How 7 Thriving Businesses Pivoted in Hard Times

This week we’re publishing our third (and likely final) installment of our “Coping with Coronavirus” series (here’s part 1 and part 2).

The final mini-case studies, all from new industries, cover 7 thriving businesses forced to pivot during an unprecedented era:

• Foodware: Final — a reusable foodware company that makes collapsible straws — was preparing to launch a reusable fork. But as the consumer landscape shifted sharply, the company decided to launch a Kickstarter campaign for much-needed reusable sanitizing wipes. (Sign me up for a box…)
• Family Club:  The Lane — a social club for kids and their families — opened a 7,880 square-foot space just as coronavirus was breaking out in the US. It quickly created a virtual version of its service to support its new members and avoid layoffs.
• Nursing: Next Move — an agency that places travel nurses — has been rapidly hiring administrative staff to keep up with demand for its services.
• Veterinarian: Pawzy — a search tool that connects people to vets in their area — launched a telehealth alternative as its physical location was seeing decreased traffic. (See our Signal below on telemedicine.)
• College Education: Knack — a peer-to-peer tutoring platform — typically works with students in-person. But with social distancing measures, the company is promoting its online-only features and giving away its technology to impacted colleges that were forced to close their in-person tutoring centers. 
• Sport Beverages: LIFEAID Beverage Company — a beverage business that makes functional sports drinks for athletes — lost one of its biggest distribution channels with the closure of gyms. But a surge in sales from other outlets has helped it reinvest profits back into its partner gyms to help them weather the storm. (We’ll drink to that!)
• Transportation: Swoop — an event transportation app — saw its business evaporate overnight and is pivoting to develop a business management app for its operators.

10 Minute Read

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A Reusable Foodware Company Pivots to Wipes

The business: A reusable foodware company that makes collapsible straws; before the coronavirus pandemic hit, the company was about to launch a travel fork.