All events, activities, and friendships came to life through one screen. The quarantine dictated as prevention against COVID-19 in 2020 caused a huge alteration in everyone’s routine and people began to be massively present in the digital world. It changed the way we work, we think about our business, and interact as new technologies began to emerge. So how does digital transformation benefit startups? Renowned entrepreneurs Quentin Patrouillard, James McKinney, and Elias Groll share their knowledge to help you convert.

The Opportunity to Become Innovative

Digital transformation is the process of integrating new technologies in all areas of the company to optimize processes. It represents a range of possibilities to improve communication problems, get closer to audiences and have a brand with more presence in the digital orbit. However, of all the tools you may have, the actual evolution will merge from building the true mindset to understanding where to map out your goals. It takes a real change in thinking to plan from a whole new perspective.

One of the main changes in mindset arises from users’ time spent on technology. The quarantine generated a longer exposure time in advertising bulbs and the pandemic unleashed consumption levels while fewer competitors were in the market. Since multiple needs go hand in hand, finding those solutions creates more opportunities to push your limits.The straight challenge is recognizing those needs and having the ability to provide quick responses in a changing environment. 

Quentin Patrouillard, International Business Developer for MultiBall and Content Creator, shared his business experience after participating in digital transformation. He strongly expresses the importance of analyzing your assets and focusing on optimizing what you already have. Where are you now and where can you continue? How can you improve that?

“With every crisis comes immense innovation.” 

Quentin Patrouillard

The shot to be innovative and improve process workflows worked as the ability to aim and get the best accuracy. In addition to re-evaluating your tools, working collaboratively, and sharing knowledge with your teams, digital transformation also provides the opportunity to be closer to your loyal clientele. After recognizing what made you outperform everyone else in your business, it will help you learn from your own products. The top reasons your customers continue to choose your brand will give you the formula you need to replicate to keep growing and find new windows to expand. 

Ability to Pivot: Your Ally to Success

What happens when you are forced to see the big picture? Companies and entrepreneurs are used to looking for risks and discovering possible solutions. Problem-solving became a real work skill. The survival instinct led companies to explore diverse ways to monetize their value, and that gap gave them the opportunity to relocate their business strategy.

The natural inclination to develop more income opportunities is what encouraged James McKinney, creator of The Startup Story Podcast, to shape a valuable new product. He started with the need to understand what makes a business successful. So why not go straight to the founders to understand how they got there?

 “A brand has to be able to pivot quickly if they want to succeed”. 

James McKinney

 This is how James founded Grindology: a tactical manual in magazine form, offered as a subscription box where you can find business experiences directly from the founders and what strategies drive their success.

Correct understanding of the objectives of each project requires a specific plan that can determine how productive your tactic will be. You must let the audience know that you offer a specific type of value.

Rocking Culture

A key factor for companies to understand how to lead the digital transformation process is adaptability to change. The way in which each member has access to information, how they carry out their tasks, and cover the needs of their positions changed completely with the remote work modality. How did the corporations manage to link the needs of the employees and at the same time function properly on their assignments?

The importance of replicating the “office-feeling” led Elias Groll, co-founder of Codesphere and ex-Googler, to develop new approaches to avoid unproductive results. They started by simplifying all the processes that can normally be done by talking and created a new internal communication system. This also generates independence so that each one can solve their doubts without asking another person.

At the same time, Elías’ company organized a work routine in which they remain in online meetings for several hours while everyone works on their own projects. That time they spend working together gives them space to better understand the work methodologies, get to know all the members of the company, make the onboarding processes easier to involve, and be notified of the things that are happening in the company. 

The relevance of communicating even if you don’t have to and staying connected even if you don’t need help creates a much stronger sense of team. The articulation of strategies continues to develop as we continue to find the tools that strengthen our business.

Have you experienced digital transformation? How did you manage to be innovative?