Covid 19 Business Problems! What Are Businesses Doing During Coronavirus? | Behind the Hustle E.01

Brad Wolverton

Hey everyone, welcome to our first Hustle Chat! I'm Brad Woolverton, and I oversee the editorial team at The Hustle. I'm joined today by several of my esteemed colleagues who have been covering this coronavirus crisis and doing such an amazing job. We've received an outpouring of positive feedback from our audience, from all you guys, in recent days. I thought it would be interesting to take a little bit more of a behind-the-scenes look to tell you a little bit about how we've found the stories and what we're working on going forward. Before we get started, I thought I'd just kind of introduce each of you. I'll start with you, Mia. You are pulled up out in San Francisco with a couple of roommates, including your fiancé. I'm curious about your wedding plans and how this whole moment has affected you.

Mia Sullivan

Yeah, so we're on, I believe, it's day 11 of shelter in place in San Francisco. It's going okay. We have a nice backyard, so I've been taking my dog for runs and hanging out in the backyard. I feel really grateful, though, that we do not have a wedding date, and it will stay that way until this all passes.

Brad Wolverton

Seriously, that's smart, Connor. You went from sort of San Francisco, which was the epicenter of the crisis for a while, and moved across the country to the now new epicenter of the crisis, the New York City area. What's that been like?

Conor Grant

Yeah, I left San Francisco 12 days ago, right before they called the shelter-in-place for San Francisco. I came back in time for them to call one in New York a few days later. So I've been holed up with my two younger siblings and my folks in New Jersey. We've gotten terribly close in the past couple weeks, which has been fun.

Brad Wolverton

that's awesome playing a lot of card games and stuff I think is what you said right

Conor Grant

that's right

Brad Wolverton

It's nice, Michael. You've also moved from the West Coast back to the East Coast, but for a different reason. You were our editorial intern this semester, and you were in college for your senior year. Now you're back home with your family. What's going on with you?

Michael Waters

Yeah, I'm in a very strange place where my graduation officially is not going to happen, but I am not fully graduated. I'm still doing Zoom classes, so I'm in a very weird in-between space. I think myself and a lot of my [classmates] are stuck in this situation. We're at home, we're sort of still in school, we're sort of supposed to look for jobs... it's very odd.

Brad Wolverton

That's a strange time. I feel sorry for you. That was like one of the best moments in life, was that last semester of college. Nick, you and I are in the DC area, and you're basically... DC is kinda shut down right now, right?

Nick DeSantis

It is... we're all sheltering in place, and I've basically been working from home and trying not to move around too much for, like, it's basically been 2 weeks for me now. One of the things that is helping me cope a little bit is springtime. This time of year is really nice in D.C., and spring is great. The thing that's a little odd is we're sort of at peak cherry blossom season here in D.C., but nobody can go out to see them. They had to shut down all the roads on the mall to keep people away, which is a pretty surreal thing to see this time of year.

Brad Wolverton

Yeah, I hear you. I mean, I am in the same spot. I'm just... I've got... I'm in a neighborhood where there's lots of noise during the day. So please forgive me if I don't hit mute fast enough on this call. Whether it's leaf blowers across the street, a barking dog, or teenagers screaming, you might hear some of it. So anyway, I wanted to have a quick discussion about the things that we've seen in the last couple of weeks of our coverage. Maybe I'll start with you, Nick. You oversee our daily email and you've kind of taken a sweep of all the news that's happening. In looking broadly, we sort of asked our audience what stories have impacted you. You found something that was really close to home. Can you tell us about that?

Nick DeSantis

yeah you know I think there are 2 two themes that we've talked a lot about in terms of what we've done so far and what we wanna continue doing is we wanna tell stories of resilience in this moment because people are are facing really tough times personally and if you are involved in a business these are really challenging times as well and pivots where for a lot of people individually and if you are leading a business you might have had to pivot overnight and one of the businesses that I that I I spoke to their founders maybe a week ago now they had to do just that where they actually opened the business on on valentine's day that that weekend of february 14th and then the pandemic set in and they had to close-up shop a month later and it was a really interesting really interesting story because they have a an interest they fill a unique niche and brad I think you can probably speak to this as somebody who has a couple of kids there's it's really challenging I think for new parents to have places where they can go out and the whole family can have a good time one of the things that the founders talked to me a little bit about is if you go out say to a brewery that's the thing that's gonna appeal to the new parents but not to the kids or you can go to an area where there might be you know park where there's slides or you go to an indoor spot where there might be a ball pit and that's all for the kids but there's not really a lot for the parents so the idea here was to sort of combine the 2 and the idea behind their business is they're going to have all sorts of options and ways to entertain young children but they're also going to serve coffee and beer and wine and smoothies and salads and hopefully create a little bit more of an experience that is that is relevant for the whole family and one of the things that was super interesting since they're sort of in my backyard is that you could tell right away that the business was gonna be a hit because I remember hearing stories from friends who live nearby like they had lines wrapped around the building I think on on opening weekend so they were super successful and they said that they had had on that first weekend like more than 700 people through the business on one day in that opening weekend and and then a month later they were completely shut down and they overnight had to pivot to entirely virtual offerings where they're now doing virtual dance classes and trying to put together activity kits to keep kids entertained if they're cooped up with their families and their parents who might be working from home and it really the whole thing really changed overnight and I think you know in speaking to them the pivot to virtual was something they had considered over the long term but was something that they had to spin up like in the course of 24 hours

Brad Wolverton

That's pretty interesting. Speaking of virtual pivots, Connor, you talked to a company that does... it's a makeup business. Can you tell us a little bit about the Sparkle Bar and what you heard from them? How did they pivot?

Conor Grant

yeah of course yeah it was one of the interesting features of talking to folks was we tried to cast a wide enough net to get not only businesses like the one nick was just talking about that are trying something fairly new but also businesses like the sparkle bar which is a makeup studio so doing something that's been around for quite a while this particular makeup studio is in the scottsdale area and they got closed down about a week or so ago but before that there was already a huge dip in the number of people who were willing to come into the studio because you obviously are getting really close with other people and there were concerns there so we talked to the team over there and alex bradbury who is the operator of the studio showed me that even people who are working in industries that seem kind of inflexible like a makeup studio are doing some pretty innovative things when it comes to coming up with you know teleconferencing ways of getting their business done and in this particular case the sparklebar takes a lot of pride in its relationships with its customers and they work with the people who come into their studio beforehand and check up on them afterwards to make sure that they got exactly what they wanted they do a lot of work for special events like weddings and stuff like that and what they're at work doing right now is making sure that they're able to replicate that kind of one to one personal touch over teleconference and so they've already begun to do that they bought themselves a little bit of wiggle room with gift cards and some other kind of cash flow tricks that a lot of small businesses are trying and now they're hard at work as an entire staff I think there are 13 people underemployed there shifting their entire business model so that they can actually send someone makeup and work with them to you know have kind of a styling session over video conference and then check-in with them afterwards to make sure it went well and things like that they're very much working as they go but it's pretty cool to see how even an industry like that was able to make the switch

Brad Wolverton

So you've done... you did another piece on this company, I think it's called Snapbar. Totally different circumstances and a much sharper pivot, which is probably one of the more interesting ones I've heard.

Conor Grant

Yeah, Snapbar was really cool. They're a business that normally sells photo booths for events. Given that all events for the foreseeable future are canceled, they had to find an entirely new business model if they were going to keep all their employees afloat in the Seattle-Tacoma area in Washington. They worked with a bunch of local vendors to put together direct-to-consumer boxes highlighting soaps, foodstuffs, and all kinds of local Seattle goods from producers that otherwise would have struggled to keep their own lights on. They said, "Hey, we have a customer service team, we have a sales staff. Let's use all of our internal resources in terms of these talented employees and have them sell a completely different product." In doing so, hopefully, we can keep our lights on, keep these other producers engaged, and make sure that their business is still moving. So, they came up with this really cool solution. I think it's available not just in Seattle but in San Francisco and several other cities, and they're working on expanding that.

Brad Wolverton

Very cool! Also, finding a way to keep the employees they have. They have like 40 people on staff in various roles. So many people right now, in this moment, have lost their jobs. It's like yesterday, what was the news, Nick? Like 3 plus 1,000,000 people filed unemployment claims, which is one of the largest, if not the largest, ever. Pretty, pretty amazing pivot for them. Hopefully, they can be successful. The other one I found interesting was Michael talked to this company called, I think they're called Fusion. They're basically like a chain of sushi restaurants in Ohio. Tell us the story of what they're doing and how other people can learn from that.

Michael Waters

Yeah, exactly. So, Fusion has 10 different locations throughout the state of Ohio. Basically, what happened with them is Iowa was one of the early states that shut down all non-essential businesses. This happened about two weeks ago, and it totally took Fusion by surprise. There was no warning from the governor that it was about to happen. The company truly pivoted in just three days to become basically like a part-time grocer. The way they did this is super interesting to me, and it involves understanding some of the logistics of how the supply chain works in the U.S. There’s a supply chain for grocery stores, restaurants, and bars, etc. Just because they have different needs in terms of bulk orders and what customers expect from them. What Fusion realized is that while grocery stores were sold out of items like tofu, which they had access to, that was not because all tofu in the Ohio area was hard to access. It was because the grocery store-specific supply chain system didn't have enough tofu. Fusion, because they use a different supply chain, could easily source that. The idea is that, obviously, they would originally source tofu for the meals they would sell to people. But what they realized is that they could just sell it as a grocery store. So now, Fusion will deliver sushi to your home in Ohio. They will also deliver groceries, and they've had a lot of success doing that.

Brad Wolverton

Well, I'm standing at a standing desk right now. It's a fully standing desk which I love. I was also intrigued to hear the story of Deskmate, I think is what it's called, right? Nia, they were struggling a couple months ago and they've actually benefited. We have some businesses in this moment that have figured out that this is a time when they can really thrive. So tell us a little bit of the backstory of what happened with them and what they've experienced.

Mia Sullivan

Yeah, so Deskmate is a standing desk company. They make these little portable cardboard standing desks that you can flip up on your desktop. They're really inexpensive; I think they start at €30 or £30. Before COVID-19, they were really struggling. They had some supply chain issues that seemed to be unrelated to all of this, but their manufacturer shut down. They basically couldn't fill orders for a month because they couldn't get their stock from their manufacturer and warehouse. The two co-founders—it's just the two of them—were like, "Okay, we're going to sell." They found a buyer, but the buyer ended up backing out because of market instability. I think this was mid-February, so kind of right before COVID-19 came to the world in an intense way. But the guys just rolled up their sleeves and were like, "Okay, we're going to try to make this work." They actually now have this great opportunity because so many companies are trying to figure out how to outfit their employees at home. These desks seem like they could have started this company right now; the idea is so perfect for the moment. Their biggest issues right now are that they just don't think they can make enough to meet the interest. They're getting so many orders, especially in Spain, Italy, and the U.S. What they're trying to do is find a manufacturer that can actually produce the desks in the U.S. too, so they won't have to ship everything overseas. But yeah, they have an exciting opportunity.

Brad Wolverton

Very cool. So before we go, I wanted to just sort of tease some of the things we're working on to help people get excited about things that we have in the works. Mia, you're working on a piece about a straw company that was about to launch a travel fork. Tell us a little bit about what you're finding with them and what you're planning to write.

Mia Sullivan

Yeah, so this company is called Final, and they're new. They started their business in 2018, and their product is called the Final Straw. It's a reusable stainless steel travel straw. They did super well, achieving $5,000,000 in revenue in their first year. They launched kind of in the midst of the anti-plastic straw craze. They were working on launching a travel fork, which was supposed to debut on Earth Day. However, due to current trends, no one really wants a travel fork right now. So, they made an incredibly quick pivot to reusable disinfecting wipes. These wipes are basically bamboo rags, and you have a cleaning tablet that you put in them. You can use them, and then throw the rags in the laundry. After that, you can put a new tablet in them and keep using them. I think this pivot was necessary because, if you guys have gone on Amazon recently, you know that disinfecting wipes are not very readily available.

Brad Wolverton

So awesome, man! Send me some of those, I could use a bunch. Yeah, same with you Connor. You've got this thing on this company called... I think it's called Lifedade? Or maybe it's... Yeah, I think it's coming out soon. **Connor:** We've worked on it, we haven't published it yet, but tell us a little bit about that or anything else you're working on you want to share.

Conor Grant

That's right! This company, LifeAID, is based in California. They are a beverage company that makes healthier alternative drinks for athletes who might otherwise be inclined to grab a soda post-workout. They've done quite well since their founding in 2011. As Mia mentioned with some of the other businesses she's been looking into, LifeAID is doing fairly well during the crisis. They've had a bunch of their distribution channels really take off, including Amazon and Walmart. All their major retail partners have been kind of blowing up, which has been great for them. The company actually grew into its own by partnering with a lot of local gyms. Although all of those original partners have since closed, LifeAID has made the decision not to turn its back on them. Instead, they are investing the unexpectedly high revenue they've been getting from Walmart, Target, and Amazon to create a bunch of partnership and affiliate programs with these gyms to help keep them open through the crisis. It's a really cool example of a community business episode. The founders of LifeAID will tell you they wouldn't have gotten to where they are today without those original smaller partners. They feel a deep sense of obligation to them during this difficult time. So, it's a pretty cool story of how business distribution works, which channels are rewarding whom right now, and how a community can come together in moments like this to help each other out.

Brad Wolverton

Very neat! I don't want to give away too much on this yet, Michael, but we talked a couple of days ago about having you do a piece on your experience as a graduating senior now entering a crazy job market. What you're seeing, feeling, and experiencing... is there anything you want to tease about that story?

Michael Waters

Not too much yet, but I do think that I already know from anecdotal experience and from talking to people so far that this moment means a lot, especially in terms of where people see themselves in the future. Obviously, this is particularly relevant across different industries. For instance, people have relied so much on service work as a bridge into acting or as funnels into these larger fields. This applies to all sorts of industries. People are definitely starting to rethink where they want to head. One thing that I found personally to be kind of cathartic is that all these different Facebook meme groups have popped up. People are trying to make sense of this moment through very bad jokes. I feel like that has been significant because, at the top, it's a weird place to be. I think I feel this much more strongly than I am too. It's good to know that there's at least some sort of communal understanding about it, even if that may not make a difference in terms of...

Brad Wolverton

The actual jobs, exactly. Lastly, I thought I'd turn back to you, Nick. We had this discussion this morning about the long tail of the pandemic. No one obviously knows how soon any of this stuff's gonna end, but we're starting to think about some of the industries that are gonna feel pain for a long time. Is there any parting thoughts you wanna share about things we're looking at or thinking about covering in that way?

Nick DeSantis

Yeah, I mean, certainly I don't want to be in the business of making predictions because we're not even at the height of the pandemic here in the U.S. I think it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. But I think these are questions that people are starting to think about. I'm reminded of earlier this week when there was even a poll that went up on our company Slack. It was sort of about whether your views on working from home have changed in light of what's happened in the last couple of weeks. One of the things that people were quick to point out is that this is not normal working from home. You know, normally you can actually leave your house, and you might go get dinner or do something else in the middle of the day. I think that sort of question is a reflection of what people are going to be asking in the coming months. To what extent is this pandemic going to turn the world of work inside out? What are some of the long-term impacts that maybe we don't see right now, but we're starting to see signs that this is going to change certain industries permanently? That's definitely a thing that, as I said, I don't think any of us can be in the business of making strong predictions about. But it's definitely something that we're going to be watching for and trying to tease out a few of those themes in the coming weeks.

Brad Wolverton

Also, what we've done really well, I think, is we've found some moments of levity that we can share, as troubling and difficult as this moment is for many people to navigate. We're going to continue to try to do that, whether that's #SomeGoodNews in this mess that we're all in, or other things. So keep your ideas coming to us. Thanks for listening in on our first little hustle chat today, and we look forward to seeing you all soon. Thanks, everybody!