"You cannot be a leader, and ask other people to follow you, unless you know how to follow, too." - Sam Rayburn Rules, restrictions, recommendations, measures, advice. Words we’ve been hearing on repeat from government officials since Covid-19 hurtled into our lives at the beginning of the year. 

Next month marks the end of the Coronavirus furlough scheme (31st of October to be precise).  For startups who have furloughed workers over the past few months, the end of this scheme may result in a shock to the system as well as the bank balance.

Being a founder of a startup can be a lonely existence. Even if your startup is well established, boasts a strong team of staff and is based in a busy co-working space, it’s easy to understand why you may experience bouts of loneliness from time to time.

Whether you’ve just launched your startup or you’ve been running it for years, the idea of taking on a co-founder has likely crossed your mind.  Maybe you put a bit of time into looking for potential founders, but hadn’t really sussed out what kind of person you were looking for, so stalled your search? Or perhaps you want to take on a co-founder but you weren’t really sure where to start your search? 

Founders work tirelessly on every aspect of their startup, whether it be branding, hiring, marketing, accounts, planning or pitching. You name it, they do it.  It’s more than a full-time job, it’s a lifestyle. The initial excitement of starting a business is a great motivator early on, however, it can also distract from the grand vision. Tiredness, mistakes and burnout creep in as founders spend more time trying to master areas they are not qualified in. It goes without saying therefore, that they could all do with a little help from time to time.

There’s no doubt that raising capital as a startup can be challenging at the best of times, but doing so in the midst of a pandemic is another story. That said, if we’ve learned one thing over the past few months, it’s that humans have an innate ability to adapt. The millions of individuals who are successfully working from home having never done so before the pandemic hit are a prime example.  Similarly, startups have adapted. They’ve identified the best ways to go about funding their businesses during this tumultuous time. One such method which I’ve noticed many startups pursuing over the past few months is crowdfunding.

How do you create company culture within your startup? The response to this question tends to vary from business to business. Pre-Covid, some might have implemented a company culture policy or brought staff out for drinks. Others may have encouraged their team to bring their dogs to the office.

If Covid-19 has taught us anything, it’s the value of human interaction. Whether it be in person or through a screen, it’s something many of us craved during lockdown.    What can startups learn from this? That creating a strong company culture based on positive, regular communication amongst staff is extremely important.