Tips to Thrive During Times of Crisis

Our very own Founding Partner, Muhammed Mekki, takes an in-depth look at the COVID-19 crisis and its direct impact on AstroLabs as a capability building business and an entrepreneurial community. In his interview, read about product pivots, startup spotlights, and reflections on new opportunities going forward.

Our Community: From Pivots to New Product Launches

Hear from some of our inspiring community members on how they have taken this time of crisis and uncertainty and adjusted, rebuilt and restructured their businesses to flourish. It’s stories like these that help to motivate and challenge the rest of us to find the opportunities in this ever-changing landscape.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has definitely forced us to pivot, prioritise, and plough through! As a technology company, we were thankfully well-equipped for remote working, and the team adjusted quickly to 100% Zoom calls, Slack chats etc. We achieved huge milestones while working remotely, including our public launch in Dubai. We have continued growing and have now almost doubled the size of our team, including adding two permanently remote team members based in Los Angeles and Belarus.”
Helen Chen
Co-Founder & CEO, Nomad Homes

“Being a gamification solutions tech business, COVID hasn’t affected our core business model as it has done for so many others. However, we wanted to find a solution to help prevent the spread of the virus and create safer workplaces. We introduced the Hola System, which is the first artificial intelligence, fully automated, thermal detection and disinfection system in the region, using facial recognition technology. We are proud to be adding to our tech solution-based business portfolio and look forward to expanding into Saudi Arabia soon with the help of AstroLabs!”
Simon Hoffman
Business Development Director, GameIN

Join our Dubai and Riyadh communities and learn more about how we can help you with company set up and licensing.

Join our Upcoming Online LIVE Digital Marketing Course

Upskill yourself by reserving your space at our upcoming Digital Marketing Online LIVE course starting on Sunday 19th July. Build a Digital Marketing strategy in 1 week and learn about best practices for the region. Hear what Rima Ben Salah, one of our alumni, thought about the course.

We’re looking for Subject Matter Experts and Instructors for our Entrepreneurship and Innovation programs. For more details and to apply click here.

Upcoming AstroLabs Online Events

Instead of preparing for life post-COVID, we want to help you to thrive now! Our free weekly online events are designed to provide you with useful insights and tools that will help you to see and leverage potential opportunities in your own businesses. Our network of expert speakers come with a wealth of knowledge from varied industries. Check out our upcoming Meetup events here.

AstroLabs Recommends

This month the AstroLabs team has curated content that focuses on the topic of creating opportunity out of crisis. We found all of these content pieces to be particularly valuable during this time of great change, and we hope you find benefit in them too.

Recommended Article: Why to Start a Startup in a Bad Economy by Paul Graham
An article written during the 2008 Financial Crisis which is just as pertinent today as it was then.

Recommended Podcast: Selling During a Pandemic
by Steli Efti
Learn how to set yourself up for success as a founder during a possible recession and how to adjust your sales process. Steli runs a successful app called Close.com and has written a number of ebooks on the topic of sales.

Recommended Online Discussion (in Arabic):
Hear from a panel of respected Saudi experts as they discuss potential opportunities in the Kingdom during COVID.

Written By

Melissa Platt

May 2020 Newsletter

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