It's a year like no other: A global pandemic has uprooted every aspect of our personal and professional lives, driven our workplaces and schools to new remote models, upended entire economic sectors and exposed plenty of cracks in our systems. It's also high time for innovation, as business leaders begin to draft plans for 2021 and — if they can — beyond.
How are startup leaders preparing their teams for the next year? What lessons have been learned from 2020 so far? What will the future look like for the Rhode Island startup economy in terms of workplace culture, community and racial equity?
We touched on all of the above and more during our virtual State of Innovation: How Startups Are Future-Proofing for 2021. Joining us for the conversation were Perkies founder Rose Mangiarotti, Cress Health co-founder Michael Lai and KerlyGirl founder Kerlyne Jean-Baptiste.
"One of my biggest lessons on a personal level, but also on an organizational level with KerlyGirl, was just building resiliency—and building that resiliency to our community," Jean-Baptiste said during our discussion.
Mangiarotti, who has had to delay the launch of her product multiple times as a direct result of Covid-19's disruption to supply chains, agreed.
"I think entrepreneurs kind of have an upper hand in this, because we're used to things going wrong and rolling with the punches," Mangiarotti said. "Having a North Star goal is awesome, but you need to be flexible in order to get there, and Covid's definitely proved that."
We also had a chance to discuss how Rhode Island can use this moment position itself as a hub for young entrepreneurs, from both an economic and cultural standpoint.
Thank you so much to everyone who tuned in. Plus, a special thank you to our founding partner, Cox, for making this State of Innovation possible.
Couldn't join us, or want to dive back into specific points? Watch the full panel conversation below.
