StartSmart 7th Webinar Recap: Building In the New Normal - Flat6Labs

ACCELERATING THE FUTURE

Our seventh Flat6Labs StartSmart Webinar was co-hosted by Khaled Talhouni from Nuwa Capital, with our own CEO, Ramez El-Serafy, to discuss the changing definition and implications of building companies and what this means for the MENA region

“Human clustering is a big part of accelerated innovation” — Khaled

Historically, Khaled said, that there has been a large dependence on human clustering to achieve innovation. It, as he said, plays a significant role as one of the economic engines. There is something about the existence of a people in a dense environment that cannot be replicated virtually.

“Find the right balance between human clustering and individual functions” — Khaled

Some tasks will require human clustering to be finished effectively, like creating a new innovative product/service. However, there will be tasks that require individual efforts, which could be done more productively from home. Startups need to find that balance between taking their jobs home, and clustering to innovate.

“Our region is super resilient” — Ramez

Over the past decade, we’ve seen and learnt how startups have been capable of surviving the many crises, Ramez said. Our applications during 2011 & 2012, have actually doubled every cycle, and that is a great indication of how crisis can breed innovative solutions, great adaptability, and resilience.

“Startups need to ask themselves what is different” — Ramez

During these times, startups will be either thinking about pivoting quickly to stay relevant, pushing forward with their existing solutions, or shutting down to cut the losses. Startups need to think about whether there is an actual opportunity to pivot, by changing their business model, creating partnerships, etc… They also need to think about how they can utilise their current solution to temporarily benefit from the situation. The crisis will end one day, so you as a startup founder, need to to think about your solutions and their viability in both the long and short term.

“There is going to be a shift in private capital” — Khaled

Businessmen will be looking for ways to invest their money in more transparent ecosystems, and they will head for micro investors and micro fund managers to take off the hassle of due diligence off of themselves. AngelList is the first iteration of that.

Make sure to join our upcoming Webinar on June 9th, 2020, Co-hosted by Ferid Belhaj of The World Bank MENA and our own Chief Investment Officer, Dina el-Shenoufy.

For more information and to register, click here.