From the VC’s corner (30): It’s time to play offense and be determined
18 weeks have passed since I had to cut almost all the direct 1:1 meetings, because of some cold/flu/whatever; have stayed at home (as much as I could) for a while, and then the pandemic has struck (not sure I had the virus or not, but doesn’t matter anymore) so the lockdown continued. Meantime, all seems pretty ok right now, so I’ll stop counting and move up and to the right.
Zoom was instrumental these last weeks; it helped me communicate clearly and in a sophisticated way. We also had some meetings in Red Dead Redemption, as it’s nice to sit at the virtual campfire and discuss projects, with the wolves howling out in the night and headphones.
Now, that we’re mid-June, all my fellow founders have a positive attitude and show enthusiasm for what’s down the line. We’ve all accepted that we’re not at 100%, but it’s pretty okay to continue at 80% instead of crashing to 0%.
We’re also using distraction intelligently. This isn’t the sign of a weak mind, but rather an acknowledgment that everyone needs rest. Aperitivo hour is a must.
And more important, part of being normal is acting normal. Normal also means being determined, and this is the time to be more determined than ever.
Recalling these last weeks, what a great time to be aggressive in making forward progress for the businesses. Some customer problems and priorities have changed; and so did the break-even points. At this moment, it’s obvious that growth goes to those companies that are in alignment with the market shift.
What we’ve done: first engaged in defense, and now engage in offense (Victor Cheng’s.) I’ve covered the defensive moves in a previous post, and as you’ve all been through the new assumptions, cost cuts and further financial adjustment, WFH or some other measures associated with the new normal, you know what this means. That was playing ’defense’. Defense comes first as if you go out of business between now and next quarter you don’t live enough to play offense.
We’re now playing offense and adjusting everything to the new market demand. The most important thing is staying in constant contact with our customers, being extroverts, and constantly figuring out what has changed for them. I/we want to be ahead of those changes.
There are many, many new opportunities, and we just have to go find and grab them.
My today’s preferred: HustleCrewMembership — resources and workshops to be agents of change and ambassadors of inclusion. Abadesi as the former Head of Maker Outreach at Product Hunt.
