It’s fair to say that 2020 has been a year like no other... However, among all the challenges, there have also been many things worth celebrating and there have been plenty of lessons learned along the way. Now is a great time to reflect back on the year we’ve just had.
We’ve learned a lot this year… we’ve learned the difference between hygienic and surgical mask, how toilet paper is worth its weight in gold and now we know what a pangolin is. We’ve also discovered a lot of video call apps and we have perfected the art of “looking decent” on our virtual meetings. We have also learned that we can live without football and for several weeks baking bread became our national sport. With flour and yeast shortages hitting stores all over the country, we have learned that things don’t always turn out the way you planned, or the way you think they should.
And as all of us would agree, both in life and in entrepreneurship alike, the only constant is change. We have faced so many new challenges this year. COVID-19 has transformed how business run and how leaders lead. This crisis has taught us that you can get through bad times and keep looking for better ones. In a world that uncertainty is the only sure thing, there’s really only one thing we can do – Adapt!
Most people may think that young entrepreneurs should play it safe and wait for the business climate to get better before starting a company. But problems create entrepreneurial opportunities, and 2020 is not lacking in problems… The pandemic has spurred us on to be more agile, more creative, and more inventive than before.
Indeed, it is not a coincidence that some of the greatest companies you’ve heard of were born in a crisis. General Motors, IBM, Disney, Toyota and HP are among the big-name businesses born during or in the wake of economic downturns, such as The Great Depression and World War II. During the 1957 to 1958 recession, the first Hyatt hotel opened. Microsoft was founded during the oil embargo recession of 1973 to 1975. The global financial crisis from 2007 to 2009 saw the creation of several startups like Uber or Airbnb.
In the world of startups, there is no guaranteed formula for success, but with a good idea, an outstanding team, enough funding, and a way to find customers you will make it happen. Entrepreneurship is always a tough game with limited resources, no matter when you start.
There’s no better time to start a startup than now.
