Editor’s note: Katherine Dupree is marketing specialist at RIoT, a regional Internet of Things users group based in Raleigh.
RALEIGH – Three of the Triangle region’s fastest moving entrepreneurial pivoters and innovators met virtually recently to discuss new technologies designed to combat COVID-19. What arose from the conversation, however, had implications far beyond any one project could account for in terms of expected outcomes for entrepreneurs and corporate organizations in the future.
In early April, when COVID-19 was just beginning to majorly affect Americans’ daily realities, RIoT enlisted six startups uniquely positioned to tackle different public health and economic issues associated with the virus. The project came to be known as MISSION-R. These startups have mobilized at lightning speed, in some cases releasing products within just days or weeks to address community needs. Teams have been forced to engage in rapid customer discovery and discussion amongst business and government leaders, which gives them informative insight into what our emerging reality may be in the wake of COVID-19.
Katherine Dupree
Two MISSION-R team co-founders, Emily Breedlove of COVID Mobilize and Rod Greco of Socialize, a project supported by Amplifi Labs, as well as corporate entrepreneur, Scott Broaddus of Bayer Crop Science shared their insights into how the COVID-19 pandemic may act as an equalizer in more ways than one in the days ahead.
Now more than ever both big and small businesses are needed to answer the growing demands of the private, nonprofit and medical sectors. As products and opportunities that were previously exclusive to the wealthy and established are becoming more available, will entrepreneurs rise to the top?
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Platforms like COVID Mobilize help even the playing field between large and small businesses by enabling anyone who is uniquely positioned to provide a solution to a problem connect quickly with government and nonprofit who need solutions today. As a resource database, this platform provides a real-time bridge between public agency problems and individuals and companies who can offer the tools, talent, and resources to address these challenges. Anyone can make a profile for free, making it equally accessible to everyone.
Although Emily Breedlove was motivated to help build COVID Mobilize to “give entrepreneurs a fighting chance,” her team is seeing that entrepreneurial organizations are equally positioned to answer the call as larger organizations because they can pivot and act quickly. Emily provided an example of Manna Food Bank in Asheville, NC. Manna Food Bank had to pivot quickly when COVID-19 hit, but as a nonprofit had little understanding of how to do so. Its “shopping model” of allowing clients to convene in close quarters had to shift fast to a hands-free, delivery model. Through COVID Mobilize’s platform, they were able to connect with both entrepreneurs and large businesses who were able to provide them with the expertise to restructure quickly as well as source assets like a new warehouse needed to accommodate these changes.
In general, there seems to be more space at the table for those just starting out than ever before. Many online courses, curriculums and events that were previously high ticket items are being offered at discounted rates. Mental health resources like virtual retreats, guided meditations and workouts are being offered free or discounted. Even celebrities have begun to look and act like the masses, taking calls from home in their PJs.
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As Rod Greco points out, platforms like Zoom, Webex and his team’s new platform, Socialize, are making events and conferences easier for the masses to access, with little to no cost in terms of travel, accommodation and attendance. Socialize takes traditional virtual convening platforms a step further by simulating the spontaneous side conversations and small groups that form at in-person events. As virtual events become even more viable through technologies like Socialize, there’s no reason to believe they won’t continue to be used in the future as companies embrace the ability to reach a wider audience for little cost. And thus the virtual space will continue to act as an equalizer while allowing for the person-to-person connections needed to grow a business.
Even large, established organizations like Bayer Crop Science have started embracing entrepreneurial projects and mindsets. Scott Broaddus explains that Bayer’s pest management and public health products, “were traditionally chemistry-based solutions. But we came to a conclusion at a workshop with customers in 2016 where we started to look at future industry trends in industry, that the future of the industry has nothing to do with traditional chemistry.”
Instead they needed to start developing digital solutions. However, the corporate structure of the organization could not support the rapid innovation needed to develop such solutions. Instead they developed a corporate startup team that was part of the greater organization within Bayer Crop Science but empowered to behave differently than they would if they were subject to Bayer’s traditional channels and protocols.
Interestingly, Bayer’s Rodent Monitoring System (RMS) is tackling an issue that is of greater importance to all of us than we may realize. Bayer RMS, an IoT-based system previously designed to help the food industry and other large warehouses protect their product through real-time detection of pests, is seeing alarming trends in rodent activity. Broaddus further explained that rodents, particularly rats, are opportunistic and adaptive creatures. As we see less activity in the food industry, these creatures are venturing into areas they would usually not be found in order to find food, increasing activity in our cities and neighborhoods.
This is of tremendous concern during a pandemic, considering the role of rodents as vectors in spreading disease. Further, according to Broaddus, 20% of the world’s food supply is consumed by rodents – an alarming statistic when food insecurity is spiking in an uncertain economy.
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Issues that were previously the problem of specific industries are becoming everyone’s problem. Clearly, it is not just access to resources that is acting as an equalizer, but also our shared issues.
As we begin to see equalizing trends in terms of both shared resources and issues, we are seeing a greater need for sensitivity and understanding as we collectively face major change and the need to adapt. However, the idea of equalizing in and of itself is a hopeful one.
As Emily Breedlove of COVID Mobilize puts it, “As a country, we are going through a lean startup phase. We’re trimming the fat. It’s painful but we are in the process of streamlining what it is we want to have happen and leveling the playing field a little… It is a challenge to face evolving to the other side, but I am hoping that as an economy becoming more in line with what we want to achieve and cutting excess of what was clouding our vision.”
Although America has far to go in terms of equalizing opportunities for all regardless of race, sex, gender identity, level of ability and religion, this leveling of the playing field may just be a difficult, painful, but albeit helpful kick in the pants and help point us in the right direction.
