The “In Their Own Words” series is a collection of short columns from influential Colorado startup founders. After a tumultuous 2020, Inno wanted to give Colorado's startup community an opportunity to reflect on the highs and lows of the last 12 months, and share how they'll work smarter and better in the next 12. Each columnist was asked to answer the question: How are you and your company preparing for 2021?
No matter which sector or category of business you’re in, most of the entrepreneurs I know did the same thing in March 2020: they threw away their business plan.
I’d like to meet the person who was prepared for 2020. I for one did not have a pandemic contingency built into my business plan. Marketing at events? Gone. In-person services? Canceled. Do I need to go on? No, we all lived it.
But here’s the important thing to remember: we survived it.
The Covid-curveball is one that businesses will likely be reckoning with for years. And I’m sure I’ll be waxing poetic some day when I’m old and gray. But while I’m still here, waiting patiently for a vaccine, I’m reflecting on how to turn 2020’s troubles into my greatest teachers.
My cofounder and I share a mantra: “Iterate to great.” No business is perfect and we will always be in some stage of development. This point of view has put me in the best possible position to lead my team through the early stages of startup life, through scaling rapidly and yes, through a global public health crisis.
Here are a few lessons in iteration I will use in the New Year to shape my business strategy at soona.
Dream Bigger:
In a crisis, it’s not uncommon for a business and its leaders to pull inward. To start playing safe and waiting out the bad news in hopes that good news is on the other side. This is the strategy of the dinosaurs, destined to kill you when you’re not looking.
Instead, I’m heralding a message of “DREAM BIGGER” in every part of our business. How much more aggressively can we grow? What product are we scared to tackle? Can we take a swing in 2021 instead of waiting for 2023?
It’s important to openly and proudly dream big. It’s the permission slip that gives other leaders inside a company a chance to dream big too and start finding the problems they are ready to solve today instead of tomorrow.
Listen Harder:
The businesses that succeeded in the pandemic had two things in common. First, they virtualized their core operations. Second, they met the customers where it made sense. Sometimes understanding where to meet our customers isn’t obvious until we talk to them. That’s why I’m taking this listening mentality from 2020 and into 2021.
It’s not just about customers either. Sometimes it’s about creating avenues for listening to more of your employees too. They had to pivot fast and make changes in their day to day and their insights are critical.
Give More:
One of the things that we launched at soona when we felt it was safe to reopen was an initiative called “Headshots for All.” The idea was simple: Lots of Americans are looking for a way to find their next job, to have confidence coming into an uneven market out of school or are seeing a decline in their freelance business. A new headshot can be the confidence boost and the photographic first impression that gets them the call.
As Covid cases rose again in the latter part of the year, we opted to pull back on the initiative in interest of public safety. But as we look at 2021 and hope for a vaccinated country and world, we will bring this initiative back.
The lesson here to me is obvious: businesses are a vital part of the community. And those of us who have survived and are doing well are in a great position to do more than we ever have.
Elizabeth Giorgi is the co-founder and CEO of Soona. She’s an Emmy Award-winner and two-time media entrepreneur.
