Pre-COVID/ During COVID journey…
We are hearing about The Matrix 4 being released in Dec 2021, the fourth instalment of The Matrix franchise. While as I eagerly await the release of the latest version of Matrix, it reminded me of ‘Growth-Profit Matrix’ that I saw during the course of my entrepreneurial journey (see picture next).
The ‘Growth-Profit matrix’ is as applicable to personal life, as it is to a start-up. And of-course, it has to.
I think this matrix looks profound in today’s times, when we are going through a pandemic that has upset the apple-cart of many, globally.
I operate out of one of India’s largest start-up incubators, T-Hub, that houses 100s of start-ups. Come March, 2020 (onset of COVID globally) and the scenario at T-Hub had a profound change. Many of the start-ups that during pre-COVID, were riding the ‘Rocket’, (yours truly named himself ‘RocketMan’) blasting towards the shining stars in the distance, with all engines firing, suddenly found, either the shining stars turn hazy or the ‘fuel supply’ suddenly evaporating. And for other start-ups that were ‘taking the rabbit out of the hat’, started hedging their risks and to avoid a death-knell, trying to focus on being a ‘bread-winner’. And there were many other combinations, including the sad quadrant of ‘losses and low growth’.
The scenario hasn’t changed much, at T-Hub. Many of founders/ co-founders have pivoted or taken a new avatar. Occupancy of T-Hub remains skeletal, inspite of various initiatives and efforts to revive the start-up mojo.
The ‘Growth-Profit Matrix’ has taken a new meaning in these times, when one has to survive from corona virus and after that, survive the downturn. With the vaccine at the beginning of 2021, comes new hopes and with that, many of us are starting to trudge back to the start-up ecosystem, with new hope and aspirations.