Several founders wait with bated breath as the Indian economy reopens after a 76-day hibernation. Many of them wait in anticipation that there will be an outbreak of indulgence consumption or revenge buying that will flood the empty coffers of revenue starved companies. It is (however), not the time for founders to get complacent. There is a long road ahead once the dust settles and we will see the clear signs of permanent behavioral changes after this temporary hysteria fades away.
I believe that we will see permanent behavioral changes starting from the way we lead our lives to the products or services that we consume (and the way we consume them.) Although I agree with Fred Wilson that companies in telehealth, food delivery, and work from home would benefit from these behavioral changes, I would add a few more for those of us living in India.
One of them is online education. In the past, most online education platforms suffered as the instructors were camera-shy when providing instructions to an online audience. Many instructors also found the technology tools daunting and they avoided using them. However, I do not expect parents to enthusiastically send their children back to school. The lockdown provided an extended incubation period pushing instructors to overcome their fears and shortcomings. I believe that the imparting of education through online mediums will continue to expand. Vocational classes are next, then hobbies and even working out, creating great business opportunities. I have current and prospective investments that will benefit from this behavioral change. Another one is neobanking. It is a travesty that our banks continue to function with 20th-century design and tech infrastructure. I had hope that the lockdowns would have forced them to take a relook at their online banking offerings and improve services for customers. However, our banks are too big to move quickly. This creates a great opportunity for neobanks that add a friendlier design and process layer over the old banking infrastructure. The next 18 months would be crucial for neobanks to scale massively before the traditional banks catchup. I have current and prospective investments that will benefit from this behavioral change.
Another one is multiplayer online gaming. Social distancing is disrupting the hospitality sector especially the nightlife industry with authorities in Japan going as far as demonizing nightlife districts. However, the human need for socializing is driving us online and onto apps like Ludo, Houseparty, and Tambola. Ludo King reported a 4x increase in DAUs with more than 50 million users interacting with their app daily. I believe that the joy of online gaming companies has just begun.
Like Fred mentioned in his post, the next 6-18 months will be an interesting period to study these behavioral changes. It is an important period for founders as they must navigate these uncertain waters, readjust, once again achieve product-market fit and then start scaling up again.
