When the coronavirus pandemic swept the nation, fears ran high as many startups began shutting down. But in Tampa Bay, Covid-19 has allowed some particularly innovative founders to pivot and perhaps come out better than before.
Tampa Bay Inno rounded up six startups who are innovating to help others during the pandemic and we chatted with three of them during our Crisis Innovators virtual State of Innovation event on August 25. We've got your top takeaways below.
Sanitation is king right now in keeping business open
For Shuchi Vyas and Kerriann Greenhalgh, founders of GuestBox and KeriCure respectively, a pivot has been made to offer hand sanitizer to those in need — which is almost everyone at this point.
"Right at the time (Greenhalgh) was starting to create hand sanitizer products, we saw a need for that and learning Purrell was running out of everything travel-sized," Vyas, who has now partnered with Greenhalgh to offer hand sanitizer in her boxes, said. "In the early days of GuestBox in 2017 we actually had hand sanitizer products and people said, 'We don't need that,' so we eliminated it and now we're going back."
Greenhalgh has sold over 50,000 of her moisturizing hand sanitizer products, which she initially created for a CVS deal three years ago.
"We didn’t really think it would be that big of a deal — I didn’t realize the shortage," Greenhalgh said. "It really took off when my sister, who lives in New Jersey, shared my Facebook post. They were under huge lockdown there and we had 200 orders in one day from her post. And it was, 'What did you do? Well, I guess this is a good idea.'"
And for Daniels Ikajevs, co-founder of The Ring coworking space, sanitization is his No. 1 priority when it came to his business re-opening.
"We're following strict CDC guidelines right now," he said. "Suites (or private offices), they have stayed the same. We sanitize and we have the scenario if one of our members or employees gets sick, here are the steps to take. So, it's a lot of changes but nothing we can't overcome. We see people are coming back, missing office spaces, so we are back in full force."
Both giving and receiving funds looks a little different right now
Along with funds created to help startups from the cities of both Tampa and St. Petersburg, Ikajevs wanted to donate his own resources. Earlier this year, he donated $25,000 to St. Pete's Fighting Chance Fund and later donated 250 N-95 masks to local businesses and restaurants.
"My team wanted to contribute and give back to the community and also support startups," he said of the donations. "Masks, at that time, were pretty much sold out everywhere but because we were getting ready way ahead of everyone else, we were fortunate enough to secure them. When we give out those masks, we wanted to give them to restaurants and stores to create a healthier environment and a safe feeling for those who don't feel as safe as others."
And on the flip side of raising capital, Vyas said it's all about getting creative.
"Everyone is still navigating this, at least that's what I see," Vyas, who received PPP funds and money from the Tampa Bay Way, said. "You try to get data and traction in these markets but everyone is understanding right now (about the difficulty to raise funds). I think it's a lot of the story that you tell and what picture you're able to paint in terms of new market opportunities that are not affected by Covid."
The local startup community may be a bit ruptured, but will come out of this stronger
While the local startup community continues to find its footing, Daniels, who stated he will be launching his own startup soon, pointed to new opportunities that are already being grasped.
"Nobody has that crystal ball, so we really don't know where it's going and how long it lasts," he said. "From a standpoint of what the future really looks like, if you look at history, typically with any economic crisis there are a wave of new startups — there are new startups coming out right now. So, the people are quick to figure out things and I definitely think there will be startups coming out of this."
While some may be looking to become more virtual, the pandemic has created an even larger opening of opportunities in health care, according to Greenhalgh.
"I think we will have to wait until January or so to see what it's going to look like moving forward, because we're still just a reactionary stage at this point," she said. "But I think some of the things that will end up staying are businesses having the hand sanitizer; I don't think that will go away. We have a better awareness of public health issues that we were neglecting before and I think it will trickle down into other areas in the heath care industry."
And Vyas believes this could lead to a growing ecosystem down the line.
"I think every place will be a little fractured before we recover," Vyas said. "But I think in terms of the startup community, there have been a lot of initiatives where people are trying to move money out of Silicon Valley and Boston into other innovative places ... it will be interesting to see people with diverse experiences in larger companies become a part of these more intimate communities. I think Tampa will see a bit of that as well."
You can check out the interview in full below.
Thank you to our Founding Partners
The University of Tampa
The University Florida at Tampa’s Spartan Accelerator and Incubator program is designed to help current students, recent alums and early-stage community businesses grow their business ideas. It’s a live lab for up to nine early-stage businesses who receive expert guidance from faulty, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs-in-residence. Participating businesses represent a broad range of industries, including health care, horticulture, food service and technology. UT also offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees in entrepreneurship. Click here to learn more or to apply for the Incubator.
Omni Public
Omni Public is a strategy, public affairs and public relations firm specializing in helping companies introduce new technologies, concepts and ideas into the marketplace. They help their clients navigate media, government, and industry.
Synapse
Synapse is a nonprofit whose aim is to connect and to highlight the amazing work of innovators throughout the entire state of Florida. Synapse empowers Florida’s innovators to accomplish their goals by building meaningful connections and sharing ideas.
