• Jackson Cunningham and Josh Bluman founded JJ Suspenders in August of 2014; the suspenders company reached around $1.1 million in revenue overall recently.
• Cunningham has continued working full-time jobs while operating the company as a side hustle, currently as the head of his other startup, Tuft + Paw.
• The cofounders meet up for half a day every three months to discuss priorities and spend about two hours a week running the company at a time.
• They're able to reduce work time by delegating, outsourcing, and prioritizing organic marketing on social media and through SEO.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

Jackson Cunningham started out in real estate, but after realizing that he preferred the marketing end of things more than the real estate business itself, he began thinking about shifting careers. A fortuitous meeting sealed the deal in 2014.

"I was about to hire someone to help grow my real estate business and we ended up hitting it off," Cunningham recalled of his current business partner. 

He struck upon the idea of launching a suspenders company after being invited to be in a wedding party. 

"I found it was impossible to find a pair of suspenders that wasn't either super cheap, skinny suspenders or very dated, traditional 'braces' from England," he said. "I had seen so many options for cool modern bowties, so I thought there could be potential for suspenders." 

Over the next few weeks, the entrepreneur pored over every option he could find and knew that his team could make something better. He determined through keyword research that a lot of people were searching for suspenders each month, and in August 2014, JJ Suspenders was born (the initials coming from his first name, Jackson, and his business partner's first name, Josh).

Cunningham took on several full-time ecommerce jobs — including as head of ecommerce for the footwear company Wiivv — to supplement his income and support himself over the years while growing JJ Suspenders. 

"I remember working 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at my day job, and then continuing to work until 10 or 11 p.m. getting JJ off the ground," he said. "I was lucky — I didn't have any other responsibilities at the time like other people may have."

His hard work paid off, as recently, the suspenders company reached around $1.1 million in revenue overall since its inception and has become Cunningham's primary source of income. In light of the global pandemic, while company revenue was around $300,000 for 2019, Cunningham said he's expecting it to be approximately $100,000 due to COVID-19 — but he does expect it to bounce back in 2021.

"Our biggest season is spring where we make about 75% of our annual sales," Cunningham said. "Initially, we were hoping for a spike of weddings in the fall, but I doubt that will happen anymore." 

Prior to the hit from COVID-19, Cunningham was able to start a new direct-to-consumer pet startup, Tuft + Paw, which is his current full-time role. Meanwhile, Josh spent several years full time as the VP of marketing at the meal delivery startup Fresh Prep. 

"Both of us have had the opportunity to start new ventures or take equity positions in young companies because of the cash flow we get from JJ Suspenders," Cunningham explained. "It has given us so much opportunity over the years."

They've optimized the business so much over the years that they only need to meet up for half a day every three months to discuss priorities for the next three months. The cofounders then select which of them will manage the business for that period of time. Whoever chooses to manage the business, including handling financials and reviewing contractor performances, gets paid hourly — which at this point, Cunningham said, requires only about two hours per week.

"I consider myself more an 'owner' now than an engaged employee," Cunningham explained.

The cofounder shared with Business Insider the two strategies that helped him turn what could have been a full-time job into a sustainable side gig.

1. Figure out what works, then find a way to systemize, outsource, or delegate it quickly

Over the last few years, Cunningham has focused on strategies that required a lot of upfront work, but would benefit his business in the long term. 

"As soon as I figured out a strategy that worked, I would systemize it and outsource it," he said.

One example of this was delegating outreach to fashion bloggers to see if they would be interested in reviewing his company's suspenders. 

"After trying it a few times, I noticed that we would get direct sales and more traffic by doing this," he said. "I used to do it manually myself for the first few months — then eventually, I realized there were a ton of fashion bloggers and it was something we could do consistently every month." 

As a result, Cunningham hired a staff member to conduct outreach, outlined the process, and gave the employee a JJ Suspenders email plus access to the company's warehouse dashboard to be able to send products. 

"At the end of each month, she'd send us a spreadsheet of the bloggers she partnered with," Cunningham explained. "So it changed an approximately 20-hour per month job into 0.5 hours per month." 

Over the years, Cunningham explained that this delegation strategy helped build the company's reputation, brand recognition, and search traffic online. 

He advised thinking of your business as a well-oiled machine that you can step out of at any point. 

"Keep replacing your own responsibilities with an automation or another person," he said. 

He added, "It's very tempting to fix or do something yourself (and in many instances it will actually be quicker to do this the first time). But in the long term, it's much better if you are able to delegate those tasks. Every time you are doing something, ask yourself if there's someone else who could do it instead. Be strict with this."

2. Prioritize long-term plays like SEO and social media

In the early days, Cunningham prioritized building up organic search traffic by creating high quality content. This meant generating videos, articles, and other content, which the cofounder explained wasn't always about suspenders specifically.

"Building content doesn't have to be directly related to the exact product you sell; it can be targeting a similar customer," he said. "Figuring out good content ideas is about figuring out 1. Who is your customer? 2. What are they searching for? 3. Can you create a resource that is two times as good as the existing top-ranking resource? and 4. Once you create that resource, can you get other people to share or talk about it? 

As an example, Cunningham pointed to one of the company's blog posts that is currently ranking extremely well when you search for "types of ties."

"You can see how that would be targeting a relevant customer," he said.

To find the right keywords to target, Cunningham relied on keyword tools online such as Ahrefs and Moz. 

"Basically, you can enter a generic keyword like 'suspenders' and it will spit out hundreds of variations and tell you how many people are searching each month for each variation," Cunningham said. "This is a great tool for building organic search traffic as well as product development. It's my number-one tool for researching potential products." 

He added that the company later discovered that "leather suspenders for men" was a very popular category, and spent a year developing what his team felt were the nicest and best quality leather suspenders on the market. They also found that many people were searching for "cognac" or "tan" suspenders, so that nudged them to develop their now bestselling Sierra Nevada tan suspenders.

"A lot of the keywords sound obvious in hindsight, but the keyword tools give you an objective point of view by attaching an actual number to each keyword," Cunningham explained. 

While creating content required a lot of elbow grease and yielded no results for the first year, over time, these efforts paid off. 

"Slowly but surely, our traffic started to rise," Cunningham said.

PR outreach was another part of this effort.

"This has the benefit of some immediate sales — for example, [in our case,] if JJ Suspenders is featured on a wedding blog — while also building your online reputation and traffic over time," he explained.

Cunningham emphasized the importance of crafting a "succinct, human" pitch email. 

"This is where most people fall way short," he said. "They dump a huge blob of text, completely impersonal and obvious that it's a mass-emailed script." He suggested writing as few words as possible, so that it looks like you tailored your message specifically for that one person. 

"Your only goal is to get the person to respond asking for more information — you don't need to 'close the deal' in the first cold email," Cunningham said.

Cunningham also spent time building up the company's organic social following, which he said has been a key driver of sales over the years. 

"No matter how much effort you put into building your social following, it will take time, so it's important to start early," Cunningham said. The founder hired someone on Upwork to take care of posting and engaging with followers for less than $500 per month, and sought out to partner with micro-influencers from the start. 

As one example, the company post with actor and musician Lane Toran (@lane_toran). 

"We sent a pair of suspenders ... and he posted a photo that got around 10,000 likes, which means 10 to 20 times more people actually saw it," Cunningham said. "We got a huge boost in followers from that, and nowadays Instagram is connected with a significant portion of our revenue." 

SEE ALSO: An app that helps businesses attract customers through word-of-mouth marketing just went live in the middle of the pandemic. Its cofounder shares how it works and the strategies that enabled the company to accelerate its launch date.

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• If you're interviewing at a startup company, you'll likely be offered stock options or equity in place of a more competitive salary.
• To determine if the offer is fair, it's important to ask the hiring director several questions about the company's valuation, the type of equity your being offered, and whether stock option benefits have a vesting schedule.
• Remember, accepting equity or stock instead of cash is essentially investing your own money in the company — make sure you understand the potential risks.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Part of interviewing at a startup is finding out if the stock options or equity you're being offered instead of salary is fair.

Startups, by nature, are high-risk undertakings that come with accelerated levels of business uncertainties, says Jose Laurel, the RPO director at G&A Partners. The economic risk you take by working one can be scary for some professionals, especially interviewing at a startup that's an early-stage company dangling equity in lieu of paying a competitive salary. 

On the other hand, sometimes taking the risk pays off big. Just think of early employees of Apple or Facebook who are now experiencing a significant monetary benefit. The chance to hit pay dirt is why some people venture into the startup world. 

It's essential to fully understand the terms of your equity agreement. In addition to consulting a lawyer you trust who has expertise in employment contracts that include equity, here are six questions to ask about equity when you're interviewing at a startup. 

1. Why should I invest in your company?

Though many don't always think of it from this perspective, Nancy Hancock, business lawyer and partner at Pullman & Comley, LLC, reminds job seekers that accepting equity is choosing to invest in a company. When you're interviewing at a startup, you're interviewing them right back.

As you would with anything else you spend cash on, it's essential to believe in the mission, business practices, and goals. That's why it's worthwhile to turn the table on your potential employer and ask them to treat you like a prospective investor. "If the employer is willing to share its business plan, its historical financials, and projections with you, the employer is treating you with respect," she said.

If you're asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement, don't be offended: They're sharing data that is likely highly sensitive and confidential. "If you like what you see, that is encouraging," she said. "If, however, the presentation materials are unimpressive, beware. You should be concerned if the materials that should be designed to attract capital are slapdash or misleading."

2. At what stage of development is your business, and where is it headed?

When you ask this question, you're putting your detective hat on, since you're genuinely seeking validity. Hancock says this will quickly tell you if the company is a true, promising emerging startup … or if it's mislabeling itself to lure inexperienced employees on the cheap. 

Does that mean it's a bad idea to join an early-stage startup? Not necessarily. Hancock says it depends on how the company is structured, its goals for the immediate and long-term future and quality of management. If the organization has experienced leaders on staff, a detailed business plan, and a capital-raising discipline that makes them poised for growth, that's a great sign.

"When you agree to exchange your work for equity, you only win if the company wins and your equity increases in value," Hancock said. "A company worth joining will have a clear understanding of its trajectory. It will have easily understandable documents showing the public what it is selling. It will be willing and able to show you where its funding will come from and when." If these bullets aren't checked off, don't waste your time. 

3. Why are you offering me equity instead of cash?

This may sound like a rude question, but it's important for applicants to ask when interviewing at a startup. You want to get a sense of how the company views you and why they are offering you equity, Hancock says. Does the company see your skill set as pivotal to the startup's success? If so, you should expect to be offered a stake in addition to a market salary. 

"If the startup has no cash to give you, and your bio is going to be part of the offering materials to raise money, then you should be negotiating directly with the founder for a substantial equity position," she said. 

4. What type of equity are you offering, and why?

In a perfect world, says Hancock, employees would receive the same class of equity as the founders. If this is not the case, that doesn't mean it's a hard no — but it's worth asking why your equity is different. If the answer doesn't make sense to you, ask an expert who can help navigate the sometimes confusing terms. "You need to be able to confirm that the value of your equity is going to grow as the company grows and that the company will not be able to take the equity away from you before that happens," Hancock said.

For example, look at the share repurchase right for the company. This means that if you leave the company, they have the right to buy back your shares. If you leave to go work at a competitor this setup may be justifiable, Hancock says. But it doesn't excuse an unfair price determination mechanism (aka you losing money). When in doubt, ask the potential employer to get into the nitty-gritty details until you fully understand all of the terms of your equity.

5. What is the company's current valuation?

And as a follow-up question, ask how many shares are outstanding. Laurel says these are standard questions when you're interviewing at a startup and you should expect straightforward answers. "The outstanding shares of a company can be misleading and directly tied to the value of the shares you are being offered. If there is hesitation in disclosing the number, it may be cause for concern," he warned. "A favorable valuation is a key indicator of management-team strength, the market acceptance of the product or service and can also indicate investor excitement for future rounds of funding."

6. Is the stock option grant subject to a vesting schedule?

In many cases employees need to work for a certain number of years to reap the full benefits of their stock options. This is called a vesting schedule. While not a red flag, it's something to note, says Emily T. Strack, vice-chair of the emerging companies team at Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC. 

"If the vesting period is too long or the milestones are not realistically achievable, the stock option grant may not ultimately vest and be worth anything to the recipient," she explained. The most common vesting schedule is time-based, with 25% of the stock options vesting after one year of continuous service with the company, and the remainder vesting monthly over the following 36 months. Stock options are fully-vested after four years with the company, she says. 

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• Canva, the hot self-marketing platform used by more than 30 million monthly users, just reached a $6 billion valuation. 
• Business owners said Canva is one of the most useful tools for creating branded materials and marketing content.
• Canva is a free, online graphic-design program and mobile app that helps you create and customize documents using templates, text, photos, and graphics. 
• We broke down Canva's most useful basic and paid features, like finding font combinations and making a brand kit. 
• Click here for more BI Premium content.

Bootstrapping your business often means you do a lot yourself. In addition to being owner and founder, you might be CEO, in-house PR, social media manager, accountant, customer service, logistics manager, HR department, and everything in between. 

Some of the most invaluable tools for your business are those that ease all these daily responsibilities, especially when you don't yet have the resources to hire many employees or outsource to contractors.

When Business Insider asked business owners what tools help them create branded materials and marketing content, one name kept coming up: Canva. 

Canva is a free and subscription-based, online graphic-design program and mobile app that was cofounded by Cliff Obrecht, current CEO Melanie Perkins, and Cameron Adams in 2012.

This month, the Australian company raised a $60 million funding round and reached a $6 billion valuation, nearly doubling its previous worth. According to a press release the company sent to Business Insider, Canva continues to grow its user base despite the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 30 million monthly active users.

Matthew Cummings, the owner of Pretentious Glass Co. and Pretentious Beer Co., a taproom and beer brewery in Knoxville, Tennessee, previously told Business Insider that designing his own content on an as-needed basis has been a challenge of bootstrapping. 

"Over the course of seven years, there are a lot of things that don't quite meld together," he said. 

He planned to roll out his own brand kit with Canva to create a more unified style across all of his marketing materials. "I am personally psyched to walk through all my imagery with a professional crew and hone our voice, improve the graphics, and really embody what our unique personality is like on a design front," he said.

Here are the features Canva offers to make professional branding and documents, whether you're a team of one or 100. 

MUST READ: The top 10 Instagram apps all entrepreneurs should use in 2020 to boost their following and get a boatload of new customers

SEE ALSO: 5 steps to navigate brand messaging in a time of civil unrest so you don't lose customer trust

Canva has pre-designed templates and layouts to create almost any type of document.

Canva has pre-designed templates for a variety of documents, from logos and hang-tags, to social media posts, and presentations. You can customize the templates or make your own with drag-and-drop text, photos, and graphics. 

For example, a mobile-first pitch deck template has the pages you need to present your business plan.

Brittany Rhodes is the founder of BlackGirl MATHgic, a monthly, educational subscription-box she designed to help girls in 3rd through 8th grade gain confidence in their math skills. Rhodes, who is based in Detroit, Michigan, recently started her business, so she's the one making the boxes and shipping them out. 

Rhodes hired a graphic designer to create her logo and the stickers she includes in every box, but for everything else, she uses Canva. Each month she has a different theme to apply math concepts to the real world. Using Canva, she designs math activity booklets, affirmation cards, and profiles of women applying math in their careers. "I have no graphic design skills whatsoever, but thanks to Canva, I do," she said. 

Templates have the exact dimensions you need for thumbnails, posts, stories, and banners on each social media platform.

Canva frequently adds new designs so you'll have fresh options to choose from throughout the year.

Cummings said that his team uses Canva's trending templates to enhance the high-quality photos they take with a Sony a6000 camera macro-lens. "We look for designs that can incorporate our photos that we work so hard towards. [We] mainly [use] designs that have room for a photo's focal point with minimal text," he said.

You can add your own text and photos into the templates.

All the functions of Canva's editor are clearly labeled and searchable.

Canva can suggest font combinations that are visually appealing and thematic.

The color wheel tool helps you choose colors and further develop your brand's style.

The color-palette generator tool pulls five colors from an image you upload that you can use in your designs.

There's also a library of color palettes that you can search by color, theme, and keywords.

For small teams, a Canva pro account gives you access to more templates and customization.

A pro account, which starts at $9.95 per user per month, gives you access to more templates, customization, and a brand kit that synchronizes your logo, color scheme, fonts, and design style to all of your documents. This option is best for a business owner making most of the creative elements themselves, or who has a couple employees jumping in. (See all pricing here.)

Canva pro allows you to invite unlimited team members to collaborate on your designs.

With Canva pro, you can create a brand kit to establish a logo, color scheme, and fonts that sync across your documents.

Cummings said his new brand kit will add "more refinement and specificity" to his company's voice. 

One button quickly applies your brand kit settings to pieces you're working on.

Logo templates are categorized by industry, so you can find styles that suit your brand.

Canva integrates with apps like Google Drive, Instagram, and Slack to easily post your designs and share them with team members.

You can use Canva's print service to order custom business cards, t-shirts, posters, and more.

For larger businesses, Canva offers enterprise accounts to help manage teams and organize projects.

For larger businesses with more than five team members, Canva offers enterprise accounts, starting at $30 per user per month. This option allows easier collaboration between team members, more storage, and advanced security and support. (See all pricing here.)

Canva also has a photo-editing app that can fine-tune, resize, and enhance your photos.

Canva is also available as an app on iPhone and iPad so you can edit on the go.

• Norwegian education startup Kahoot just raked in $28 million of funding – boosting its valuation to more than $1 billion. 
• Kahoot's platform offers learning via games, offering apps that teach everything from learning to read through to algebra. It has raised $110 million to date from backers such as Disney.
• Experts believe global education tech industry could be worth more than $230 billion globally by 2025. 
• We got an exclusive look at the pitch deck Kahoot used to bring investors on board. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Kahoot, the Norwegian education startup, announced earlier this month it had closed a $28 million funding – which saw its valuation leap to $1.4 billion. 

The Oslo-based firm, founded in 2013, already boasts some big-name investors, including Disney and Microsoft, and has raised $110 million to date. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it a spike in demand for home-learning solutions, in an industry already expected to be worth more than $230 billion globally by the end of 2025. 

Kahoot offers learning via games, educating kids on everything from learning to read to chess and algebra. The company's platform plays host to more than 100 million games – many designed by its own users – and has more than a billion active users worldwide. 

We got an exclusive look at the pitch deck it used to wrangle $28 million of investment: 

• The anticipated total wipeout of investment in early-stage startups in Europe hasn't materialized, although funding is certainly down.
• The COVID-19 pandemic is creating a 'flight to quality' effect, where deals are holding up at the top of the market and falling away towards the bottom.
• It's also accelerating trends that were already underway, and faster turnover of talent and capital aren't necessarily wholly negative.
• Matt Clifford is chief executive and cofounder of Entrepreneur First, the global talent investor.
• This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Back in March, if you asked venture capitalists about the coronavirus and its impact on investment plans you would have heard lots of similar answers.

Publicly, most VCs were quick to confirm that they were open for business and still firmly in the market for new investments. Privately, many conversations instead acknowledged the more pressing need to shore up existing portfolio companies to weather the oncoming storm.

This was the dominant narrative for a couple of months.

But the good news for founders now eyeing seed and Series A rounds is that we're once again seeing funds being raised and capital flowing in the direction of innovative early-stage companies.

The past few weeks alone have seen sizeable new funds announced by Hoxton, Fly, Pale Blue Dot, and others in Europe and the US. At least in parts of the market, initial fears of VC money drying up, valuations being slashed, and the death of founder-friendly deals terms don't appear to have come to pass.

Some recent data from Plexal and Beauhurst has painted a less optimistic picture, suggesting a more dramatic retreat of early-stage capital.

These figures aren't wrong, but they do only tell part of the story.

There is a slowdown, but its effects are unevenly spread

To be clear, overall fundraising is down on 2019. It almost certainly will be by the end of the year too.

Data firm Beauhurst estimates a total of £1.6 billion ($2 billion) was invested in UK early-stage companies in the past three months – 50% lower than the same period last year.

But it's worth remembering that we're comparing against 2019 — a record year for UK tech investment, a strong year for tech in most major global ecosystems, and the culmination of a nine- or ten-year boom cycle in VC. To put things into perspective, that £1.6 billion ($2 billion) is the same as the total funds raised by UK startups in 2011, according to Beauhurst.

As we enter a pretty severe recession, a slowdown is inevitable. But that slowdown is happening unevenly.

VCs aren't investing at 2019 rates anymore, but there also aren't many who have completely stopped. We're seeing a "flight to quality," which impacts deals and valuations at the top and bottom of the market very differently.

Investors are congregating not just around the same types of tech, but often the same deals. That means companies with strong founders and high potential are raising at very competitive prices.

The deals completed so far by companies who pitched at our most recent Europe Demo Day, for example, were all at prices that wouldn't look out of place if you plotted them against last year's cohort.

We're unlikely to see the frothiness of valuations you'd associate with a boom year, but we also haven't seen a 'bargain basement' effect where people have to cut their prices in half just to get deals across the line.

Where overall numbers are down, it's more likely to be the effect of fewer deals being done at the bottom of the market rather than valuations being cut at the top, at least for early-stage financings.

The pandemic has accelerated certain trends

Digital transformation is one reason why early-stage deals are holding up. It's no exaggeration to say that many of the world's largest organizations – governments, corporates, health services – have been forced to implement five years of change in five weeks.

Such radical changes to ways of working introduce huge opportunities for new founders, companies, and technologies to thrive.

VC too has gone digital, and the new willingness to invest remotely has almost certainly expanded a founder's universe of potential investors — perhaps even going some way to offsetting the decline in individual funds' deal volume.

From a VC perspective, the pandemic hasn't so much introduced discontinuity as it has accelerated existing trends.

The current environment might well be shaping which sorts of ideas have maximized potential — telehealth, remote working, synthetic biology — but these often align with areas that were already attracting significant interest pre-pandemic.

The virus hasn't caused any significant shift towards 'COVID deals' either. True, we're seeing some checks being written for vaccine test kits, but the fact remains that VCs are still in the market for what they always have been – companies that will deliver value in future.

Investors now rely on alternative signals

Where we might see a shift is around information signals for investors.

Certain signals are automatically weaker in a remote setting – it's much harder to judge how well a founder reads a room when you can't meet them face to face. Clearly that hasn't stopped deals being done, which probably means more emphasis is currently being placed on other stronger, more objectively verifiable signals.

It could be a reason why deep tech seems so resilient. Our own (predominantly deep tech) portfolio has raised 80% more this year than in the same period in 2019, probably because the strengths of an AI or machine learning company come across just as easily over Zoom as they do in person.

Fewer deals now might also mean a longer-term benefit to the ecosystem.

We learn just as much about viable and valuable ideas from failure as we do success. Identifying which companies and technologies VCs are prepared to back through this crisis might also mean a better — and faster — understanding of what won't work, giving a stronger signal of where talent and capital are best allocated in future.

If it remains true that the best companies see high valuations and consistent funding, but there continues to be an overall drop off, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Global startup ecosystems have always thrived on the ongoing turnover of talent, expertise, and capital.

The challenge, of course, is that not all successful companies began life as such. There's always a danger that today's complacency could mean tomorrow's winners are lost.

Fortunately, the signs are now clear that VCs have moved beyond the initial shock of the pandemic and are looking seriously at what comes next and how to position for it. Now is a great time for founders to be building relationships with investors that have both cash and conviction in ready supply.

For investors themselves, the key is remembering that entrepreneurs as a group are long volatility — disruption creates opportunity, and there's plenty of both going around at present.

Join the conversation about this story »

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• Toronto-based biotech Cyclica on Wednesday closed a $17 million Series B funding round, led by Drive Capital.
• The startup uses machine learning to "flip the problem of drug discovery on its head."
• Cyclica CEO Naheed Kurji provided the pitch deck his team used to close the round exclusively to Business Insider.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Cyclica, a Toronto-based biotech startup that uses artificial intelligence to discover and develop potential new treatments, closed a $17 million ($23 million CAD) Series B funding round on Wednesday, Business Insider has learned.

The round was led by Drive Capital, a venture firm based in Columbus, Ohio, and included pharmaceutical company Chiesi Farmaceutici, GreenSky Capital, and members of Cyclica's management team. The company did not disclose its valuation.

Cyclica CEO Naheed Kurji told BI in an interview that the startup's technology is designed to "flip the problem of drug discovery on its head."

Drugs are often designed under what's known in the pharmaceutical industry as a "target-centric approach." The idea is that a drug is specifically designed to fix a particular problem that is causing a disease.

But drugs have unintended consequences. Tylenol, for example, will get rid of your headache, but it can also cause gastrointestinal issues.

"When you take a drug, it's doing more than one thing," Kurji said. "That's because when a drug is placed into a more complex biological system, like a cell, an animal, or a human, it's interacting with more than just one protein. It's interacting with dozens to hundreds, many of those could be linked to other biological effects."

That notion, that drugs interact with hundreds or thousands of proteins on their way to treating a disease is called polypharmacology. And that's where Cyclica comes in.

Cyclica uses machine learning tools — what Kurji calls computational polypharmacology — to find drugs that interact safely with all the different proteins they may come across in a human body. That requires a lot of computational resources, and Cyclica has developed software to carry out this approach.

Getting an early start is crucial to fundraising, Kurji said

In order to raise the Series B round, Kurji says that Cyclica opened the round shortly after closing its Series A in July. He says it was crucial to get an early start on fundraising — even though Cyclica had plenty of cash in the bank and had been generating revenue — since the startup had hit all of its milestones, and that advisors had predicted that the healthcare and biotech market would enter a compression, and it would get more challenging to raise money. 

Kurji says they reached out to 40 or 45 different venture firms and met with 20, of which 18 immediately put them under a non-disclosure agreement, a common practice for venture firms that are evaluating deals. Fifteen of those firms were more traditional healthcare VCs, while the remainder were strategic partners such as pharmaceutical companies that have in-house venture funds.

In January, Kurji and his team sat down with a number of investors at the JPMorgan healthcare conference in San Francisco. Those conversations ultimately led to Drive Capital leading the round.

Kurji says that in pitch meetings, investors would ask four main questions. First, they'd want to understand the startup's management — who they're giving money too.

Next, they'd ask about what Kurji calls competitive differentiation, or how a given startup will stand apart from the competition, both scientifically and commercially. Then, they'd look at the startup's business model, or how it plans to generate revenue over the long term.

Last, they'd ask about what the startup plans to do with the capital it's raising, Kurji said.

"We probably spent 40% of our time in these pitch meetings on competitive differentiation," Kurji said, and then about "25-30%" of our time explaining our management team.

"There is so many cutting edge companies in our space. I empathize with the VCs," Kurji said.

Psychedelics are a 'blue sky' opportunity

Kurji says the Series B capital will be used to build out Cyclica's team, raising headcount from approximately 35 to 55 over the next few months.

Cyclica is also planning on partnering with leading academic institutions and other biotech companies to spin out joint ventures "to advance the discovery and development of medicines for not just one disease, but for all potential diseases that are conducive to our platform in a more holistic and personalized way," Kurji said.

Though he said he couldn't discuss some of the upcoming ventures, Kurji pointed to a partnership Cyclica has developed with ATAI Life Sciences, a startup working on mental health drugs derived from psychedelics.

That partnership, called EntheogeniX Biosciences, will develop drugs that mimic the molecules found in psychedelics like psilocybin mushrooms, to provide mental health therapies without the psychotropic effects.

Kurji called psychedelics and mental health a "blue sky opportunity."

"Mental health is highly untapped," Kurji said. Developing a psychedelic-based drug that could treat depression or anxiety and get approved by the FDA would help overcome much of the stigma that society still has about these compounds, Kurji said. 

Check out the deck that Cyclica used to raise $17 million:

Cyclica makes the pitch to investors that it's different from other companies using AI in biotech.

The company explains how its approach to drug discovery sets it apart.

Kurji says that AI isn't a "silver bullet" for drug development, but it can help humans find patterns in vast amounts of data.

Cyclica is focused on "polypharmacology" or how a drug interacts with the multitudes of proteins in a human body.

Cylica dives further into its approach.

Part of Cyclica's approach, Kurji says, is to develop a network of partnerships with early-stage biotechs and academic institutions, and filter those insights up to large pharma companies.

The company touts some of its existing efforts.

Kurji says Cyclica will grow its team to 55 employees with the new round of capital.

This slide lays out what Cylica was seeking as it raised the Series B.

• In 2011, Tracy Young cofounded a construction productivity software, PlanGrid. As CEO, she helped build over one million construction projects around the globe before the company was acquired in 2018 for $875 million.
• On top of commanding daily operations, fundraising, and fielding multiple M&A offers, Young went through two pregnancies, childbirth, and a miscarriage during her time at PlanGrid. 
• Over time, Young realized her desire to emulate a 'good male CEO' was actually holding her back, and that embracing her female identity would make her a better and happier leader.
• "Women have different lived experiences than men, and not acknowledging this would be a disservice," she said.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

SEE ALSO: How to go beyond buying and truly support Black-owned businesses, according to 4 Black entrepreneurs

READ MORE: Lisa Su is the first woman to become the world's highest paid CEO, according to an Associated Press survey

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why Pikes Peak is the most dangerous racetrack in America

• If you're looking for affordable fine jewelry, specifically minimalist gold pieces, Stone and Strand should be at the top of your list. 
• It sells solid gold jewelry and conflict-free, fairly sourced diamonds and gemstones in a variety of beautiful, elevated styles. 
• We tried pieces from Stone and Strand to show you what they really look and feel like. They're even daintier than they appear online, and as versatile and luxurious as we expected. 
• Sign up for Insider Review's weekly newsletter for more buying advice and great deals.

Lately, we've been seeing and sporting a lot of dainty, minimalist gold jewelry. It's a popular look right now, but because it's so simple and versatile, it's also one of the few trends that will age gracefully as a smart, long-lasting investment. 

There are a handful of online jewelry startups where you can shop these types of pieces — the tiny, sparkly, and highly covetable rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets made for luxurious, everyday wear. One we love is Stone and Strand.

Stone and Strand was founded by Nadine McCarthy Kahane, who conceived of the idea of a better high-end jewelry shop while pursuing her MBA at Wharton. 

Stone and Strand makes and sells its own fine jewelry and also serves as a marketplace for other like-minded jewelry designers to sell their creations, which come in and out of the site on a constantly rotating basis. 

The majority of its gold pieces are made with 14-karat solid gold, and all diamonds and gemstones used are 100% natural and conflict-free. With these high-quality materials, you can find surprisingly accessible prices. While they're not cheap by any means, the difference becomes clear, and the decision made obvious, when comparing Stone and Strand's prices to those of traditional fine jewelry brands. 

The experience of shopping on Stone and Strand also feels more intentional, curated, and enjoyable. There's always something new to shop, and the designs cater to a variety of personalities, from the tough and rebellious to stylish traditionalists. 

Like fellow brands Mejuri and Vrai, Stone and Strand seduces jewelry-obsessed shoppers with beautiful photos of its pieces. Hand models with slender fingers stacked with rings of various thickness and textures, carefully perched earrings and necklaces that perfectly catch the streams of light trickling in from a nearby window — you know what I'm talking about.  

They're gorgeous, no doubt, and they give us a hint of the effect we expect when wearing these pieces: for our days to feel a little more elevated and special, whether we're simply heading into another day at work or dressing up for a special event. 

We wanted to see, however, how Stone and Strand's jewelry pieces looked and made us feel in real life, not just through our screens. Could the same promises of beautiful, everyday luxury transfer over effectively, and on women who weren't jewelry models? 

We tried an earring, ring, and necklace from Stone and Strand. See how they looked on us and why we loved the pieces below. 

I don't have a lot of ear piercings, but I wanted to do something creative and cute with the two that I do have. This chain stud caught my eye because it was simultaneously delicate and edgy. I love how subtle it is, and it's such a reward when someone with a sharp eye notices and compliments it. Because of its small size, it can be a little tricky at first to put in, but the ultimate effect is worth the effort. 

There are so many more pieces from Stone and Strand that I'd love to own because I can truly see myself wearing them all the time. I also have these double hoop earrings (no longer available), which I wear at least once a week and are the only earrings I bring while traveling (when I don't want to pack anything I don't need). —Connie Chen, senior reporter 

I have quite a few little gold stacking rings, and though I do have some hesitations about the price for how teeny tiny the diamonds are this one is still, by far, my favorite. I got it because my engagement ring features baguette diamonds, and I thought this would be a nice complement. I was right, it looks very cute next to my Heidi Gibson Oval Gatsby ring, if I do say so myself. I wear it every day.

However, I'd say it's only worth the cost if this is an easy-to-swallow price for you. If you're looking for a "bang-for-your-buck" kind of ring, this isn't it. It's very understated and dainty — worth it for those who like tiny diamonds, less worth it for those who want something that'll stand out. Oh, and beware the corners of the diamond arrangement — they can catch on delicate materials (and your partner's hands, if you hold them often). —Sally Kaplan, senior editor 

Two-year update: I've worn this ring every single day for two years now, and one of the diamonds just fell out of it. I'd say that's a pretty good track record considering how rough I can be with my hands (I cook a ton, work in the garden, and work out with the ring on, plus I never took it off to sleep or shower). If you're at least somewhat careful, I truly don't see this being an issue for you, but if you're as active as I am and you never take your rings off, you may want to avoid this style.

I ordered the Teeny Round Diamond Necklace, and I really haven't taken it off since I first put it on more than four months ago. I prioritize finding everyday jewelry that looks high end, doesn't cost a fortune, and can wear well with virtually any outfit. In other words, subtle elevation. Stone and Strand nails that niche.

This necklace's stone is smaller and more dainty in person than I had expected, but that turned out to be completely fine. The price for quality is fair, and the slight-of-hand advantage of a faint bright glimmer atop your collarbone is exactly the upgrade I was looking for. —Mara Leighton, senior reporter 

Shop fine jewelry at Stone and Strand.

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• Electreon Wireless is working on a test to create an electric road in Tel Aviv. 
• Coils under the road will charge electric vehicles while they drive. 
• Its goal is to build the first electric city road in the world.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Electric cars might be the way of the future, but 'range anxiety' is one of their weaknesses. Israeli startup Electreon Wireless is developing a solution, creating roads that can charge electric vehicles as they drive.

Electreon markets its system primarily to governments, cities, and fleet operators, with a proposal to increase efficiency by lowering battery size, cost, and weight. Electric coils installed under roads can transmit energy to electric vehicles on them, charging them as they go.

The company first successfully demoed an electric road in 2019, and they have another project planned for a small area in Tel Aviv this summer, before implementing a test in Sweden by the end of 2020.

Electreon intentionally chose to start working first on public transportation, like shuttles between train stations and airports. According to its website, Electreon chose this point of entry because of the large population served by urban public transportation, and its role as a large polluter. Eventually, it hopes to expand to ridesharing, trains, and autonomous vehicles.

Here's how the world's first electric road will work. 

SEE ALSO: The rise and fall of the Segway, the oft-mocked 2-wheeler that was supposed to revolutionize the way we get around cities

Electreon works on making heavy utility vehicles electric, to minimize their outsize environmental impact.

As electric vehicles become more common, electric roads would expand their range, instead of relying on charging stations.

Electric charging roads can also be shared by many vehicles without the infrastructure and space demanded by charging stations.

It is planning for 1.2 miles of electric road in Tel Aviv in August, between the university and the train station.

If that goes well, the plan is to stretch the road further into the city.

The shuttle between the train station and university would be a way to test out the concept compared to traditional transportation.

In 2019, Electreon successfully tested an electric truck in Sweden.

That project was part of Smartroad Gotland, a plan to put a public shuttle service and electric road between the airport and city on Gotland, an island in the Baltic Sea.

Coils under the ground power the electric vehicles, sending energy to receivers on the bottom of cars and trucks.

Up to two-thirds of a mile of coils can be installed in a single night.

Electron says that once the initial investment is made for cargo and public transportation, it can also be used by private electric vehicles.

Beyond freeing up space used by charging stations, electric charging roads could also let cities get more use out of shuttles and vehicles.

Vehicles can charge while they are driven, without requiring extra downtime.

Electreon says there are several benefits for cities as well.

The initial setup is relatively cheap and doesn't require new grid infrastructure like charging stations would.

Lighter electric vehicles, without the need for heavy batteries, will use less energy and cause less pollution and wear and tear on city streets.

• Simple, inexpensive, high-quality, and personal. Few jewelry stores offer these qualities in their wedding ring offerings and shopping experiences, but they're what many couples want, and what ultimately makes online company Holden stand out. 
• You can customize every aspect of your wedding ring on its site, and spend less than $250 for the final product to be produced and shipped to you.
• Finding the perfect ring shouldn't be as stressful as it is, which is why the founders created an easy-to-use online design studio and offer free sizing, shipping, and 14-day returns. 

It's all too easy to question how much you even want a wedding ring anymore after you've wearily walked into your sixth jewelry store of the day and confirmed that once again, it contains hovering salespeople, an overwhelming number of options, and price tags that make you think, "really?"

You shouldn't give up just yet because a new online startup called Holden, which sells high-quality customizable wedding rings starting at just $249, could be putting an end to this unnecessarily stressful search. 

Holden is not the first company, nor the first foray into jewelry for co-founders Simon Zhang and Andrew Lim. After graduating from Dartmouth, they founded MUJO, an online fashion jewelry brand, and met countless couples who couldn't find wedding bands they liked. Once they felt the frustration themselves while helping Lim's brother shop for a ring, it became clear that something needed to change.

By offering affordable, one-of-a-kind rings on a convenient online platform, Holden is a response to the expensive and overwhelming ordeal that wedding ring shopping has unfortunately become. 

Couples who are interested in its rings can start with the Ring Size Kit, which the company will send free of charge. Then, you can choose from 17 different ring profiles and start designing your rings in the Holden Design Studio. The following features are all customizable:

• Metal: Silver Palladium, Yellow Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, or Platinum
• Karat: 14-karat or 18-karat
• Width: 1.5mm, 3mm, 4.5mm, or 6mm
• Finish: Matte or Mirror
• Optional Engraving: Up to 20 characters 

Read more: Online startup Vrai & Oro is challenging the traditional jewelry industry with conflict-free diamonds and custom engagement rings

The Domed, Square, and Triangle profiles are the most popular shapes, while the 14-karat Yellow and White Gold are the most popular metals, but don't feel pressured to follow the crowd — if you have alternative designs in mind, you can contact Holden directly to make your dream wedding ring a reality.  

It takes up to two weeks to produce the ring, which is crafted to order in New York City. The design is 3D printed, cast into conflict-free and recycled precious metals, and hand-polished before making its way to your doorstep. 

Traditional custom rings are usually pricey because of how time-intensive the design and production processes are, but Holden bypasses these hurdles by making the customer the designer and using efficient 3D printing technology. Free shipping and 14-day returns, complimentary resizing for life, and a limited lifetime warranty policy are other features that differentiate Holden from the typical jewelry shop. 

Lim says revenue has doubled month over month since the company launched in April 2018, and it's on track to generate annualized revenue in the millions by the end of 2018. As direct-to-consumer jewelry startups make their way into the mainstream, we don't see this growth slowing down any time soon. 

Design a wedding ring ($249+) at Holden here.

Join the conversation about this story »

• Countless small businesses and startups around the country have been struggling due to the economic shutdown amid the coronavirus pandemic.
• These 19 female entrepreneurs and founders, all members of networking community Dreamers // Doers, have found unique ways to keep their business afloat, and stay positive despite the setbacks. 
• Allison McGuire, founder of a presentation coaching business, has shifted her teaching to focus on virtual skills, while Katherine Sprung, owner of a hand-crafted marshmallow company, has been baking and shipping her sugary concoctions from home.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

"Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it."

As we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, this nugget of wisdom has never rang more true. Since it's already been established that everyone will be affected by this global crisis in some form, the focus has now shifted to how we've responded and where we'll go from here.

The following 19 female leaders have all been strongly impacted by COVID-19, causing many to rethink their business models and abruptly shift their plans for the future. 

Yet in the midst of this uncertainty and hardship there is hope — a silver lining — for some good to come from so much pain.

From having more space to lean into projects that have been on the back burner to growing closer as a team and having the bandwidth to serve a larger audience, their COVID-19 accounts teach us that while we can't control everything that happens to us, we can control how we respond. 

SEE ALSO: I quit my full-time job during COVID-19 to start my own media company. Here are 10 things I've learned, and my advice to fellow entrepreneurs.

READ MORE: I went through infertility, pregnancy, childbirth, and miscarriage all while trying to be a 'good male CEO.' It was years before I realized how delusional I was.

1. Sarah Ribner

Cofounder and CEO of PiperWai, which developed the first aluminum-free, plant-based deodorant to use activated charcoal

How my business has been impacted by COVID-19: With the shakeup in our supply chain and especially with some of our largest sales channels shutting down, this situation forced us to refocus our attention on our own store. It's provided a new opportunity to complete the projects we had been putting off, and really use this time to grow and learn new things, as our whole team now realizes the focus will be on our own ecommerce store going forward. 

The surprising silver lining: It's been a major opportunity to refocus on what's important and find new ways to be resourceful. As a founder who bootstrapped this brand in a crowded market, I've always had to do more with less, but in these times that resourcefulness has been tested even further pushing me and the team to find more creativity in every area of our company. We had several product launches scheduled for 2020, and this time has given us a chance to connect even further with our customers and bring them into that decision making process. 

2. Aditi U. Joshi

Medical director at JeffConnect, a telehealth program within an academic teaching hospital, and assistant professor at Thomas Jefferson University

How my business has been impacted by COVID-19: We have had to expand quickly to help during the pandemic — we wanted to screen, evaluate, and send patients for testing virtually. To do that took a quick expansion of our training and staffing, which we did in 72 hours. 

The surprising silver lining: I began working in telemedicine seven years ago when it didn't have much engagement. I found a lot of purpose being able to help when needed because of my experience and taking a chance on something new at that time. Also, I am getting a lot of reading and writing done since not traveling!

3. Rhea Wong

Founder of Rhea Wong Consulting, which provides fundraising, strategy. and leadership support to small- to mid-level nonprofit organizations

How my business has been impacted by COVID-19: The economic downturn, cancellations of spring galas, and rise in need of our most vulnerable populations have been a perfect storm for nonprofits. I have seen nonprofits scale back on my services due to budget constraints at a time when they most need support and extra hands. To that end, I've been offering pro bono support and free webinars to support the sector.

The surprising silver lining: While the crisis has been a bit of a financial setback, it has provided a wonderful opportunity to serve and demonstrate leadership. I have started doing Friday fireside chats with leaders and experts in the nonprofit, philanthropic, and social justice sectors which have proven to be a value add and source of support for many nonprofit executives. I've really learned that a crisis is an opportunity to pull communities together and to think about offering up what I can in the name of service. It has been a wonderful reminder of why I love nonprofit work. It is a reminder of the strength, generosity of spirit, and optimism of people who are committed to helping others.

4. Susan Ho

Founder and CEO of Journy, which plans your perfect trip by pairing you 1-on-1 with a personal trip designer

How my business has been impacted by COVID-19: Our business went from growing 70%+ quarter-over-quarter to basically zero revenue. I've had to lay off some of our team, but the priority has been to make sure we can keep people on payroll and ensure they have healthcare through this pandemic. The past few weeks I've been applying for government loans and building out an entirely new product roadmap.

The surprising silver lining: On a personal level, it's that I really actually needed a forced slow down to refocus on my health and well-being. On a professional level, it's been taking a step back to deeply understand what makes our business valuable and having the time to lean in to and develop that instead of running a million miles a minute blindly chasing growth at all costs. We'll actually come out of this much stronger as a result.

5. Nathalie Molina Niño

CEO of O³, which invests in and advocates for women and the planet

How my business has been impacted by COVID-19: I've stopped all my investing save for one critical company. Instead I've been helping underserved founders get back-channel access to PPP loans when their banks turn them away. 

The surprising silver lining: The gratitude from business owners and their employees that my efforts might be just the lifeline they needed to make it through, it's been overwhelming and really touching. And the fact that so many women have stepped up to help and to support, it's been just wonderful to see the solidarity in action.

6. Vivian Chen

Founder and CEO of Rise, a future-forward career platform for ambitious women

How my business has been impacted by COVID-19: Rise's mission is to bring remote and flexible work to more women. Over the last few weeks, due to COVID-19, we've seen an unprecedented growth in our platform. Traffic is up over 417% as unemployment and underemployment soar. 

The surprising silver lining: Our company has been a champion of remote and flexible work, but we used to hear "No, remote is not for us" over and over again from companies who simply did not believe in the viability of the model. Overnight, those companies had to adapt and change. Before COVID-19, flexibility and remote work were a nice to have. Now it's a must-have, not only for workers but for employers as well. It turns out we weren't crazy, we were just ahead of the curve. 

7. Chante Harris

Vice president of Capalino, a leading urban business advisory firm servicing companies and non-profit business in New York City.

How my business has been impacted by COVID-19: I have witnessed the disparities across businesses and resources magnified at this time firsthand. Growing up in the New York metropolitan area and now being a New York resident, it is evident how dense areas with primarily low-income and communities of color are being disproportionately impacted at this time. Close relatives of mine have lacked adequate resources and the appropriate means to battle the virus and mitigate its impact on their daily lives, a common narrative at this time.

The surprising silver lining: A silver lining I have found at this time is my grandmother's recovery as well as my team's nonstop commitment to serve all communities throughout New York. From companies to nonprofits and government stakeholders, we have positioned ourselves as a resource for providing PPE to those who need it the most, setting up testing sites in underserved communities, and servicing the community-based organizations that are on the ground. I am grateful for the increased cross-sector collaboration and I look forward to continuing to launch creative solutions to support the residents of the city we love.

8. Nina Kong-Surtees

Founder and chief art advisor of smART Advisory, which helps to build legacies of artists and their work through cutting edge technology. 

How my business has been impacted by COVID-19: The art world is a very social and interactive industry. Although there are many online platforms to view and purchase artworks, the technology does not replace the real emotional experience of seeing artworks in person. Even before COVID-19, I've been exploring some ideas to enhance the art-viewing and connection experience, combining in-person and technology.

The surprising silver lining: I have seen this unprecedented time as an opportunity for innovation. I see this as an opportunity to make adjustments that the art world has been missing. I've been able to slow down and take some time to reflect and improve skills that my business needs to help artists succeed.  

9. Sarah Hill

Founder and CEO of Perfect Strangers, a roommate matchmaking service based in NYC.

How my business has been impacted by COVID-19: My business has completely come to a halt. People who were planning on moving to New York City have put their move on hold. We also have many clients who currently live in New York looking to sublet their room, but unfortunately we don't have the clients to help refill their available rooms.

The surprising silver lining: One of the silver linings of my business coming to a halt is that it's allowed me time to invest in building our technology and platform. Before, I was always entrenched in working in the business, I never had a chance to work on the business. We are now working on new features of the platform that has been on our to-do list for years!

10. Summer White-Suski

Founder and CEO of Soma Nutrition, a wellness company that creates personalized dietary plans, programming, and products to optimize health in clients around the world.

How my business has been impacted by COVID-19: At the end of 2017, in the heart of New York City, I launched a concierge kitchen that offers personalized meal delivery for my nutrition clients. When the pandemic hit, I had to shut down delivery services despite high demand. Now I'm balancing being the primary caregiver to my infant son, providing virtual meal plans for my clients, and attempting to refocus my business to broaden my impact.

The surprising silver lining: I've provided nutritional services for a decade, but the global health crisis has increased demand for my services significantly. There is a renewed collective focus on self-care and wellness activities; not just for individuals but entire families. Children and adolescents are now routinely involved in my check in calls and meal preparation, as parents are instilling in them the importance of food as medicine. I'm hopeful that many families are building a stronger foundation of health and that will help reduce preventable chronic diseases moving forward.

11. Kaitlyn Barclay

CEO of Scout Lab, a boutique full service creative agency building purpose-driven brands.

How my business has been impacted by COVID-19: My agency has been in overdrive finding creative ways for our clients to pivot business plans. For example, many of the founders we work with are building tech-enabled platforms and had plans to raise money. Scout Lab launched BYOB ("Bring Your Own Background") Digital Demo with The New Company to offer our clients the opportunity to pitch in front of a curated group of investors from our network. 

The surprising silver lining: The key has been to be of service, and to use what I know to help. For example, my agency launched the #InMyScrubs Challenge, a fundraiser to feed hospital workers with meals from local restaurants, in partnership with Jump450, Open Influence, and our client Teressa Foglia. We've delivered over 20,000 meals to 24 hospitals and have raised over $115,000. It's the tough times that give businesses an opportunity to lead with their values, which has been top priority for us.  

12. Anna Bauer

Owner of Sorted by Anna, a professional organizing company with home, business, and moving services.

How my business has been impacted by COVID-19: Our business requires us to be in clients' homes or businesses working with them one-on-one. Given we are all sheltering in place, all of our work has halted completely. We do offer our expertise virtually, however, the majority of our network thrives with in-person sessions. Clients are wanting to wait everything out in order to work with us in person when it's "safe" again. 

The surprising silver lining: My team has rallied together. I've learned I can really lean on them regardless of if a client is involved or not. Whether it's working on social content, talking through government assistance, or just venting. It's been really nice to build an even stronger bond with them knowing when we do come out of this we'll be stronger for it. 

13. Cecilia Chapiro

Founder of Yunus & Youth, which combines social entrepreneurship training with technology to remove educational barriers between countries and generations.

How my business has been impacted by COVID-19: During COVID-19, the demand for Y&Y's programs and services has spiked simply because we have been offering these virtually for about five years. Yunus & Youth has built a virtual platform to connect social entrepreneurs with corporate professionals to build successful and financially sustainable solutions to address the world's most pressing needs. With the unfortunate consequences of COVID-19, we received a spike in the interest of both social entrepreneurs, and corporate professionals. 

The surprising silver lining: The time at home gives more time for people to connect remotely, especially innovators with experts and business professionals that together can help shape more sustainable ventures. So while every crisis is an opportunity to innovate, this crisis is an opportunity to innovate with more virtual feedback than anyone could get in normal circumstances.

14. Lisle Friedman

Marketing director at true[X], a Walt Disney Company that delivers effective advertising for on-demand, interactive media.

How my business has been impacted by COVID-19: We went from having 15 client events and conferences on our calendar to everything cancelled overnight. There is so much uncertainty in the market leading brands to pause advertising, but with viewing increasing significantly, there's more opportunity to run advertising, but not even ads to put in the placements. So we've instead been focusing on engaging events to give our sales reps reasons to continue connecting with clients. We built true experiences which focuses on a new event each week that supports small businesses affected by COVID-19 through a different activity and incentivizes participation by donating to a different charity each week for every guest who attends the virtual event.

The surprising silver lining: I've been having a lot of discovery and information calls with other professionals in the event industry and each time has been a wonderful learning experience seeing companies have pivoted in this challenging time and I think the entire event and entertainment community is going to be stronger because of it. Everyone is leaning into the idea of sharing their expertise, letting go of their ego, learning from each other, and supporting one another.

15. Danit Zivan

Cofounder of Bark Buildings, which partners with residential apartment buildings to create a pet amenity program and provide services for resident pets.

How my business has been impacted by COVID-19: As a business that operates in residential apartment buildings and generates the majority of its revenue from dog walking services, our company has taken a huge hit over the last couple months. We've had to rethink a lot of our processes to ensure safety for our dog walkers and the residents we service. Most notably, we've implemented a very successful new pickup and drop off process where the walker never enters the resident's home. 

The surprising silver lining:We've been absolutely blown away by the generosity and empathy of our clients. We held a community initiative to keep our dog walkers employed while dog walking services were down and simultaneously give back to local homeless shelters. We collected over $6,500 in donations that went to supplies and paying our team members to assemble sandwiches and toiletry kits for the shelters.

16. Katherine Sprung

Owner of Squish Marshmallows, a small batch, hand-crafted marshmallow company focusing on unique flavors and confections.

How my business has been impacted by COVID-19: I have a brick and mortar in New York City, and being a nonessential business, I've been closed since March 16 and had to furlough staff. A large part of the business was catering and special events, and when this hit, all of that was lost, due to cancelations. It's a pretty shocking situation to look at the world around you where people are being hospitalized, falling ill, and colleagues are struggling or losing their businesses. I've filled out more applications within the past two months than I have in my entire life, and, unfortunately, haven't received funding. 

The surprising silver lining: One thing I'm very grateful and fortunate for is that I can ship nationwide. However, order intake and administrative duties, kitchen production, packing and order fulfillment, inventory, supply ordering, cleaning, on top of spending hours with applications for funding, and trying to "attend" as many informational webinars as I can, as one person, is a lot. I work seven days a week, usually eight to 10 hours, to make it work. I never really think about my capabilities, but this has definitely allowed for some reflection, and I can take a step back and be proud of all the things that I can hustle to do, alone. 

17. Allison Monaghan McGuire

Founder and principal of Monaghan McGuire LLC, a presentation coaching business for innovators with big ideas.

How my business has been impacted by COVID-19: My business is presentation coaching and most of it is done in person. I've been working on creating a software version of my coaching, automating much of the assessment I provide, not just lessons I teach. COVID-19 has actually given me the space and time to reassess the biggest value I can provide my clients, which is scaling my services.

The surprising silver lining: Because work is now remote, people are so much more aware of how they present — it's not just speaking in front of a large crowd! From presenting to an important customer to presenting a report to a team, it's all online. I've shifted to create a high-touch online course that gives people with big ideas the ability to communicate with confidence, presenting as their best self. 

18. Elissa Weinzimmer

Founder and CEO of Voice Body Connection, which provides vocal health and speaking training to help students to find and amplify their voices with confidence.

How my business has been impacted by COVID-19: I had been preparing for months to enroll a small-group mastermind before COVID-19 hit. However, I realized that the higher-ticket offering I had planned had not only become less economically feasible, but it was only available to a very small percentage of my audience. I decided instead to open up my private community and offerings to anyone for free. Instead of trying to force my original business plan to work, I decided to be of service to my community at large. Since that decision, I have seen an influx of new people who want to get in touch with their voice and express themselves confidently.

The surprising silver lining: I have rediscovered my purpose as an entrepreneur. The most important action I can take as an entrepreneur is to be of service. I feel so blessed at this time to know that my skills can truly serve and provide immediate value to others. No matter how complex my marketing plan is, no matter how many Facebook ads I run or how sophisticated my sales funnel is — none of this is impactful if I am not being truly of service to my community at large. 

19. Maria Loida

Founder of Yoga With Maria, a digital yoga studio in New York.

How my business has been impacted by COVID-19: Almost instantly, all of my in-person leads had vanished. I was on the brink of a big opportunity to reach a much larger network of yoga professionals and practitioners that's been completely paused, and connecting with people in person has been really important for me as I'm building.  

The surprising silver lining: More people are looking for what I'm offering online and willing to spend resources to do it. And, it turns out, we can create really rich connections and experiences over the internet. In my opinion, there will always be something magical about being in person, but I've been pleasantly surprised at how some connections are even deeper as we all share this global burden. 

• Bryan Janeczko is a seasoned entrepreneur and business model investor who helps budding entrepreneurs scale their business ideas.
• If you want to start your own company, Janeczko says there are four important questions to ask yourself to make sure you're on the right track.
• If you're trying to solve an existing problem, consider how you're tackling it in a new, innovative way; if you're trying to solve a new problem, test the market to see if it's a real problem for enough people, and if you have a head start over other competitors.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

With an estimated 100 million new businesses launched globally each year, the chances of coming up with an entirely unique business idea literally become slimmer by the second. However, even if a similar product or service, you can still offer a unique experience that gives you an edge over your competitors. 

Today's challenges have forced businesses big and small to pivot and appeal to the new needs of their customers. Businesses that fail to clearly demonstrate value to their target consumers are destined to have short shelf lives. And in the economic downturn, reduced spending power means a business idea that might have worked a year ago may be less successful, or vice versa.

Rich Vogel, founding partner and CFO of Loeb.nyc believes aspiring founders need to find a balance between catering to consumers during the crisis and making sure their product will still be valuable five years from now. "New entrepreneurs should think about whether they are just starting a business for the problems of today, or whether the product will extend beyond the crisis. They have to understand the long term potential of their business."

These four questions can help you assess if you truly have a lasting edge, and how best to use it to gain a definitive advantage over your competitors.

1. Am I solving a new problem? 

As market dynamics change, you want to concentrate on where consumer needs are heading. Essentially, to use a hockey metaphor, you want to be skating toward where the puck is going, not to where the puck is right now. One of the perks of being a startup is that you're more agile — you can pivot faster than big companies and shadow the movements of the puck more easily.

According to Accenture, consumer trends surfacing at the moment include people shopping more consciously, buying from local retailers, and using digital tools to connect with one another. With these in mind, think about what difficulties customers might face — perhaps the cost of sustainable goods is too high, maybe local retailers don't offer home deliveries or people have new doubts about privacy online.

To determine whether or not your product can offer a solution to one of these new problems, test yourself: Can you clearly explain your business idea and why it's valuable in today's market? If you're struggling to articulate the value of your product, it might be because you haven't yet made it fit snugly into a defined niche.

You can refine your business proposal by putting yourself in the shoes of your target market. Empathize with your potential customers, consider how your idea would improve their lives, and whether people would miss it if it stopped existing. When it comes to articulating your business's value to others, don't be afraid to draw from your personal experience. You might want to explain your own journey and how the product has helped you through certain scenarios.

"Some of the best businesses were founded by people who really suffered a problem," said Richard Singh, Executive Director of Growth at Loeb.nyc. "They ran into a wall and found a way around it."

2. Am I solving an existing problem in a new way? 

Some companies will gain a competitive advantage by tackling an existing problem with a novel approach. Many consumer problems that were around pre-quarantine still need to be addressed, but the way they expect businesses to do so may have changed. 

For example, most consumers believe they will now have to reduce their spending on most goods. Pricing is a time-old pain point; you could solve this problem in a new way by bringing lower or more flexible pricing to the market without compromising on product quality. Already during the pandemic, pricing has been used to establish an advantage across multiple industries. Microsoft Office 365 E1 is free for six months, CTO Academy has reduced its annual subscription by over 80% and HubSpot cut package prices by up to 50%. 

These discounts are boosting companies' subscribers and positive exposure. While you may not be in a position to offer cheaper prices than your competitors so early on, you can set yourself apart by tiering prices or having "buffet style" options, where consumers get unlimited use of your product for a set amount. 

Alternatively, you could switch up your business proposal and strategy to offer customers added value. You could move a traditionally offline product online or make your manufacturing and delivery processes more hygienic. An ethical approach is effective too: You could focus on renewable materials or supporting local SMEs in danger of going bust. 

For business-to-business products, choosing who you pitch your solution to can be key to demonstrating its value. Multiple people are involved in a buying decision, and each may view the problem through a very different lens.

"Ask yourself who you're solving the problem for," said CEO of Straight Talk Consulting, Dan Wheatley. "The ultimate decision-maker may not be exposed to the same user problems as a mid-level executive, so consider reaching out to them separately."

3. Do I have a head start? 

Just because you have a solution doesn't mean you have a head start against your competitors. You need to be able to pioneer your idea and, importantly, avoid others duplicating your model. It can mean becoming a market leader while everyone else is still figuring out a strategy.

Can your competitors easily catch up with your product, or will you be the only one with a working model for several months? If your core competitors are big, well-funded businesses, the development time will be much shorter, so you should focus your resources on refining development and production. Whatever the playing field looks like, you'll want to protect your idea legally with an IP or trademark.

The longer you've been developing your idea, the better you can tailor it to be relevant, especially in the new normal. Vogel believes that adaptation is best implemented early on. He said, "You may find that while developing your product you realize that the world doesn't need another X. The sooner you realize this, the more time it gives you to pivot."

You should embrace the importance of continually validating results and garnering feedback (especially negative feedback) from the very start of your journey. Maybe you'll gather enough data to discover that the solution you had for stay-at-home moms is also great for middle-aged men living under lockdown. Whatever research you have built up over time will become your best weapon in finding product/market fit in ever-changing waters.

4. Am I bringing something new to the table?

You — your network, personal journey and background — have unique value that your other competitors lack. If you need to draw out what gives you an edge, first ask yourself: Why am I the best person to bring this idea to life? What has prepared me for this moment?

Look at the experience, connections, and resources you've built up over the years. Make a list of the people and tools you have that your rivals don't. Start a conversation with them, update them about your product and harness their expertise to find the best way to break the mold and really innovate in the industry. 

Tom Foster, CEO of plant-based protein company Beyond Meat, grew up on a farm and was familiar with suppliers and agriculture business. He also knew that climate was one of the biggest problems facing the world. Using his personal network and understanding of agricultural processes, he made vegan meat available on a mass scale. In less than 10 years, Beyond Meat was valued at over $10 billion.

Entrepreneurs who launch before fully recognizing their competitive advantage will struggle to gain real momentum. Start your journey by determining the unique value that only you can bring to consumers.

SEE ALSO: 5 things entrepreneurs can do to come out of the COVID-19 crisis even stronger

READ MORE: I built a multimillion-dollar side hustle while working as a full-time engineer. Here are the steps I took to balance my job while building a successful company.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Pathologists debunk 13 coronavirus myths

• Todd McKinnon is the CEO and cofounder of Okta.
• He launched his company during the 2008 recession, but timely technology shifts and market realities made his idea needed.
• There are four things he learned while starting a company during a downturn and recommends entrepreneurs research and recognize opportunities.
• Look into venture-capital funding, make sure that your business idea can withstand volatility, design a game plan for multiple scenarios, and don't be afraid to take the leap.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

As we experience the global economic implications of COVID-19 that change by the day, it's important for entrepreneurs to know they don't necessarily need to put business dreams on hold. Chasing an idea during a time of economic uncertainty takes extra patience, time, and commitment to make it happen, and the odds are always long that your idea will pan out.

But pursuing a dream and persevering in a time of change can make you more agile, flexible, and capable of weathering future obstacles thrown your way.

I chose to start a new company at the onset of the 2008 recession. Even my wife thought I was crazy. Nevertheless, I tried to convince her with a PowerPoint presentation that explained why the idea behind the company was worth the bet. She bought in, bad graphics and all, and away we went.

People called me crazy for taking such a long shot at the time, but the opportunity had everything to do with timely technology shifts and market realities — both of which forced me to think harder about the short- and long-term goals of the business at the start.

When I started my business during a recession, I learned critical lessons about what it takes to follow through with your goals during down times and how a business born when the going is tough can be built for the long haul.

While today's environment presents unique challenges, there are four practical considerations that drove me to take action then, and they absolutely apply today.

1. Do your research and recognize opportunity

While many might rule out a recession as an opportune time to start a business, the timing can work given the state of venture financing. When I started Okta, I knew venture-capital raising was up from 2007 in the first three quarters of 2008, during the heart of the last recession.

Some private-equity analysts already recognized the opportunity, saying that venture capitalists had learned their lesson after the bubble burst in 2000, when they missed out on "the best vintage years the industry has yet produced."

Venture capitalists were not only still investing in software, but they also had money to spend and fewer places to put it. Given the potential of the cloud, it was not a question of if someone would seize the opportunity, it was just a question of who. The economic circumstances limited the field and raised the potential for success. 

Don't underestimate venture-capital interest, but do your research first to assess the state of the market before taking the plunge. Today this same advice holds true. While the economic landscape changes daily, there's evidence that venture-capital firms are still raising money, and they're certainly still engaging with startups. The bar is higher for startups to raise money now, but the best companies tend to find the resources they need, regardless of what the economy is doing.

2. Ensure your vision can outlast ebbs and flows in the economy

A business that finds itself selling more of a nice-to-have vitamin than mission-critical medicine will quickly find itself sidelined. When business leaders are concerned about the economy, they scrutinize the bottom line even more.

Investors want to see a vision that has the potential to weather downturns. In 2008, it was clear that the cloud would have a profound impact long after the recession ended, but the cloud industry also had the advantage of appearing "recession-friendly," offering lower upfront costs to businesses rather than the traditional model of licensing software.

There was a shift underway in how businesses were going to use technology and buy it — and recession or not, that change would create a lasting effect long into the future. 

Entrepreneurs should comprehensively evaluate and understand the reach, scale, and demand for a business offering before jumping in to build it and, once they do, not get carried away with the highs and lows of the stock market. Your business needs to fulfill a specific and long-lasting need, but you also have to ensure you'll have a path forward when needs change.

3. Think through and communicate all scenarios

While adequately preparing for the worst is a critical step in building a business at any time, it's even more important to communicate during times of uncertainty.

Because we lack a clear idea of how COVID-19 will affect our economy in the long term, any entrepreneur today will need to think through scenarios and have plans for a recession lasting three, six, or nine months — maybe even longer.

By keeping your family and friends in the loop on every plan and next step, you'll set expectations and a tone of collaboration with those you need on board.

In the PowerPoint deck I presented to my wife, I outlined every practical concern, including how we would manage health insurance, how my salary would work, and how we'd handle major expenses. I listed feedback from all investors (positive and negative), where financing would come from, and four scenarios of outcomes so we could prepare for the best and the worst.

I was brutally honest about the risk: There was a very real possibility we wouldn't receive financing and fail and that this business I wanted to build was by no means a guarantee. 

4. Embrace controlling your own destiny

Starting a business often means leaving a steady income, but during a recession, just about everyone's steady income is in peril. Instead of enduring uncertainty at your workplace, why not embrace security in what you do know and control — your vision, your passion, and your drive to build a company?

Whenever you're building something new, it's going to require beating the odds — and the very nature of this new idea will be foreign to anyone you're trying to convince to be a part of it. To truly tackle long odds and the occasional sideways glances, an entrepreneur needs to have real skin in the game and fully throw themselves into the business. 

Doubters will always exist, but market fluctuations offer more potential for new approaches to take root than many think. It won't be easy to get there, but enduring the obstacles will make you more agile down the road.

The right idea executed in the right way has as much, if not more, of a chance at success during periods of uncertainty — as long as you have faith in your vision and thick skin to endure setbacks along the way. 

SEE ALSO: I built a multimillion-dollar side hustle while working as a full-time engineer. Here are the steps I took to balance my job while building a successful company.

DON'T MISS: I was fired as president of Udemy — now a $2 billion unicorn — 8 years ago by my cofounder. I'm sharing my tough story to help those who have recently lost their jobs.

Join the conversation about this story »

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• Home care startup Lifted just raised almost $2 million in a seed funding round backed by Fuel Ventures. 
• Lifted employs 40 carers, paid London Living Wage, that visit people at home. Via an app, users can see who is caring for them and leave feedback.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many families to decide between placing their loved ones in care homes or arranging house visits. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Lifted, a London-based startup that lets users book at-home care via an app, has raised close to $2 million in a seed fundraising round. 

Backed by Fuel Ventures, the VC firm set up by MyVoucherCodes founder Mark Pearson, Lifted raised £1.5 million (about $1.85 million) in seed money.

Lifted employs 40 carers and has committed to paying them the London Living Wage of £10.75 ($13.30) an hour. Its app tells users about their carer and lets them leave feedback on the care they receive.

"Eight years ago, my mother was diagnosed with dementia," she told Business Insider. "And while the people who visited and cared for her were wonderful, I was frustrated by how little I knew about them. 

"I'm a millennial, I'm used to being able to pull out my phone, order an Uber, know who's coming to pick me up, and that there's a way for me to leave feedback.

"Why should you know more about the person giving you a lift than the person you've trusted to look after a loved one?" 

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately hit the elderly and vulnerable, and many families have been forced to choose between placing their loved ones in care homes or arranging house visits.  

In the UK, many care workers are employed by agencies that demand lots of home visits in a short space of time. They often have insecure pay and no guaranteed hours. 

"It's all well and good to clap for carers," said Crook. "But it's really important to us that they get paid a proper wage, and we're developing new features to help them progress in their career and feel rewarded for the work they do." 

Mark Pearson, founder and managing partner at Fuel Ventures, said: "We're incredibly excited to be leading this latest round of investment.

"We've seen several propositions that are looking to innovate the care sector, but Lifted really impressed us.

"The care sector is highly fragmented and both carers and patients are very dispersed, so creating a solution that works for both sides is incredibly important if we're going to create real change." 

SEE ALSO: Doctor-staffing startups boom in usage as healthcare systems scramble to respond to the pandemic

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's what it's like to travel during the coronavirus outbreak

• Starting a new company in the middle of an economic downturn can be risky. 
• Yet many successful startups have proven it's not only possible, but that it can be an opportune time to start a business. 
• Business Insider rounded up 21 successful startups that were founded during the Great Recession.
• Click here for more BI Prime content.

Starting a new company on a shoestring budget is one thing, but starting one in the middle of an economic downturn sounds like Russian Roulette. Yet many companies have proven it's not only possible, but that empires can rise out of desperation. 

Disney is a brand that has influenced almost every household in America, yet its humble beginnings during the Great Depression could have driven its founders to give up. 

Walt Disney and his brother Roy established Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio in 1923 right before going bankrupt. They moved production from Kansas City, Missouri to Hollywood, then reincorporated their business as Walt Disney Productions in 1929 — the year the US stock market crashed. Today, The Walt Disney Company is one of the biggest entertainment conglomerates in the world and made a record $69 billion in revenue last year. 

While it is a huge risk and the road is long, starting a company during a recession comes with its advantages. Rick Schaden and Tom Ryan started fast-casual restaurant Smashburger in 2007 at the beginning of the Great Recession. Former CEO Scott Crane told Forbes that more affordable real estate gave the new chain access to key locations that it wouldn't have been able to snag in a better economy. 

These companies prove that there really isn't an ideal time to start a business, and in many cases, the worst conditions can bring new ideas to life, force founders to be resourceful, and instill long-term discipline. 

Here are 24 successful startups that started during the Great Recession, from 2007 to 2009.

SEE ALSO: A highly-paid Salesforce exec wanted to quit and start a company. But he needed to convince his wife he wasn't crazy, so he made her this pitch deck. Now his startup is worth $14 billion.

MUST READ: How to figure out if your startup qualifies for coronavirus relief funding — and what options you have if it doesn't

Dropbox, 2007

MIT students Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi founded parent company Evenflow Inc. in 2007 and officially launched file hosting service Dropbox at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in 2008. By 2016 the service had half a billion users and went public in 2018 with a valuation of around $10 billion. 

(Source: TechCrunch, Dropbox, The Verge)

Glassdoor, 2007

Workplace review site Glassdoor was founded by Tim Besse, Robert Hohman, and Expedia and Zillow founder Rich Barton. Google Capital invested $70 million in the company, then in 2018 Japanese firm Recruit Holdings acquired Glassdoor for $1.2 billion.

(Source: The Wall Street Journal, Cnet)

Fitbit, 2007

The company was originally founded by James Park and Eric Friedman as Healthy Metrics Research, Inc but changed its name to Fitbit months later. The company went public in 2015 with a $4.1 billion valuation and reported $1.43 billion in revenue last year.

(Source: Fitbit,CNN)

Smashburger, 2007

The burger chain was founded by Rick Schaden and Tom Ryan just as Americans were looking for affordable dining options. "It was a time when guests were buckling their belts, paying closer attention to their budgets and seeking more value from restaurant options. This was how the fast-casual movement was born," former Smashburger CEO Scott Crane told Forbes. Philippines-based company Jollibee Foods bought a majority stake in Smashburger in 2018 for $100 million.

(Source: Forbes, The Denver Post)

Kona Ice, 2007

According to founder Tony Lamb, ice-cream trucks are creepy. So he recreated the classic summer staple with shaved ice, bright colorful trucks, and a friendly penguin mascot. The company now has over 1,000 franchises across the US.

(Source: LinkedIn, Kona Ice)

Zocdoc, 2007

Founders Cyrus Massoumi, Nick Ganju, and Dr. Oliver Kharraz created Zocdoc as an accessible app for patients to find in-network healthcare providers. The startup has raised a total of $233 million in funding and early investors included Jeff Bezos and Marc Benioff. The company's most recent valuation was $2 billion.

(Source: CNN, Crunchbase, CNBC)

Scribd, 2007

For the avid reader, Scribd is like Netflix for ebooks. Founder Trip Adler started it as a site to share documents — now it offers all the best-sellers from major publishers and reached one million subscribers in 2019.

(Source: LifeHacker, Scribd)

Airbnb, 2008

Founders Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk originally started their company as AirBed & Breakfast. They launched the homestay-rental concept with a couple air mattresses during the SXSW conference in Austin, Texas. The company has since acquired 21 subsidiaries and made more than $1 billion in the second quarter of 2019. Airbnb said it plans to go public in 2020.

(Source: Medium, Skift, Airbnb)

Kabbage, 2008

Although Kabbage Inc. was founded by Rob Frohwein, Kathryn Petralia, and Marc Gorlin in 2008, it didn't release its lending platform to the public until 2011. The company reached a $1 billion valuation in 2015.

(Source: The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Forbes)

Evernote, 2008

The EverNote corporation was founded by Russian-American computer entrepreneur Stepan Pachikov in 2000, but the note-taking app we know today launched in 2008. Evernote has received $290 million in total funding. 

(Source: Fast Company, Crunchbase)

Drybar, 2008

Hair stylist and cofounder Alli Webb started the California-based salon chain as a side-hustle she called Straight at Home, which offered clients at-home blowouts. She partnered with her brother Michael Landau and husband Cameron to open up their first location in 2010, renaming the business Drybar for its bar-inspired interior and style menu. Three years later, Castanea Partners invested $16 million and brought in a new CEO, John Heffner. The company now has over 100 locations in the US and Canada and sells hair products online and in retail stores like Sephora and Nordstrom.

 (Source: Forbes, Inc., New York Magazine)

Groupon, 2008

Andrew Mason, Eric Lefkofsky, and Brad Keywell started the company as an online marketplace for discounts at local businesses. In turn, the restaurants, salons, and fitness studios get the exposure of hundreds of new customers. In 2010, Forbes called Groupon the "fastest growing company ever" after the startup was valued at $1.35 billion. The company's 2011 IPO raised $700 million. (Source: Forbes, Wall Street Journal,CNN)

Asana, 2008

Dustin Moskovitz and Justin Rosenstein left their jobs at Facebook to start the productivity app Asana. The company became a unicorn startup in 2018 when it was valued at $1.5 billion. In February 2020, Asana announced plans to file for a direct listing IPO.

(Source: Business Insider)

LearnVest, 2009

Alexa von Tobel started personal financial website LearnVest on a leave of absence from Harvard Business School and raised early investments of $1.1 million. Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. acquired the company in 2015 for an undisclosed amount and continued its services under Northwestern's money and life blog.

(Source: The Crimson, Wall Street Journal)

Beyond Meat, 2009

Beyond Meat had a major year last year — it released its famous burger at numerous fast-food chains and listed its IPO with a $3.8 billion valuation. But before all the hype, founder Ethan Brown was developing plant-based foods resembling chicken, beef, and pork for 10 years. The company started selling its products at Whole Foods in 2013.

(Source: Forbes, Business Insider, Wired)

Rent the Runway, 2009

Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Fleiss started Rent the Runway as a way for women to rent designer dresses for a fraction of the retail price. The company launched a subscription-based model in 2016 and last year it reached a $1 billion valuation.

(Source: The New York Times, Fast Company)

Strava, 2009

Part fitness-tracking software, part social network, Strava was founded by Mark Gainey and Michael Horvath. The private company has raised a total of $41.9 million in funding.

(Source: Business Insider, Crunchbase)

Zulily, 2009

Mark Vadon and Darrell Cavens founded Zulily originally as a children's clothing ecommerce store. Today, the flash-sale site sells a variety of clothing and household products. It went public in 2013 and was acquired by Qurate Retail Group in 2015 for $2.4 billion.

(Source: Fast Company, Cnet)

Venmo, 2009

Venmo was founded by Andrew Kortina and Iqram Magdon-Ismail initially as a music app to share mp3 files via text. After the company transitioned to a mobile payment app, Braintree acquired the company in 2012 for $26.2 million. A year later, PayPal acquired the company for $800 million.

(Source: Business Insider, The New York Times, TechCrunch)

Pinterest, 2009

Founders Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra, and Evan Sharp began developing Pinterest in 2009 and officially launched the idea-sharing site in 2010. In January of this year, Pinterest surpassed Snapchat as the third-largest social media network in the US. It went public in April with a $10 billion valuation.

(Sources: Business Insider, Business Insider)

Uber, 2009

Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick originally founded the ride-hailing service as Ubercab. The mobile app officially debuted in 2010 and only offered luxury cars for almost double the price of a taxi. Last year, the company was initially valued at $72 billion, but its IPO fell short at 7.6% less than its expected price.

(Source: Business Insider, TechCrunch)

Okta, 2009

Before CEO and cofounder Todd McKinnon could quit his job at Salesforce to start his own company in the middle of a recession, he had to pitch his wife to convince her it was a good idea. Okta listed its IPO in 2017 and today it's a $14 billion company.

(Source: Business Insider, Okta)

Square, 2009

Jim McKelvey and Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey started their company in 2009 but officially launched the mobile payment app in 2010. Square went public in 2015 with a $2.9 billion valuation. 

(Source: Fast Company, Fortune)

WhatsApp, 2009

Former Yahoo! employees Brian Acton and Jan Koum released their messaging app in 2009. By 2013, the company was valued at $1.5 billion. Facebook purchased it a year later for $19 billion — the same company at which Acton and Koum failed to snag jobs before they became entrepreneurs.

(Source: TechCrunch, Forbes)

• The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated the huge lack of childcare support in the US.
• Los Angeles-based daycare startup WeeCare has managed to keep most of its daycares open for essential workers thanks to its temperature checks.
• Parents can take a video of themselves taking their and their child's temperatures and submit it through a portal on the WeeCare app, and daycare providers can do the same.
• The company has shared data with the city of LA to track coronavirus cases and has been approached by other companies and hospitals that are looking to implement similar technology.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The middle of a pandemic might not be an ideal time to enroll your immunocompromised, two-and-a-half year-old daughter in daycare. But one medical assistant working at a clinic on the Peninsula near San Francisco, who asked to remain anonymous since she was not authorized by her clinic to speak to Business Insider, didn't have a choice.

The mom of three told Business Insider that when her doctor's office told her she'd be coming back to work full time, she still needed to find a place for her youngest daughter.

"For the first part of the pandemic, I was working remotely some days and working from the office some days," she said. "But now we're transitioning into the office full time. So it was like, well, what do we do?"

Like many other crises, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed and exacerbated the huge lack of childcare support in the US. As schools and offices closed their doors this spring, parents, especially those who still had to report to work, found themselves stranded without options.

But WeeCare, a Los Angeles-based daycare startup that's been in operation since January 2018, has managed to keep most of its daycares open for the children of essential workers. Through WeeCare, the medical assistant was able to find a home daycare that was still open and place her daughter there.

During the pandemic, the company introduced temperature checks that parents, children, and care providers submit via the WeeCare app before bringing in their child for the day. Eventually, the city of Los Angeles reached out and partnered with WeeCare to help essential workers who needed to find a place for their child. WeeCare also agreed to share temperature data with the city so it could better track where there might be virus hot spots.

The city of LA didn't respond to multiple requests for comment from Business Insider, but WeeCare confirmed that they are currently working with 10 other "cities and states" to begin a similar data-sharing partnership. So far, per WeeCare's data, there have been no temperature spikes.

Jessica Chang, the CEO of WeeCare, said that they own all the data they collect and no third parties are involved. 

"We can easily spot if temperatures are climbing in a certain area and give that information back to the city or to a company so they can figure out if we are, in fact, flattening the curve," Chang said.

She also said that during the first eight weeks of stay-at-home orders in California, a little more than half of the WeeCare kids continued attending daycare — most daycares that use the WeeCare system have an average of 10 kids enrolled during normal times, Chang said. She attributed this to the new temperature check policy, which could, in fact, provide a roadmap for how other daycare centers, and even schools, could manage to reopen.

Temperature checks give daycares peace of mind to stay open

To do a temperature check, a parent must take a video of themselves taking their and their child's temperatures and submit it through a portal on the WeeCare app. Daycare providers must do the same. Chang has an internal team as well as AI in place to verify that the videos are real and confirm that everyone is temperature-free — or if someone needs to redo the test or go to the hospital — before the child is dropped off.

That doesn't mean there wasn't trepidation among the community. Chang said that when COVID-19 hit and California issued its stay-at-home orders on March 20, about 38% of families temporarily paused care and 12% unenrolled completely.

Erika Metry, who runs a daycare with her mother in Englewood outside Los Angeles, said she still has two kids she looks after every day. That's fewer than the seven kids she used to have every day before the pandemic.

"I want to say I'm a little concerned," Metry said. "My family lives here [in the same house] and who knows what's going to happen. But at the same time, I want to help my community, and it's better if I stay open. I don't want to just sit around without doing anything, and if I can help in any way, then I want to."

These kids' parents are all essential workers — one father, Metry said, is a nurse in a clinic in west LA and needs to drop his son off at 5:30 in the morning. Everyone is checking temperatures and verifying them in the mornings, and all shoes are removed and backpacks wiped down before the kids enter. The temperature checks, Metry said, really help both her and the parents's peace of mind.

Starlynn Perez also runs a daycare out of her home in Riverside, California, that she's kept open. 

"Essential workers wouldn't be able to do their jobs if I didn't stay open," she said. She now has around four kids every day, all under the age of four. That's down from her pre-COVID-19 class of 12 kids, but she said another four parents have started to inquire about part-time care possibilities.

Like Metry, Perez said the temperature checks make her feel more secure. "I do it every morning," she said. "Just like I need to know that they [the parents and kids] are healthy, they need to know that I'm healthy."

Sharing data and building out a roadmap

As a parent, the medical assistant said that she was comfortable with WeeCare sharing data with the government.

"People need to know," she said. "The government needs to be well informed. I'm comfortable sharing this data with people who can help move us back into the economy. They need this information."

Chang said her company was also in discussions with school districts about whether temperature checks could be used as one method to reopen schools. Now, as the state prepares to move to phase three of reopening, Chang also said that she's been approached by "hundreds" of other businesses in a variety of industries, "from tech to traditional law firms," she said, who are trying to find solutions to support their employees as they prepare to come back to work.

"The No. 1 industry that's approaching us is hospitals," Chang said. "They're trying to figure out what's going to work for their employees who can't work from home and have limited other options."

She added, "We know that temperature checks can't be the only thing. But this is one of the preventive measures that school districts are talking to us about. It's cheap and effective, everyone has a mobile phone, you don't need any extra hardware to do it, and it reduces the exposure of someone having to do it to you in person."

The city, meanwhile, is tracking WeeCare's anonymized data, she added. 

"The city is interested in patterns," Chang said. "They want to see if people are utilizing it [the temperature checks], if essential workers are utilizing it, are we seeing more healthcare workers getting sick vs. police getting sick. That information is now available to them."

And for the foreseeable future, she said, the temperature checks will stay in place.

SEE ALSO: Thousands of teachers joined Facebook groups to strike. Now they're revisiting them for support and guidance as schools remain shuttered and classes continue online.

READ MORE: The pandemic has prompted a childcare crisis — here are creative ways employers can help working parents on staff juggle it all

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NOW WATCH: We tested a machine that brews beer at the push of a button

• Sanzo is making waves in a hard-to-crack industry: sparkling water. 
• Founded by a Filipino-American entrepreneur, the brand focuses on natural, authentic ingredients and Asian flavors like calamansi and lychee. 
• With its fun flavors, modern design, and retail partners like Momofuku and by CHLOE, Sanzo is in a uniquely powerful position to appeal to both millennial sparkling water obsessives and Asian-American shoppers who want to see their background represented in mainstream products. 

When you go into a supermarket like H-Mart or 99 Ranch, the product selection is usually heavily comprised of Asian brands, with a smattering of American standbys sprinkled in here and there. Rarely will you find products that bridge those cultures and represent the unique identity that is being Asian-American. 

Sandro Roco, the Filipino-American founder of Sanzo, came to a similar realization.

Sanzo is a new, premium sparkling water brand with flavors like calamansi, lychee, and Alphonso mango. They're fruits that you never see on cans of Bubly or La Croix, but are nonetheless familiar, important, and delicious to the millions of Asian-Americans in the US. 

Since shelter-in-place orders began in March, Roco says monthly sales have more than tripled, and it's not just because people are missing their office seltzer supply; Sanzo's spotlight on Asian flavors gives it a fresh edge in an already-crowded space.

Developing Sanzo's flavors and formulations

Like many startup success stories, Sanzo's is one of humble beginnings. Armed with a Google sheet, Roco developed flavors out of his Queens, New York apartment using purees and juices he found online, cans of unflavored seltzer water, a kitchen scale, and a set of measuring cups. Eventually, he settled on three key fruits. 

Calamansi, a tart citrus hybrid native to the Philippines, was first on the list. Roco traveled to the Philippines often as a child and was "infatuated with the idea that this fruit was essentially what would happen if lime and orange had a baby. I always thought it was a better version of lime," he said in a Medium interview. 

The other two flavors, lychee and Alphonso mango, are also delicious. Lychee, the sweet, fleshy fruit with a thin rough skin, is native to southeastern China, while Alphonso mango, famously dubbed "the king of mangoes" for its smooth texture and rich taste, originates in India and is very difficult to find in the US.

Roco now works with a flavor house that helps with formulations, pricing, and supply chain reliability. The calamansi puree comes from a Filipino company based in California, the lychee puree from Thailand, and the Alphonso mango puree from India. 

These flavor partners also ensure better quality. "Since the purees haven't gone through too much additional processing, the authenticity of the flavor remains intact and that's one of the main reasons why I think we've done well in our early days," Roco told Insider Reviews. "Most of our sales (both initial and repeat) over the last few months have been for our sampler pack, so it seems all three are in pretty high demand." 

The use of real and authentic fruit is essential for creating the high-quality sparkling waters. Sanzo prides itself on not using any added sugars, artificial flavors, or preservatives. Each flavor variety only contains its respective fruit puree, carbonated water, and citric acid (for the lychee and Alphonso mango flavors), and one can will run you 0-20 calories. 

Sanzo taste review

The company sent me 12 samples to try for myself, and I loved them. The waters have a pleasant fizz that isn't overwhelming and didn't leave my stomach feeling bloated. Instead, they're light and refreshing — perfect to drink on their own or to top off a fruity cocktail. 

The mango flavor was sweet and tasted just like a perfectly ripe mango, while the calamansi was exactly as Roco described — a crisp tangerine-lime fusion. The lychee flavor reminded me of canned lychee juice or the lychee ice drinks you can get at Thai restaurants. I love lychee fruit and could eat an endless amount during the summer, so this was a great way to get my fix in beverage form. 

I don't know if I could choose just one as a favorite, but I'd definitely drink any of the flavors with a strong and spicy dish like pad kee mao or Korean fried chicken. 

I often find myself bored by the usual sparkling water options — lime, raspberry, grapefruit, etc. — so I appreciate any and all divergences from the pack. Sanzo's flavors were the first to excite me in a long time, and I'm looking forward to seeing what other flavors they come up with. 

Where to find Sanzo 

For now, Sanzo is only available online through its website (where you can buy individual packs and subscriptions) and at select retail locations in New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. You'll be able to spot these sparkling waters at cool establishments like Win Son Bakery, Nom Wah Tea Parlor, and Bibble & Sip thanks to Roco's smart targeting of Asian-inspired storefronts and premium shops where customers love discovering new products.

He told Insider Reviews, "even with that level of targeting, I was still surprised by how quickly folks were taking to the brand. Momofuku was among the first five partners we worked with, and as you might imagine, that created a bit of a flywheel for me to sell into other Asian-inspired establishments." Beginning mid-July 2020, Sanzo will be available in 50 Whole Foods markets in the Northeast US. 

Online, you can get 12-packs of each flavor, or a 12-pack sampler that includes all three. I'd recommend getting the sampler first so you can try all the flavors and decide which is your favorite. There are also subscription options, which will save you $6 and get you free shipping. 

The bottom line

It can be difficult to stand out in the ever-growing market for sparkling water, but Roco, who remains the only full-time member of Sanzo, has clearly filled a gap that people have been craving.

Sanzo invites sparkling water fans to try something new, while providing another vehicle for Asian-American shoppers to enjoy familiar and favorite flavors. To see my background represented in something so innocuous yet essential (for many people) in everyday life and culture is a small victory I will certainly take and share with others. 

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• Geothermal energy can save homeowners money on their utility bills, but historically it's been really expensive to install. 
• Dandelion Energy, a startup that spun out of Alphabet's secretive research lab X, has set out to make the clean energy source cheaper, tapping into the enormous HVAC market. 
• The company has raised $35 million from investors including GV, formerly known as Google Ventures, and Comcast. 
• Dandelion's cofounder, Kathy Hannun, is one of Business Insider's 2020 rising stars of clean energy.
• For more stories like this, sign up here for our weekly energy newsletter, Power Line.

On a torrid summer day, basements are the place to be. They typically run several degrees colder than the rest of a building, largely because the temperature below the Earth's surface is cooler. 

In fact, no matter how hot or cold it is outside, the temperature 10 feet down remains roughly constant, at about 55 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the geothermal company Dandelion Energy.

It's this very idea that gave rise to Dandelion, a startup that was conceived in Alphabet's secretive research and development lab, X, also known as the Moonshot Factory, before spinning out in 2017.

By heating and cooling homes using the temperature from deep underground, Dandelion promises customers savings of up to 50% on their heating and cooling costs, while also lowering their carbon emissions. Traditional systems use fossil fuels like natural gas and a lot of electricity. 

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Founded by Google alums Kathy Hannun and James Quazi, Dandelion has had no trouble convincing big investors of the potential of geothermal energyy, which has long been considered a niche product. The company's key innovation is bringing down the cost of a system, making it accessible to a much larger market. 

The New York-based startup has raised $35 million from investors including GV, formerly known as Google Ventures, and Comcast Ventures, including a $12 million raise in January. Dandelion is valued at $100 million, according to PitchBook. 

The simple promise of geothermal energy

Geothermal energy is actually a pretty simple idea.

It involves digging a hole as deep as 500 feet into the Earth outside a building, through which water circulates in a U-shaped pipe called a ground loop.

As the water descends into the Earth, it adjusts to the temperature of the ground, which is warmer than your house in the winter and cooler in the summer. The water then enters your home, where it's converted to hot or cold air. 

"It's just water circulating through a ground loop," said Hannun, Dandelion's president, who spent seven years at Google after graduating from Stanford with a degree in civil engineering. "It's a closed loop, so the water is just going through an infinite circle." 

Read more: Meet the 21 rising stars who are transforming the future of clean energy and taking on a $16 trillion opportunity

Importantly, Hannun says, customers can still adjust the temperature in their homes using a thermostat. It's not like it's always stuck at 55 degrees. 

Making geothermal accessible 

You probably don't know many people who heat or cool their homes with geothermal. That's because most systems aren't cheap to install, costing as much as $30,000, according to EnergySage. 

"In the past, geothermal has been a huge renovation project," Hannun, one of Business Insider's 2020 rising stars of clean energy, said. "A professional engineer comes to your home, does all of these calculations, and then coordinates a bunch of subcontractors to figure out how to put geo in, so you run up a very large bill." 

The innovation that Hannun came up while working as a product manager at X — where she had the coveted job of looking at all kinds of business opportunities — is around bringing down the cost. And it starts with turning geothermal into a more standardized consumer product, she said. 

"For one thing, there's no custom engineering needed for every home," she said of Dandelion's approach. "We just have a standard set of designs."

Dandelion developed software that automates the process for determining how big a system a particular home needs. It also invested in making a drill specifically for geothermal, instead of using water-well drills, which are common among other geothermal operations. Both of those innovations bring down cost, she said. 

Geothermal is still expensive upfront

A Dandelion system costs about $18,000 to $25,000 — so, still not cheap. The company also offers financing for $0 down, starting at $150 a month.

The big benefit is in lower monthly energy bills, the company says. New Yorkers with Dandelion save an average of about $2,250 a year on heating and cooling, Dandelion says.

"Geothermal is actually by far the least expensive way to provide heating and cooling energy in buildings," Hannun, said. "But it's been held back in the past."

There's also the environmental benefit. Buildings account for more than a third of carbon dioxide emissions in the US, and HVAC makes up the largest chunk of that. Because geothermal doesn't burn fuel or use much electricity, it's relatively clean. 

Dandelion is in almost 500 homes today, all of which are in New York state, Hannun said. The company will be in more states before the year's end, she adds. 

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NOW WATCH: How the Navy's largest hospital ship can help with the coronavirus

• In March, a startup called Ameelio launched an app that helps people communicate with incarcerated loved ones for free.
• Usually, phone calls or text messages to incarcerated people can be expensive, and it can be difficult to find the correct address for mailing a letter. Ameelio allows people to locate an address, upload a letter, and send it for free.
• Ameelio has over 5,200 users and has sent over 21,000 letters so far.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

It can be expensive and difficult for family members to maintain contact with incarcerated loved one: About one in three families go into debt to pay for phone calls and visits, research shows. 

Phone calls in prison are often curtailed and can be costly, and while some facilities allow text messaging, the length of messages can be limited and pricey, too. Family members may want to mail a letter, instead, but struggle to find the correct address. 

And now, during the coronavirus pandemic, many prisons have paused visitation.

To make it easier and cheaper for family and friends to connect with their loved ones in prison, two Yale students teamed up to launch an app called Ameelio in March that makes it dead-simple to send physical letters to incarcerated people for free. 

"We wanted to touch on the urgency of the moment," Ameelio co-founder and Yale Law School student Uzoma Orchingwa told Business Insider.

Ameelio allows users to type an incarcerated person's name into its database to automatically pull up the correct address information. Users don't need to worry about getting envelopes and stamps, either: Instead, they can just take a picture of their handwritten letter. Ameelio then works with mail company Lob to convert the picture to a PDF that Lob prints out and sends. The user can then track the letter until it arrives at its destination. The key feature: It's absolutely free for people to use Ameelio to send letters. 

This is especially useful as people may be stuck at home or unable to afford stamps or envelopes during the pandemic, says Emma Gray, head of partnerships and outreach for Ameelio.

"The quarantine is affecting incarcerated men and women themselves," Gray told Business Insider. "They might be solitary. They can't call or contact their loved ones. Their loved ones start worrying."

Ameelio has over 5,200 users and has sent more than 21,000 letters so far. 

How Ameelio began

Orchingwa says that while conducting research on mass incarceration at the University of Cambridge, he found that many people cannot afford to stay in contact with their loved ones who are in prison. 

"I realized that the policy prescriptions we need to change the size of our prison system will take a long time to happen," Orchingwa said. "I was looking for ways to make an impact in the long-term." 

While studying at Yale, Orchingwa cold-emailed his fellow student Gabriel Saruhashi saying that he was looking for a technical cofounder. Saruhashi had spent a summer interning at Facebook as a software engineer where he felt alienated and like his work was not as meaningful as he wanted it to be. The two decided to meet up at a cafe and they "hit it off" right away. They decided to start working together on a nonprofit technology company and chose the name Ameelio because it comes from the word "amelioration," which means, 'to make things better.'

Orchingwa says this cause was meaningful to him both because he has close friends who have been incarcerated and because Black people make up one-third of the prison population in the US. 

Likewise, Saruhashi, who is originally from Brazil, says he was shocked to learn more about the American incarceration system.

"Just talking to Zo, I was outraged by the current status system," Saruhashi told Business Insider.

Ameelio partners with criminal justice organizations to spread the word and make the service free 

To spread the word about the app, the founders joined Facebook groups for people with family members who are incarcerated. Over half of its users come from recommendations from their own friends and families, or even incarcerated people themselves. Other users learned about the app through these Facebook groups.

Right now, the team of about 45 volunteers, including three formerly incarcerated people, are working on building relationships with lawyers and advocacy organizations to spread the word and also raise funds. Lob lowered its fees for the company and Ameelio has received some funding from Mozilla and a Kickstarter campaign, but it's still looking for other organizations to pitch in so that it can continue to provide the service to users for free. 

So far, Ameelio has signed on eight philanthropic partner organizations. Criminal justice organizations have also been reaching out to Ameelio to send out newsletters and introductory letters to incarcerated people. 

In addition, it plans to speak with Connecticut lawmakers who are pushing a bill in Connecticut to make prison phone calls free. 

Read more: Read the letter that more than 1,600 Google employees sent to CEO Sundar Pichai asking the company to stop selling technology to police forces: 'We want Google to take real steps to help dismantle racism.'

While Ameelio started with letters and photos, Orchingwa hopes it can expand to video calling and messaging as well. It plans to run a six-month pilot of its video-conferencing service and has already been talking with five possible partner facilities to provide Ameelio's service free of charge during this pilot.

"We think states are going to be more interested in rolling out virtual communication in prison," Orchingwa said. "We'd love to be able to offer that in the future."

Right now, the main goal is to grow the user base.

"Our users have been reaching out to us and really appreciating the service," Orchingwa said, "Because it allows a different communication tool that is incredibly impactful now that things are incredibly difficult."

Got a tip? Contact this reporter via email at rmchan@businessinsider.com, Signal at 646.376.6106, Telegram at @rosaliechan, or Twitter DM at @rosaliechan17. (PR pitches by email only, please.) Other types of secure messaging available upon request.

SEE ALSO: Students say that Holberton School, a coding bootcamp where students don't pay until they get a job, is more like 'Lord of the Flies' than the inclusive educational experience they were promised

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NOW WATCH: Pathologists debunk 13 coronavirus myths

• Although the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted 'normal' life around the globe, it's not necessarily a bad time to start a business. 
• Many successful business began during or survived tough economic crises by recognizing a new demand and rising to meet it.
• It's also a great time to find skilled cofounders or teammates, as many talented people are currently looking for work. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

There's no "perfect" time to start a business.

General Motors, IBM, and Disney were all founded right before the Great Depression. Google, Salesforce, eBay, and Amazon all came out of the dot-com bubble. And Facebook, Twitter, and many others made it through the economic crisis of '08.

Whether you start a company before, during, or after a recession or global crisis does not necessarily mean you are going to be more successful in the long term. If anything, global crises are what highlight the next generation of problems the world needs to solve to move forward — which gives rise to dozens and dozens of new companies, new markets, and new industries.

As we find ourselves in another global crisis, right now presents an interesting opportunity for entrepreneurs.

I believe entrepreneurship and starting a company stems from having a great idea at the moment of time you're living in. What's interesting about our current environment is that we are all (mostly) sheltering in place. Many of us have been forced to work remotely for some period of time, or for the foreseeable future. That means we are reexamining many aspects of our lives we otherwise took for granted. And all of this leads to exciting opportunities to build new products, new solutions, and a new world. 

Without long commutes, without as much of a social life, without many of the things that used to keep us busy, some people have potentially more time than they've ever had to invest in getting an idea off the ground. 

Here are three reasons why right now is actually the perfect time to become an entrepreneur.

1. If you can build a business in the environment today, you will only be stronger tomorrow

We don't know how long this recession will last. However, if you can create a company that is valuable to people in an environment that is full of declining demand and rising unemployment, you are only going to be stronger when the economy starts to improve.

Starting a business now means you will be even more frugal with expenses, hiring, and what you need to get your company off the ground. Those are good, scrappy skills to have — no matter the environment — when you are an entrepreneur 

2. Right now, a lot of very talented people are looking for work

It's not just small businesses that are being affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Even the largest companies and most heavily funded startups are laying people off right now.

Right now, the market is full of talented individuals looking for their next opportunity. Especially as more and more companies move to remote workforces, this will open even more doors for the right workers to find the right companies, and vice versa. 

Now is a great time to find a cofounder and other teammates and build a category-defining company.

3. Businesses that solve problems in a crisis grow faster as a result

Generally, new consumer startups tend to be at the forefront of where the world is going — with a digital-first focus, content heavy education and differentiation, and convenience focus for their customers. For those reasons, it's no surprise that many of these businesses are suited for the current environment. 

But what about companies that aren't so lucky to be benefiting from these changes? Rule number one of entrepreneurship: When things go wrong, you don't just give up, crawl back into bed, and eat ice cream. You get to work.

There's no perfect time to start a business. What matters is how motivated you are to begin, and if you have the perseverance to leverage any situation to make lemonade from lemons.

SEE ALSO: I launched Okta during the 2008 recession, and it's now a $25 billion company. Here are my 4 recommended steps for starting a business during an economic downturn.

READ MORE: Business owners unsure whether to reopen should ask themselves 3 questions, experts say

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