Why Your Startup Needs a Disaster Plan — But Not The One You Think

We’re thinking about business disaster-preparedness all wrong.

You could say I’m a prepper — after all, I did spend fifteen years working with disaster-preparedness and search-and-rescue organizations — but in reality, I just have a habit of being organized and prepared for change. I mean, I’m Type A++, a Capricorn, the COO of a healthcare company, studied epidemiology in university, and spent the majority of my professional life working with startups: I know how bad things can get! I view change and pivoting as the norm, so my plans are always flexible and adaptable based on whatever changes might happen.

Of course, in the last two years, humanity and business experienced something unlike anything in modern history: a global pandemic, and one that ushered in a flood of world-altering changes. None of our lives have been the same since.

The pandemic has changed how we engage with our friends, learn information, socialize, plan our travel, and engage in our communities. These changes aren’t temporary — even more than two years after the onset of COVID, we’re still experiencing both lasting impacts and new changes. Through it all, businesses were founded and banked on. Some thrived, some folded, and many wound up somewhere in-between. Founders, investors, board members, employees —…