Transilvania Start Up: Learning from the Best

At the end of the “TRANSILVANIA START UP – Entrepreneurial Development, Counseling, Mentoring” project, I granted an interview to colleagues in project management from the perspective of a mentor with experience in both academic and entrepreneurial fields.

  1. Knowing now how entrepreneurs adapted to the challenges of 2020, what were the early signs that we could have taken into account during evaluation or mentoring?

Personally, I did not perceive any evident or major “early signs” in 2019 that would have predicted such a difficult year in 2020. Unfortunately, we see that this challenging context continues into 2021. The first signs of the pandemic appeared in China in Q4 2019, but it seemed more like a regional and short-term challenge. At that time, I did not foresee such an extensive impact that seriously affected public health, the global economy, and, implicitly, the mindset and behavior of entrepreneurs.

I do not consider it a failure that a small local entrepreneur (RO) did not anticipate these “early stage signs” of the pandemic context. Let’s not forget that major rating agencies in 2008 did not foresee the “subprime” catastrophe that impacted the global economy for years.

Why should I harshly judge a local Romanian entrepreneur for not seeing these “early signs”? Honestly, I believe even the WHO acted hesitantly at the beginning of the pandemic.

Rather, in this pandemic context, it is important HOW WE ADAPT as individuals, as entrepreneurs, as startups, as teams, as a society: How did we adapt? What did we learn? How will we act in the future based on this experience?

  • We adapted by moving many businesses online, shifting our services and products towards sectors that suffered less during the pandemic, or even had favorable conditions (online business, delivery, ecommerce, edutech, online communication tools, fintech, telehealth); we learned to operate more efficiently in terms of cost-benefits.
  • This context taught us that we need to be more “agile” in the future, to be continuously engaged and attentive to the market, and especially to macro signals that most entrepreneurs and startups unconsciously ignore or, at least, do not prioritize due to lack of resources and know-how.
  • It taught us that it is important to be more attentive to “reserves,” both personally and at the business level. We do not know when a similar context might recur and how it will affect, again, the global economy and the mindset of consumers, entrepreneurs, etc. For this reason, it would be wise, in the next economic growth cycle, to learn to set aside reserves for unforeseen or difficult future situations (especially long-term, as pandemics tend to be).
  • It taught us to introduce a concept of diversification and portfolio management both at the level of personal finances and entrepreneurial business.
  1. What do you think those startups that thrived in these 18 months did right?

Those who managed to adapt more quickly and efficiently to the new context are the ones already seeing positive results. Some transformations in society and entrepreneurship would have occurred eventually, but the pandemic accelerated them. Those who adapted swiftly to the new context, including business models, sales channels, customer communication, process digitization, remote work, are the ones who will navigate the pandemic more easily. Some already had such processes in place and were more agile during the pandemic. For example, in the Horeca sector, which was heavily impacted, the development of delivery models.

On a different note, this topic relates to Leadership. True leaders are especially visible in difficult times. Such pandemics and/or prolonged difficult contexts validate true leaders (unfortunately, quite few at the global level). Startups that emerge successfully from these two pandemic years are those with LEADERS! I am talking about those entrepreneurs who think about people, who do everything to help the organization survive the pandemic.

I believe in the formation of a new class of leaders, honest, with vision and values, who attract people and harmonize teams, structures, partnerships, especially given that today, most people face fear, anxiety, lack of motivation, lack of trust, and predictability.

  1. What conditions must be met for a mentor or coach to tell a startup founder: “The business is not for you, go and get a job somewhere”?

In the nearly 7 years I have been active as a mentor, I have learned that it is important not to make decisions for those you collaborate with and mentor. Such a decision (entrepreneur vs. employee) is personal and should be made by each individual.

The more a mentor assumes such decisions and responsibilities for a mentee, the more the dependency relationship grows and becomes toxic. I see the mentor’s role as one of guidance, providing information about their own career, as well as advice, motivation, emotional support, and modeling. A mentor can help explore careers, set goals, develop contacts, and identify resources, but does not make decisions for the mentee.

The decision referred to in the question results from a sincere process of tests and entrepreneurial experiences, which can lead the person to such an option/decision. Of course, the mentor can provide guidance throughout this process. It is not negative to discover, after certain experiences, that you are better suited for an employee career rather than entrepreneurship, or vice versa.

  1. Let’s imagine there is a “made in Transylvania” entrepreneur pedigree. How would you describe it?

Knowing the local entrepreneurial ecosystem and startups well, I would try to outline some characteristics of the Transylvanian entrepreneur:

  • Educated and cultured;
  • Eager to demonstrate success locally and then nationally/globally;
  • Willing to develop partnerships;
  • Aware of belonging to a geographical area with potential and a good image, and uses these assets smartly in the business concept and branding;
  • Eager to learn, explore, accumulate experiences, resources, capital;
  • Cautious and prudent at first, carefully selecting initial partners;
  • Starts to value themselves more accurately relative to their potential;
  • Increasingly open to advisory (Board of Advisors) and mentoring.
  1. What do you think will be the dropout rate for businesses started in 2020 after 12 months, and why?

I would not venture to provide a dropout percentage in a fairly unpredictable context. Recent experience has shown me that we had to massively adjust all budget forecasts initially set at the beginning of 2020 due to the pandemic.

Paradoxically or not, I believe that the dropout rate for startups founded in 2020 will be lower than before the pandemic. Those born in difficult contexts become stronger.

These startups started from challenging assumptions, learned from the beginning to act as “agile” as possible, and are better adapted to markets and contexts. I assume that most of these startups introduced digital tools and risk management mechanisms from the outset. The important parameter now is “timing,” in other words, how quickly we can emerge from the pandemic context and enter a “new normal.”

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