Tag: 2020

What is it like running a start-up during a global pandemic?

As Neofin celebrates its 1st Birthday we take a look back at Neofin’s first year. 2020 has been one of unprecedented economic misery, especially for those who work in the hospitality and retail sectors. Despite the global pandemic according to the Office for National Statistics the number of new companies being created in the UK compared with 2019 has soared in the second half of 2020.

In the beginning

Less than one month in, it became clear to me that the overall context was not going to be favourable at all. When you launch a new business, the first years are always going to be difficult and it is not unusual to face challenges you had not anticipated and, thus, planned for. 2020 went beyond any scenario I could have imagined, as I am sure was the case for many businesses unfortunately. Despite the challenging circumstances Neofin has gone from strength to strength taking on a number of new staff and winning new contracts, helping clients with an accelerated transformation to enhance efficiency and effectiveness, enabling risk organizations to deal with the pandemic while addressing rising regulatory and cost pressures.

Nothing is normal

The effects of the world-wide lockdown has been that businesses are adapting while consumers are building new purchasing habits as they value safety, convenience and speed. Digital spending has become the new normal with it being reported that three out of four buyers are using digital channels for the first time and the NEW-normal will see them continue to use them when lockdown eventually ends.

Think Long-Term But Act Short-Term

For Neofin Advisory in the pandemic we have needed to multiply our efforts by 10 to get a 10th of the return we would expect under normal circumstances. I think that what kept us going was to not deviate or get distracted from the longer term goals and the real purpose of embarking on such a wonderful journey whilst being as creative, dynamic and flexible as possible in the short term to find solutions to get us through this.

So far so good

So far so good but 2021 is likely to be another difficult year for everyone including Neofin, so this is far from being over. Our firm currently operates in two locations: London and Lisbon. The experience and expertise of our multicultural and multilinguistic team acquired in leading projects in global organisations allows us to support clients operating in pan-European and US markets.

Neofin are constantly developing and marketing a solution that customers need while evolving and adapting to the market. The foundation of our service offering in each critical area of our business is represented by our core delivery team and supported by truly knowledgeable advisors and through our strategic alliances. Neofin’s capabilities are a key differentiating factor in comparison to our peers and in the long run will be our USP.