If we are to date back to the calendars of recession, we would immediately loop into the 2007-2009 recession period that took us on an unprecedented rollercoaster ride. Every passenger seat had a forced audience representing every corner of the globe, but the journey itself was something else. It was unearthly because the economy of our planet shook to its core as if some Decepticon alien galaxy hacked us. Countries like the U.S had to part way with eight million job segments that significantly contributed to its economic stamina. Corporate bankruptcy filings then followed suit as numerous business closures soared like ravens through the economic landscape. However, just like the mythical phoenix rose from the ashes, earth learned from this and put its economic hope on the seedling of entrepreneurship. It later developed into a willful surge. Thus the nightmare of the late 2007 calendar to the middle of 2009 became a cause and effect undertaking, and just like Newton’s third law of motion, there was an economic reaction. It was a time of great economic suffering but also a learning experience as the earthlings took extensive survival notes. The outcome of this economic ailment became the rise of Startups. Necessity being the mother that nurtures inventive cubs set them to lose to go out and fix the earth’s tone veil. These Startups lived through the recession and further beyond because of a single rule, the need to first withhold their thirst for profits and, in turn, maintain and increase their customer base. Let’s have a ride in some of these Startup trains. 1. WhatsApp, 2009 It was an unexpected groundbreaking step into healing from the recession. The mobile app, with now an extension of a web interface that mirrors the app interface on a personal computer, became the most flexible and reliable means for everyone to communicate with each other. It was fast in its message delivery mechanics with minimal delays. The uniqueness and popularity of this platform were such that worldwide Nations did not need to have cell network infra-structure as a requirement of being operational under its domain. The minimum requirement was a functional Wi-Fi network in place. WhatsApp Messenger is currently a priceless contributor to social distancing protocols now that we are facing the COVID-19 pandemic. We can now check up on one another through text chats or voice and video calls without risking our health status. 2. Groupon, 2008 The Startup matured as a web platform that acted as the middleman between companies and consumers. A typical scenario is a company presenting its ready-made products and services data to Groupon, which then offers deals related to these products and services to the target consumers. Groupon came at a time when the public was still trying to sober up from the hard-hit recession. Thus Groupon could measure the performance of a company’s products and services based on the impression it created on the consumer. Hence a performance-based marketing data schematic became evident in effectively rating and ranking a business. Such companies, therefore, adjusted their goals concerning the analytical reports Groupon presented to move up the rank and yield better or improved customer impressions. With companies on lockdown, businesses can continue without the marketers and employees moving door to door to convince customers of their priceless commodities. We can look at it as the Startup that keeps a safe economic distance. Business as usual but with no human movements. 3. Zoom, 2011 This Startup came to the limelight when the wounds of the economic recession were still fresh. The current social media platforms were too verbal, and there was an emerging need and surge for a social platform that also functioned as a work environment to get work done with the option of a live visual focus. Such visual representations would be in the form of video conferences to hold meetings. The platform has an additional Chat, Phone System, Video Webinar, and Meeting segments to prolong its dynamic functionality. Thus zoom is also a great addition to the social distancing club. The users and employees can stay at home and still get work done through set meetings and video conferences. Regarding the Coronavirus situation, the different world healthcare segments can use it to share their practical experiences on how to safely cope with the Coronavirus and the best cause of actions to take to ensure the public remains safe. 4. Uber, 2009 This great company started as a simple Startup back in 2009 under the grip of the businessmen Garret Camp and Travis Kalanick. Necessity still being the mother that fuels inventions took the two lads to one cold night where they could not find a taxi to route them within the escapades of Paris. Thus the Uber idea star-struck their minds, and they never looked back ever since. With worldwide growth as part of their objective, the giant rideshare made international rip-ples. It even grew more limps as it traversed into the food delivery service domain. Thanks to Uber, it is currently also possible to share scooters and bikes through its worldwide service platform. Moreover, even the work staffing service can temporarily fit in the fold. With limited movement as a significant measure of fighting off COVID-19, Uber and other simi-lar Startups are the ambulances that race you away from the crowd of public transportation. Another awesome enforcer of social distancing protocols. 5. Slack, 2009 The recession was busy crippling the world economy that it forgot about the expanding mind-set of Stewart Butterfield, back in 2009, that was working on a Startup recipe for creating Slack. Almost everyone was working remotely due to the recession scare, and there was a growing need for companies and businesses to communicate with its employees remotely. Slack became the perfect platform as a work messaging app. Flash forward to our current state, the COVID-19 scare has made the demand for Slack to rise to a whole new level since almost all businesses have their employees managing their work from home. With the epidemic slowly feeding off our social awareness, it is only prudent that we keep off the physical world and camp in such a digitalized world for a while before our existence cripples to dire levels. Since the rise of the COVID-19 epidemic scare, Slack has added more than 15,000 users to its premium subscription plan. Its current worth is around $20 billion, but it's only a matter of time before it rises the ranks. So Slack is saying stay safe at home and still maintain your employment status. The businesses, as mentioned above that started as Startups are just a few prominent ones of the many that continue to defy the logic of impossibility by creating heavenly platforms from circumstances that define hell. All these Startups have one thing in common; the human Will to better its existence. Where there is such human Will, there will continue to be a Startup surge for sure. So the COVID-19 driven recession might be a setback back, but for many of us, it could be a driver for a new start. And maybe it will be the contactless one. The future seems to embrace robots as our safety nets. We could have an Uber robotic driver, which is a concept that is undoubtedly baking in an oven somewhere. We already have Amazon delivery or fully-automated cafes like Rozum Cafe where you only have to interact with a robotic barista to get the desired cup of daily energy. With the humans efficiently prepared for a physical enemy, our Chessboard move quickly be-came short-sighted when COVID-19 stepped forth to oppose us. Thus losing the human touch is quite literally the remedy to our survival. It is the safest way to impose a social distancing protocol and still embrace a healthy and full lifestyle. So let’s see what the newborn startups will offer us in the next months.
