How are Startups Responding to the Coronavirus Crisis? | Sai Krishna V K | Scapic

In this podcast, Sai Krishna, the founder of Scapic, shares five key strategies that his team, Scapic’s
business partners and clients have adopted to cope with the disruption that the Coronavirus
pandemic has caused to the business community at large.

1. Plan your scenario
   The present fluid macroenvironment should propel startups to swiftly adapt to dynamic changes
   that are evolving on the ground. Entrepreneurs should prepare for the worst and re-adjust if the
   situation normalises again, anytime soon. Sai Krishna urges startups to be proactive and vigilant at
   all times and not react after things have gone out of hand. He warns that businesses should plan in
   advance for a realistic scenario by acknowledging that the below situations could play out during the
   Coronavirus crisis:

• Potential price cut demanded by customers
• Potential delay in the receivables
• Potential loss of customers
• Potential delay in contracts

1. Stay deeply connected with your team
   These are trying times not just for startup founders, but for the entire team as well. Stay engaged
   with your team at all times, be it through Zoom calls or any other form of technology. However, Sai
   Krishna cautions, founders and teams should also be willing to be good listeners to successfully
   navigate through Covid-19. Working remotely and in isolation from others can take a toll on one’s
   mental and emotional well-being. Therefore, he urges founders and employees to be as transparent
   and frequent in their communication processes as possible.
2. Over-communicate with your external stakeholders
   The surge in Covid-19 cases has posed unprecedented challenges for startup founders. This is
   primarily why they should communicate with external stakeholders as often as possible. They should
   share frequent updates to reassure their investors, clients, vendors and other business partners that
   all efforts are on to run the business ‘as usual’, despite the unusual times we are living in.
   Entrepreneurs should value their best clients even more and heighten the level of engagement with
   them. They must prepare and disseminate FAQs within the company’s app to help their stakeholders
   remain connected with them. They should understand the key challenges faced by customers and
   assist them in any way possible in this hour of crisis.
3. Adapt for a remote first world
   Demand commitment and accountability from your team as everyone is working from remote
   locations now. Set clear expectations from your team members and plan well to ensure smooth
   work processes. Business leaders should ensure timelines are being met and there is clarity on

expected business targets. Sai Krishna emphasises the need to document a lot as the new work
culture demands working from home. He also stresses on the importance of taking scheduled breaks
so that team members don’t burn out fast and are able to adhere to a sense of structure on a daily
basis. He believes that it would be good to conduct an ‘all hands’ meeting as often as possible,
though availability on demand cannot be expected from employees during the current
circumstances. Sai Krishna advises founders to build buffers internally to prepare for further
business disruptions during these trying times.

1. Take care of yourself
   Given the humanitarian crisis that Covid-19 has snowballed into, startup founders should ensure the
   mental and physical well-being of their team members. ‘Rockets need stable pilots now, more than
   ever,’ signs off Sai Krishna. ‘What survives in these harsh conditions learns to thrive in any
   condition.’