How did that happen? One minute 2020 was back-to-back groundhog days and now we’re about to wave it all goodbye…
Which brings to mind how ‘letting go’ is a huge competitive advantage for founders — if you can deploy it — and a better way to approach 2021 New Year’s resolutions too!
So, on the 31st December this year, my suggestion is that, instead of promising to make and keep additional commitments, why not commit to stop doing a bunch of stuff instead?
Stop doing stuff is wildly cathartic! And, the space we gain by no longer spending our time…
Startup leaders and founders are called to set up a vision for a better future — but how do you do that when times are tough?
Startup leaders need to be optimistic, forward looking and full of hope. That much goes without saying.
But how do you do optimism when times are tough, people are hurting out of loneliness and isolation or suffering from loss of income or the loss(es) of loved ones?
To answer this question I often quote the Stockdale Paradox; ‘the biggest optimists die first’!
But I also subscribe to a previous Israeli premier’s view that ‘Optimists…
Startups don’t need anyone to tell you that your revenues depend on digital marketing. Nor do you need reminding that ecommerce sales have (more or less) doubled and virtual sales meetings have replaced physical ones more or less overnight.
However, after the urgency of the coronavirus-driven full virtual switch, it is time to consider how to optimise your sales and marketing for revenue as we move into the New Normal.
In this article, I will share 12 steps you can take to find new revenues in the New Normal world.
However, if you are short for time — take away…
Coronavirus has re-enforced how interconnected each of us are to everyone else, and this thread now weaves through nearly everything we do to build our startups…and community, and community building lies at its heart.
The rapid prioritisation of community even shows up in dating habits too where companionship, not sex, is the new priority (source).
Hence, how we influence and how we sell has changed fundamentally too and smart startups are adjusting accordingly.
In this article, we’ll look at three things:
- What is Community
- Strategy of building a vibrant online community for your startup
- Tactical tips on building your digital…
Building new channels of leads and sales is expensive in terms of time and/ or resource — so, is now the right time to make the investment for your startup? And if so, how do you do it?
In this article we look at business development from a strategic and tactical point of view — what are you trying to achieve and how to do it. In addition, we’ll look at how to manage the ‘tone’ of your sales calls or invitations to purchase.
If you’re in a hurry — please take one thing away from this article; getting the…
Digital marketing, and in particular, digital advertising is holding up surprisingly well in the coronavirus induced recession. In this article we take a deep dive into why that is the case and the sectors to which it applies. We finish by forecasting the end of shops and the emergence of a new business segment.
If you take one thing from this piece, it is this — eCommerce is the future and shops are the past.
Direct Response is not traditional advertising
Why is google and facebook advertising staying strong in this recession?
The FT (source) wrote that Facebook reported a ‘drop off in brand based advertising…
Why building trust is your ‘go to’ test for emerging safely...
Quick take away: if you have only 10 seconds — the secret to firstly survive and then thrive in a time of crisis is to build trust — with yourself, your team and your customers. If you want to know how and why…. read on:
What are my options?
For some startups, survival is about heading into hibernation and sitting out the crisis. For others, it’s a full pivot as your market isn’t going to recover. …
We’ve changed the way we shop and buy since the coronavirus lockdown — in part or in full- so how does selling respond?
The shift from problem solving to ‘problem finding’ is a trend that was identified by Daniel Pink as early as 2012 but, like so many things, has been accelerated by the world’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
This article will discuss the on-the-ground changes that we are experiencing and the strategic shifts that agile organisations and startups need to make to firstly survive and then to thrive.
If it takes 30 days to change a habit, 6 weeks of lockdown will change society, work and our economy forever — so what will it be like in The New Normal?
In this article, I’m helped with insights from Jazz Hanley of TechNation and Sinead Daly of Revolut, on the big questions we face as startup and scaleup leaders both during and after coronavirus as we adapt to The New Normal.
If you take just one thing, then choose this — the world of work (and the property structures that depend on it) will never be the same again.
Accelerating, not changing!
What stands out when fundraising in a time of crisis is that the behaviour and mindset of the startup or scaleup founder is more important than ever and especially critical to sourcing investment.
So, from a conversation with scaleup founder Anthony Rose and business angel syndicate co-founder Matthew Stafford, we’ve put together some coronavirus fundraising suggestions for today and tomorrow:
How has coronavirus changed fundraising?
The funding landscape has changed and will continue to change:
For instance SeedLegals, whose clients closed 100 investments in March in the run-up to the UK tax year-end and, are seeing more rounds for smaller investments and with fewer investors…
Neil Lewis
Non-exec Founder / Scaleup Coach
