From Rock to Bottom : the Unexpected Impacts of Coronavirus in a Travel Startup and our Everyday Life
A reflection on the recent impacts coronavirus had into our travel tech startup : how quickly it evolved up to its most recent consequences — letting go of 25% of our workforce — and how this crisis will profoundly change our lives.
Today, I woke up unemployed. Due to coronavirus, we’ve had to restructure the startup I worked at. I say “we” as, up to recently, I was actively discussing what to do and how to restructure Stay22 with the rest of our executive team.
Was my lay-off calculated? Absolutely. Was this for the best? It was surely for our company’s best interest. And maybe mine too, but only time will tell.
To all managers, leaders, entrepreneurs or leadership teams facing those hard decisions today, please know there are so many options available before you decide to let your people go.
Before getting there, discover how (quickly) the coronavirus crisis hit our startup so you can better recognize its symptoms and better prepare for it.
The Genesis of Coronavirus at Stay22
Since Stay22 operates in both the travel and the event industry, the effects of the coronavirus crisis were almost imminent. In fact, things at our startup evolved almost as fast as the coronavirus spread itself.
Before coronavirus
Stay22 had been growing 400% YoY for the last 3 years. We had just raised an internal investment round of ~1M, adding to the 600K seed round we got in 2018. We were a team of 21 and soon to be 22, our “lucky” number… until coronavirus first hit China and moved its way to Europe and North America.
Sequential events leading to crisis climax
March 2nd — The investors update
On March 2nd, Andrew, CEO of Stay22, and I were working on our monthly investors update. We were reassuring our partners and investors about the potential impacts of coronavirus would have on our startup. We were convinced we’d have to re-forecast and adapt our yearly targets — no big deal, it’s always the case in startups anyway! Furthermore, as a majority of our revenue were coming from small and distributed events and we hadn’t seen major changes in bookings nor cancellations rates, we felt confident we’d be able to recover quickly from this “crisis”.
Here is a sample of the email we sent our partners and investors that day:
“I am aware we might have to review our 2020 forecasts and targets, adapting them accordingly to the upcoming events and circumstances. Though, here’s the silver lining: the bulk of our revenues is mainly coming from smaller and more distributed events (i.e. concerts, local festivals, sporting events) and not major trade shows & festivals. And yet, we haven’t seen a major change in booking nor cancellation rate. As those smaller and more ‘local’ events continue to exist, Stay22 will continue to thrive.”
Monday, March 9th — The brainstorming session
The following Monday, on March 9th, all of our exec team, including myself, had a brainstorming session about the potential opportunities COVID-19 could bring to our business: acquisition, PR initiatives, new product features — to only name a few. We were being opportunistic, and a bit blindsided too.
Wednesday, March 11th — The gala
That evening, Andrew and I were attending the Prix Distinction, a gala that celebrates the Montreal tourism industry. On stage that evening were Aéroport de Montréal, Air Canada and Tourism Montreal amongst many others. From their speeches, I realized they were one step ahead and I was two steps behind.
That same evening, just before the event, Trump had announced no more Europeans would be allowed to fly into the U.S. All of us then realized this crisis was going to hit us really hard. And it wasn’t going to only hit me, Stay22 or our industry, but also our friends, family, community and entire ecosystem.
In fact, the next day, things started to go down. We saw a decrease in revenue and a significant increase in the cancellation rate. Never a good sign…
I remember coming home that evening and preparing my contingency plan. I was running the numbers, trying to evaluate the returns of our marketing efforts, my team members along with their contributions and my own value. I was projecting tasks or initiatives each one of us could take on to survive this crisis. I remember telling myself “how the heck are we going to successfully come out of this turmoil?”
Thursday, March 12th — The day after the gala
That morning I met all my team members. I was trying to mindfully prepare for what was ahead. I reminded them of the importance of being able to justify their efforts — and paychecks. That same day, I was also meeting our co-founders and COO to elaborate on what could be my “worst case scenario”.
Friday, March 13th — Hackathon day
Based on the brainstorming session we had on the previous Monday, we had put a placeholder in everyone’s calendar to work and dig further on some of the proposed initiatives we thought of.
Despite coronavirus occupying everyone’s mind, the event was a great success. Some of those initiatives were key and are still being deployed by our team as you’re reading this essay. Furthermore, this event created a sense of belonging and engagement from all employees. We were all aligned, ready to fight and win against coronavirus.
Monday, March 16th — The day we got laid off
On March 16th, I got laid off along with 4 other team members, representing 25% of the Stay22 workforce. We were part of the first wave, hopefully the first and last one. Fingers crossed.
What happened next?
The day the 5 of us got laid off, my previous boss and I jumped on the phone trying to help the others recover from their loss. We still try to this day. Although the context isn’t favorable to any job search or hiring process at the moment, supporting the people that have contributed to Stay22 success and our own success seems like the right thing to do.
And let’s be honest, despite the circumstances, not everyone is lucky as I am nor has the amazing support system I have access to — friends, family and eligibility for employment insurance.
Up to recently, I was helping Stay with the launch of its new commission program. An initiative I presented to the team during our brainstorm activity on March 9th. Thankfully our partners reacted positively to it. One last quick win I will carry with me.
What’s ahead ?
As for the future, no one can really tell. More jobs getting lost? More restructurations to come? Maybe more opportunities also?..
This crisis will impact our industry and economy, but beyond that, it will impact the way work is being performed, how humans interact within each other and how we consume resources.
This crisis will force some of us to think ahead, finding new solutions to real problems such as climate change, access to health and education. I hope this quarantine forces each one of us to assess what truly matters in their lives and help us determine how we can individually and collectively make a difference in our daily jobs and communities.
