Whilst these are challenging times, they won't be the last for
many of us. Inertia must be avoided, impactful actions prioritised
and learnings saved for next time. Every day when I go online, I am
amazed and uplifted by so many acts of courage and kindness from
people around the world and on our doorstep.
As a founder of a fintech start up in Glasgow, I can only aspire
to play my part with our team at Swipii. And to all the business
founders out there, our job is a lonely path at the best of times
and even more so during times like these. When each day is another
step into the unknown, it's hard to maintain a sense of
perspective, to know how to feel, act or lead. Mark Logan, one of
our board members, once told me:
"In such times, I've always found it helpful to imagine that
I am looking back on now, from five years' hence. Will I have acted
now as my future self would have wished me to? Will I be proud of
myself in what I remember, when I look back? Was I supportive to
others, honest, generous? Then, each day, I try to live that
way."
So with that in mind, it's vital that we take action and lead by
example for our future selves.
At Swipii, we've changed the way we work in immediate response
to COVID-19, with three overarching goals:
- Ensure we survive as a business, but also come out
stronger.
- Retain and support our team.
- Achieve the above whilst doing the right thing by our
consumers, businesses and communities as a whole.
Among the actions we have taken to achieve these goals are
suspending all invoicing to our customers so we can support our
local businesses, paying out all pending cashback to our consumers
immediately and we have also created the opportunity for our
consumers cashback to be donated to Social Bite which does such
fantastic work in the community.
When it comes to retaining our team and continuing to build,
we're going to need everybody when consumers and businesses
return.
Some members of the team will be winding down over the next
three months, recharging and preparing for the return.
A core group will be continually improving the app and working
on some more long-term plans, to help us aim for growth in the
latter part of the year.
We are an optimistic bunch and know we will get out of this
together. There is light at the end of the tunnel for everyone.
Read Louis' full blog here
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