The Blok

Brick and mortar stores have historically been the central place for everyday business throughout the world. Now, in an age where e-commerce has garnered so much attention and market share, with the added stress and restrictions of COVID-19, businesses are closing left and right, unable to rely on dwindling revenue from brick and mortar operations. This trend is hardly unexpected, based on the changing shopping trends of younger generations. In fact, a 2017 chart (well before the pandemic) from Statista shows that:

Think about the word “e-commerce.” Like me, you probably imagine successful names like Amazon and eBay when you see the word. It makes sense considering these were some of the early pioneers in mass online sales platforms. But the reality is that e-commerce is not a space reserved for multi-billion dollar companies. In fact, it’s likely the future home of most business as we know it. The roadblocks that once stood in the way of new businesses adopting e-commerce models have now been largely cleared away. One-person operations can now begin an online empire without even owning a warehouse. Small companies can supplement their local brick and mortar activities with international sales online. A world of possibility in e-commerce awaits virtually anyone who aspires to build their online presence. This blog will explore all the ways e-commerce has democratized the business world.

Sometimes, or rather, most times, you can't start a successful venture without the help of many people outside of your initial organization. It's challenging to find the skillsets and expertise to scale successfully in many situations because your business needs and weaknesses are so varied. That's where a venture accelerator comes in. Unless you've researched thoroughly into venture culture or started a new venture yourself, you may not even know what a venture accelerator is.

Unemployment rates rising, businesses failing, the economy crashing- these are all thoughts that likely enter your head when you hear about COVID-19. In the midst of so much going wrong, it’s easy to forget that many things are going right. In fact, several businesses are changing the world as we know it, and that innovation will impact our lives for the better well after the pandemic has passed. Here are 5 examples of companies leading the charge to change our lives:

Statistics act as an important business tool to turn data into meaningful insights that reveal deficiencies and the overall health of an operation. Likewise, they also highlight some ugly truths that people may not recognize on the surface. If you take a moment to study business as a whole and the demographics that make up business owners and the most successful people, you will find a startling lack of representation. Women, black people, and virtually any minority group will be notably absent from statistics of founders, high-ranking officials, and investors. White men make up the overwhelming majority of business leaders. To a large degree, this lack of representation is the result of systemic problems that limit success, such as education funding and housing issues. However, in the startup community, there are numerous ways that businesses can improve on this lack of representation and make a difference through the very makeup of their operations. Here are five examples of problems and the solutions that businesses and investors can apply to make a difference:

The Covid-19 pandemic spelled disaster for many established companies, creating concern over the loss of business volume, loan payments, layoffs, and a host of other problems. Closings, unemployment issues, and a myriad of other events came about as a result. The economy took a severe hit that businesses are going to be feeling for quite some time. However, not all business areas have been adversely affected by the changes spurned from Covid-19. In fact, early-stage startups have a fantastic opportunity to capitalize on the current economic environment. Here's how:

The modern business world is evolving by leaps and bounds in our age of technological innovation. It seems like every day that an improved service makes an older offering obsolete. More specifically, the power of automation has completely changed the landscape of software. New businesses can use several methods at present to build out their applications and plug them together for automation. By sacrificing customizability, startups can build out the basic functionality of their applications and even use third-party services to automate procedures and transfer of data between applications. The opportunity cost lies in giving up your specific goals for custom functionality. But why trade customizability for ease of access? You don't have to anymore. A new business is changing the way the world builds and automates applications forever.

The foundation is the most crucial part of any project. Whether you're building a house, a relationship, or a new business, a strong foundation is your best bet for success in the future. Thankfully, it's easy to recognize some of the most essential components of launching and scaling a successful business once you’ve seen the process. Here are five measures that are critical to starting strong:

If you have any connection to the world of business, you've likely heard the word "automation" thrown around a time or two. Automation is, as defined by Merriam-Webster, "the technique of making an apparatus, a process, or a system operate automatically." Whether you operate a startup, small business, or even a rapidly scaling business operation, automation is perhaps your most valuable ally in increasing efficiency and saving time. Here's why:

There's a stigma sweeping the business world lately. From startups to industry leaders, the sentiment remains the same. "Custom development is the only way to go. Third-party application builders will only limit our scale," you might hear people say, and understandably so. There is an ever-growing list of companies, large and small that offer app building services and systems to integrate all of your business practices. At first glance, some would see this as a dream come true. It's exponentially cheaper to use a third-party to develop apps than to hire in house developers to build out your own. And if the app builders allow you to perform the basic functions you need, then why look any further? To others, the stigma remains of trading ease of access for later functionality. So how do you decide which path is right for your business? If we take a step back and consider our short term business goals and our long term aspirations side by side, we can view the decision at hand with much greater clarity.

Look around at this exact moment, and the odds are you'll see some brand name or a logo you recognize. Most likely, there is a product within view that you interact with every day of your life, and behind that product, a story of explosive success and a multi-billion dollar company name. Where there is a great need that society needs filled, the most successful companies fill that gap. These companies all started the same way. Apple, Wal-Mart, Amazon, Microsoft, and every other major business you can name was once just an idea, a seed, a startup. To an average consumer, the business world likely brings to mind images of grandeur and wealthy executives; however, a quick peek into the world of startups reveals a much less rosy picture for the could-be super companies of tomorrow.