Earlier today, the International Monetary Fund issued some statements. The one that stood out for me is that Chinaβs economy is expected to only grow at a rate of 1,2% in 2020, significantly down from the 6% growth forecast in January 2020.
This gives us an idea of how bleak the next year or two is going to be. Some commentators and economists are already saying the 2nd order effects (e.g. country lockdowns) of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are going to force economic conditions that will be worse than The Great Depression of 1929 to 1939.
What does this mean for me and you?
Specifically what does it mean for startups?

The first thing that comes to my mind is that I need to make peace of this. No point complaining or lamenting about the situation we are in, it is here, I canβt change it.
The next thing, and why I think it is important to quickly accept the situation so I (you) can move on, is that as a startup, this is a time to double down. Ship products. Ship new features. Iterate. Try new things to get new clients and earn money.
The environment has changed. Itβs now a matter of βadapt or die,β and the only way to adapt, to re-emphasize, is to ship new features and even new products.
Mere rate of shipping new features is a surprisingly accurate predictor of startup success.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) April 14, 2020
In this domain, at least, slowness is way more likely to be due to inability than prudence. The startups that do things slowly don't do them any better. Just slower.
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