- Will they like me?
- Will they invest in me and my idea?
- How long will the collaboration process take?
As you will know, if you have ever been in a situation where you have had to pitch to someone, it is often a long-winded process that will usually end in bitter disappointment.
To see something you have spent so much time and love on fail at the last hurdle can be earth-shattering and can undoubtedly knock your confidence in the whole process. Inevitably, it will be another idea you had that gathers dust on the shelf.
Often, the failure of obtaining a buyer for your product idea is no reflection of the product you are offering. However, it may seem that way when the rejection letter falls on the doormat; it can likely be a mismatch in collaboration, the wrong product for that particular buyer, or simply that it doesn’t fit with their vision.
So actually, it often has nothing to do with your product.
Having the Edge in Competition
Now that we are coming out of the other side of a tough global situation, you would be forgiven for imagining that the market will now be flooded with new startups all battling for the same investment eyes, meaning there is even less attention and focus on your product.
To a certain extent, this is true.
However, what we are forgetting is that the process of creating a startup has not stopped during the global pandemic; instead, it has actually bred a new and innovative way of creating a baseline startup concept that will be set up for success in many more ways than any previous ways the existed before the world shut down for safety.
So what is the fundamental difference between pre and post-Covid startups and pitching?
The one thing that sets pre and post-covid startups and investment solutions apart is the full utilisation of digital platforms to facilitate successful collaborations.
This means that startups that have been developed in a restrictive lockdown situation had actually paved their way into success in an inherently different fashion than before the world closed its doors.
So, as you can imagine, if there are different ways of using digital profiles and platforms to actually reach the people you need to see your product during heavy restrictions, then surely they are valid and workable solutions to carry out of the lockdown and into a new way of developing and securing investment?
Yes! A million times, yes!
Startups And Pitching Solutions
The use of digital platforms and remote ways of product pitching and buying for both parties is going to be the way things change for the foreseeable future in relation to how:
- Pitchers and buyers search for one another
- Pitchers present their ideas to prospective buyers
- Buyers choose their next collaboration
- Buyers can be initially found
While this all may seem incredibly new to the industry and is a stark contrast to the way things have been conducted before, the pandemic has undoubtedly forced the pitching and investing space into a whole different methodology.
When you are looking through news reports, you will often see “Covid helped me create this” or “ If it weren’t for Covid, I would have never found my buyer because I wouldn’t have thought to look online,” or even “The Lockdown made this happen.”
In any case, it’s no surprise to hear that a majority of the world population used social media or apps for communication during the pandemic, so the most natural course of action would be to develop this way into collaboration, too, right?
How Will This New Way Work?
The functionalities of using elements of social media and apps to:
- Find your next buyer
- Pitch your idea to them
- Communicate with a buyer or team
- Collaborate with them
These are changing the game for both pitchers and buyers to collaborate on product buying and selling.
The fundamental advantages are already crystal clear, such as more suited collaborations, more time and money-efficient pitches, and the potential for global searchability for both buyers and entrepreneurs. This part alone is worth its weight in gold.
Conclusion: Combining Social Platforms and Pitching in One App
So, how did so many new businesses flourish in lockdown and run stronger than the ones that were pre-lockdown fledglings?
They simply used digital ways and means to develop their product profiling, strengthen their business sustainability, find those all-important buyers, and secure that all-important contract of selling their product concept.
If they can do all of this during the worst financial situation around the globe and still come out the other side with a seriously robust pitching plan that is seen by buyers and is making a profit already, the very least we can do is take heed, follow suit and create the best interactive app to do everything with some really simple but effective button taps.
About the Author
Chris Brown is a serial tech entrepreneur from the Greater Cambridge Area. He founded SFD Systems in 2013 and TakeNote in 2020. SFD Systems is an electronic shelf-edge technology that replaces paper tickets with high-resolution digital screens. TakeNote is a feedback platform that shares customer feedback on their experience of a particular store, website visit, workplace environment, or any other interaction with your business and wider brand.
Recently, he launched Pitchsocial – to give everyone the same opportunities and reduce the unnecessary amount of time the whole pitching process takes. Pitchsocial levels the playing field and gives everyone a chance to easily find their next big opportunity. At £9.99 per month for pitchers and free to buyers and investors, it’s much cheaper than flying halfway across the globe.
You can find out more about Pitchsocial at pitchsocial.io or download it today in the Google and Apple Stores.
