Three crucial lessons startups learned during the pandemic

Supply and demand are basic concepts in business. Startups and the workforce that fuels them are quite aware that a business must provide value to their customers if they are to continue and grow, and this truth has never been more clear than in the past year as we learned during the pandemic.

But what happens when the world’s demand suddenly swerves into new and uncharted waters?

Startups have had to drift their way out of bankruptcy amid the pandemic and fill the holes created in the global market to stay afloat and sail on.

Move fast and fix what needs fixing

Your company or team should be able to recognize what is missing within the first week of quarantine. As such, many startups have adapted both their physical spaces and their digital communication capacity. Its takes some getting used to and trial and error is the best teacher,

That is why moving fast is the only solution to avoid the worst in times of uncertainty. Every company should play to its strengths and know their weaknesses, something that many companies of all sizes learned during the pandemic.

Make education a part of your new business model

What gives employees true value, especially in a startup with a small team, is the amount of training the company provides for their workforce. Now more than ever, CEOs and team leaders ought to set aside a “self-development” period at some time in the day whenever possible, and have employees attend conferences, take courses, and learn more.

A good way to train a team is to give them a task to solve and set them loose on it with a deadline. Employees would probably respond well to a first and second draft system of learning through practice, where their mistakes and fixes will strengthen their knowledge.

Allowing your employees time to learn is also good for their morale according to US-based Human Resource membership association SHRM, especially when faced with an ongoing routine in the office. On top of that, staying on top of the market trends and the newest industry tricks and techniques becomes everyone’s job, not just the CEO, although senior members would have the most responsibility.

Look for holes to plug

Every challenge should be an opportunity, and startups have been the cork that plugged many holes in the ship. The companies that did their best during the pandemic are those who solved an immediate and pressing issue.

Medicine needed delivering to COVID-19 infected homes: driverless delivery services were introduced. Stores need to keep people coming to buy but also keep a limit on guests: Apps for mapping crowd density.

What many startups learned during the pandemic – the hard way – was to never take stability for granted, and that every tragedy is inherently an opportunity to improve and evolve.