We are fortunate to live in Denmark and to operate in two markets that have done exceptionally well in terms of preventing the spread of Covid-19 in the communities.
For that reason primarily (luck/privilege) combined with hard work and focus, we have been able to rebound from the crisis - at least from the first “wave” - surprisingly quick.
I was interviewed by the leading Danish business media Finans, about that rebound and our expectations for the future. Read it right here.
Stuff we built and launched during Covid-19 lockdown
We have been low on resources during the crisis, but still managed to get a lot of important, cool stuff shipped. Some highlights.
🔥 Brand new content site/platform - link.
We have had a “blog” for several years. A blog that now has thousands of visitors every day. We have finally re-build and re-launched it into a new content platform. Its built on Wordpress and Elementor, directly integrated with our experience platform allowing our marketing/content team to do really great content pieces and landing pages that feeds in relevant experiences, dates, reviews, and more.
🔥 New customer service page - link.
Pretty simple actually, but a consequence of our growth and the need to offer a range of different self-help services to our customers. If you have received an experience gift, you can book it, change it, refund it and/or extend it via services - easy and frictionless - instead of having to talk with a human and waiting.
🔥 Launched TrueStory Checkout for distributors - link.
Example: If you a business in the travel/hospitality industry and want to offer great experiences to your guest, why not offer a white-label solution on top of our infrastructure, selection, and service. We now offer our Checkout-solution to both operators and distributors.
🔥 New product information management system
We finished a project that we have been working on for a long time; a new PIM. The last part of this first phase was to move all experiences from the old system to the new, with an entirely new data model. A big project with a lot of work from both tech and marketing involved, but we got there and now it opens up a whole lot of potential for more direct features and improvements.
Some post-first-wave insights
Looking back at the last three months, these are the clearest take-aways that I have, in terms of building a sustainable business.
Always sleep on big decisions - in crisis, do it for two nights
I am an impatient guy, that wants to execute quickly. Through many failed projects and money wasted, I have learned always (always!) to sleep on it. Sleep on ideas, decisions, reflections, and more.
When a crisis hits, the gut reaction is to react. Be proactive. Do something. Create something new. New revenue streams. Sure, maybe. But first; go sleep on it. 9/10 of the ideas and reactions will prove suboptimal, de-focusing, and not necessary. At least they did for us. And I am actually proud we managed to keep focused and not react, but think and plan in a calm, thoughtful way.
Work hard and a lot for short-term wins. Stay calm for long-term successes.
If you want to build a start-up with crazy traction within a few years and then exit, I believe you need to work very hard in most cases. You might need to accept a high stress-level and many compromises in terms of personal life.
On the other hand. If you want to build a great business over many years, you need focus, persistence and to keep calm. And you need to nurture and prioritize your private life. Otherwise, you will get tired, frustrated, impatient, and seek the exit too soon.
👉🏻 I wrote a post about patience, accumulation, and focus. You can read it right here.