We talked to founders from across various industries in the Gen.T community to learn how they've rapidly pivoted their businesses to survive and thrive in a post-pandemic world
Since the coronavirus outbreak, there's been constant reports of startups across the region cutting staff, closing locations or shutting down entirely. Most who have survived have done so by quickly adapting to the new situation and making drastic pivots to keep their business afloat as capital dries up. Unless, of course, you're in telehealth, food delivery, contactless payment, ed-tech or any of the other industries that have thrived in the time of coronavirus.
But while it's a difficult time for most businesses, a crisis can also open up the competitive landscape to those who display resilience and weather the storm. More than half of Fortune 500 companies were started during a recession or bear market.
Here, we speak to six entrepreneurs from the Gen.T community to find out how they have been coping with the next normal, and learn more about the measures they are implementing to ensure the survival of their business post-pandemic.
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Securing A Backup Plan
Jonathan Weins
Co-founder and CEO, Dahmakan
With Malaysia in partial lockdown, Jonathan Weins and his team at Kuala Lumpur-based food delivery startup Dahmakan have had to quickly impose cost-saving measures. "At the moment, we’re very careful about our spending and cutting back on unnecessary expenses. We’re more conservative about how much we spend on marketing and have paused expansion plans into other countries. We’ve also planned for different worst-case scenarios that may come with a prolonged pandemic."
However, the entrepreneur is optimistic about pushing forward with some of the plans he had in mind before the outbreak. "When the pandemic is over, we will continue to implement some of these measures we've put in place, but in a less radical manner. We will continue to keep our expenses low where we have come to know it's possible. But we will certainly push forward with the expansion plans we had in mind."
"If there’s anything we learned from this, it’s to always have a backup plan and be prepared for the worst.”
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