3 Important Notes for Beginners to "Agile" in a Pandemic Situation

For startup players, the method agile nothing new. Startups are used to applying this method in their product development. This method allows startups to be more flexible and dynamic with limited human resources and funding.

But it's a different story if startups implement agile in the current pandemic situation. This is no longer a problem of limited human resources and funding, but this kind of condition makes it even more difficult for startups to move – especially at the beginner stage early stage--to survive.

In this #TuesdayStartup session, the Founder and CEO Qlue Rama Raditya shares tips for startups that can be a lesson in this kind of situation in the future.

Plant mindset financial discipline

Like saving, financial discipline must also be carried out by startup actors. Mindset This is ideally instilled from the start of building a business. If this kind of situation occurs in the future, the startup has already prepared a backup.

One form of this financial discipline, for example, do not rush to spend capital expenditures (Capex) at the beginning. Tips, startups can allocate capital per month for the next few months.

Another example, startups need to be careful in entering into payment collection contracts with clients enterprises. If it is not agreed upon according to financial conditions, it's possible runway startup is running out because the client doesn't pay.

"Don't expect investors to always save. We may think investors are always there. But, over time, investors will be more selective even though they have large capital. They must exit in 3-4 years," said Rama.

Don't be "stuck" to raise new funding

Raising new funds takes a long time. According to Rama, due diligenceit alone could take five months. Therefore, startups should not only raise funds when their capital is about to run out. "Always raise money when you don't need it, if you need nine months before it runs out," he added.

He also recommends startup actors who have just pocketed funding to set aside capital in the next 5-6 months and if necessary in the form of dollars.

This trick will help startups considering the current situation does not provide many options. All business people experience similar financial conditions, making it difficult for startups to maintain financial performance.

"One thing, startup early stage always Maintain good relationship with the bank. When investors cannot help and the client is difficult to collect, we have the option to withdraw a loan from the bank," explained Rama.

Don't get hung up on developing one product

Rama also emphasized the importance of diversifying products and ecosystems. This can be useful in the future if there is one major startup service that is heavily affected by this kind of situation.

"We can maneuver more agilely because it is helped by the diversification of services. To develop it, try to find the problem that you want to overcome," said Rama.

Of course, to do this strategy, startups need to analyze a number of metrics to sort out how big of a problem they want to solve. This can help startups to focus more without the need to involve too many human resources.

"This situation can be a momentum for startups to grow, because after the pandemic ends, the solution will still work entrepreneur that committed must find a way out in every situation. this is a testing moment so that founder better," he concluded.