Tampa based Ecover CEO Ben Sever and Executive Agile Coach & Global Strategist Maria Matarelli presented at last Thursday’s Synapse Converge online presentation Inspirational Stories of Innovation and Perseverance. The focus of this session was to examine stories of perseverance and innovation in the current landscape of COVID-19, but more specifically Ben & Maria discussed utilizing Agile methodology and choosing to pivot instead of pausing when encountering obstacles.
The 2008 financial crisis wrought havoc on the global economy but also provided a platform for now-ubiquitous startups such as WhatsApp, Uber, and Venmo, among many others. The task of an entrepreneur is often to create solutions to problems that consumers didn’t even know existed. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing economic downturn have created no shortage of problems.
To survive in today’s market, it is important not to pause, but to pivot by continuously iterating and excelling to thrive in any economic climate. Gain inspiration on how vision meets execution by leveraging Agile methodologies and learn the key takeaways uncovered from real world success.
“When the pandemic hit, we had two choices. Pull back and be at the mercy of the unknown or lean into innovation. Through adaptation and collaboration, they were able to shift the brand of Ecover through a pivot don’t pause methodology.” Said Sever. They doubled their team size when they shifted the focus of the company to a community engagement platform instead of a health engagement platform. Through using Agile methodology, they were able to create a culture within the company that has made their adaptation possible. Maria went on to point out that many Agile concepts work across industries, while many large businesses across the country are having difficulty pivoting to address the current landscape as it relates top COVID-19. Meanwhile, agile-cultured organizations have been able to adapt to the current circumstances in large part due to the mentality of “What can we do?” as opposed to pausing. In the case of Ecover’s pivot, the momentum never ceased through the process of refocusing the primary function of the business. Ecover was able to pivot into solving a need in the community. The success of the pivot of the brand gave investors further confidence in the leadership at Ecover and has now lent itself to the development and upcoming release of the Ecover telehealth platform, in addition to the current Ecover app Ecover Response. While many other businesses struggled to overcome the new norm, Ecover expanded their team, shifted their brand, and are now able to provide multiple iterations of the Ecover platform. Maria & Ben reiterated that this was largely due to the startup mindset that Ecover was founded on and the Agile methodology that they employ.
Be sure to check out Ecover’s community engagement platform app in the App store: Ecover Response
Ecover’s Website: https://ecoverglobal.com/
