This journey of coping with the household chores and managing work at the same time is a reality that we have to accept while we continue staying home. Every small change makes a difference that affects our productivity. Also, with the kind of news we receive about the pandemic every day, it is a bit challenging to focus on things and stay effective!

To optimise your creativity and productivity, DevX along with Appmatic organised a webinar on Staying Effective during WFH. The meetup touched on the points where you could stay effective while working from home.

As these two words –work and home– don’t generally come up together, it may seem difficult to sync both initially. The panel discussion focussed on helping you achieve that by simple yet effective ways to work from home.

The e-meetup that took place on Saturday, April 18, witnessed speakers from different domains and backgrounds talk upon points on how to literally maintain the work-life balance.

Our panel members for the webinar were Hardik Mistry (Founder at Appmattic), Rahul Banker (Technical Support Engineer at OptinMonster), Madhav Reddy (Founder at RedMad Learnings LLP), Nitya Kumar (Head of Design at NUMA Bengaluru), Prachi Durge (Team Lead at AVDEVS Solutions Pvt. Ltd.), and moderated by Dipa Rajput (Community Manager at DevX).

After the introduction of the speakers, the session moved forward to the main topic of the webinar. Focusing on how WFH has affected different people in different formats, Hardik Mistry mentioned how different techniques and ideas would help those working from home during the lockdown.

Also Read: e27 Community shares their proven tools and tricks to work from home

Rahul Banker insisted upon the best methods to apply for effectiveness. He also mentioned how certain routine tips could prove to be beneficial at such times.

Nitya Kumar focused on how to overcome the micro problems during WFH? In addition to that, how different strategies would work out.

Prachi Durge gave her views on how to deal with the lockdown situation overall. Also, how you should make the most of it and take this as an opportunity.

And finally, Madhav Reddy shared his insight on various advantages, concerns, tips, and guidelines to improve productivity during WFH. This followed by a series of questions that came dropping in from the participants as well.

How to avoid distractions during WFH?

On this, Rahul mentioned how he feels that social media, considered one of the biggest distractions, is not a problem if not used excessively. He also mentioned the fact that you must schedule your work and set a timer for your work to avoid those distractions. He insisted on setting up your workflow routine which will help you in staying productive and effective.

Further, he added, that you can indulge yourself with these distractions during the free hours. Proper time management makes a major difference. Lastly, he mentioned to focus more on your work priorities and set them accordingly.

Also Read: 8 steps you should take in order to work from home effectively

Addressing the same question, Hardik mentioned about his daily routine and schedule.  He focused more on planning your work daily so it becomes a smooth process. You must also keep verifying the work done to know how much has been accomplished. He further added that a dedicated space for work is a must. Setting up DND for the distractions from social media would be of great help.

How can someone manage a business that requires physical presence?

Madhav took to this question and pointed out two important things: Firstly, companies can use social media platforms to showcase their services, products, or designs to the clients if they are the kind of businesses that require physical presence. Secondly, they can use e-mails to communicate and send their designs to the clients as an when needed.

Nitya also gave her opinion focusing on two points. First is the physical presence and the other is to meet clients. Both of these are important to any business. She mentioned how technology can be helpful in meeting the client’s needs and fulfilling their requirements during such times. She also focused on how decision purely depends upon the behaviour of the clients and their feedback.

Lastly, she also mentioned that we must be well prepared as to the change we are going to see in the customers’ needs and expectations.

How effectively can people invest in developing new skills?

Discussing this question, Hardik suggested various ideas such as interacting with different people, learning new things to improve something that is needed upon, identifying new things, and understanding how it affects you and in what ways will it prove beneficial for you. He also emphasised on the importance of giving equal time to work and family and to consider this as an opportunity to be clearer about your goals.

How can you track if your team’s productivity?

Prachi was of the opinion that it is very important to organise inter-team meetings from time to time. Scheduling your work with your team needs to be done as an when needed. Daily calls and planning are essential to staying updated with their work. Also, taking regular feedback from the clients about the work must be mandatory.

Also Read: Is your new work-from-home culture stressing your employees?

How to manage the sleep schedule while working from home?

As per Rahul’s opinion maintaining a strict schedule for your work helps you manage your sleep schedule also. Distributing the teamwork makes it an easier task.

Some useful time management tools and techniques mentioned by Madhav were Trello, Google Planner, Sticky Notes, and other similar online tools. But the main factor remains the same – Discipline! Distributing your work into multiple set of tasks helps in time management.

He also mentioned that spending time with yourself refreshes you, instrumental music can also be of use to take a quick break and refresh your mind. Also, a Lockdown Learning Approach helps in exploring and learning new things.

What are the activities to stay motivated to work amidst this boredom?

Addressing this, Nitya mentioned that it always differs from person to person. Learning new courses, cooking recipes, some motivation from social media would definitely help in creating productivity. She also mentioned that you must do something that brings you joy; that will help you stay motivated. Also, fresh air makes you energetic in many ways.

Whereas, Rahul’s way of staying productive is to keep himself physically active. Exercising keeps him active and motivated and also in some ways will help you in breaking the monotony and staying energetic the entire day.

Also Read: Work-from-home or work-from-office, which is better?

Concluding the entire session, the speakers shared some highly effective methods to balance working from home. The numerous suggestions and ideas could be summed up as follows:

• Self-discipline is a must
• Stay as much organised as possible while working from home
• Adapt the digital opportunities and do more quality work
• Keep brainstorming for ideas
• Read some good books to reduce the stress
• Get out of your comfort zone and push your limits
• Identify new clients & get in touch with them online
• Use the time to reflect upon your goals
• Avoid fake news and rumours
• Consider the positive out of every situation possible
• Experiment new things and be creative in your work

To further listen to the views of our panelists on effective ways to WFH, here is the sneak-peek.

Let’s make the most of this time and utilise the lockdown (or rather staying home safe) into new opportunities to reflect upon how we can improve our work.

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Mental wellness startup Safe Space introduced their video conferencing feature about the same time the circuit breaker measure was implemented in Singapore in April, as an effort to tackle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Like startups operating in other Southeast Asian countries during the global health crisis, the company is called to do their parts by providing pro bono mental wellness consultation services to frontline health workers.

This step is especially crucial as experts have warned against the rise of mental illness as the next pandemic, as an aftermath of the current global health crisis.

As a preventive education and tele-therapy platform for mental health, Safe Space noted a shift in their user base that coincides with the rise of the pandemic.

“There has been an unfortunate new flow of audience who needs someone to talk to,” co-founder and CEO Antoinette Renee Patterson tells e27 in an interview.

Since the appearance of the first COVID-19 case in Singapore in January, Safe Space has seen a 64 per cent increase in user growth. While the platform’s users are mostly female by the time of its launch in March 2019, at the moment there is almost a 50-50 balance in gender.

Also Read: Why Khailee Ng puts mental healthcare support as key to successful founders-investors relationship

The majority of its users are career-minded Millennials who are also concerned about the affordability of mental healthcare services.

“As a solution, we partner with insurance companies to ensure that users can continue with their care,” Patterson says.

Running a startup in times of crisis

Marketing a product or service in times of crisis is a tricky matter. Companies have to balance between ensuring that their business stays afloat and being sensitive to the challenges faced by the customers.

On the other hand, startups need to ensure that there are no missed opportunities, as with the case with these major e-commerce platforms in Vietnam. But they also do not want to be seen as if they are milking these opportunities.

Prior to COVID-19, the startup was helped by word-of-mouth marketing as done by their families and friends. They also utilise social media platforms and events to advertise their service.

“We did a lot of workshops to bring the therapists together and educate the audiences,” Patterson says.

But as their user base grows, Safe Space finds the need to start investing in paid advertising.

So, in their opinion, what are the keys to find that balance?

“We always put our clients and therapists first, so we try to write it in their perspectives … so that we can avoid being hard-sell,” Patterson explains.

Also Read: Leaders, it’s time to talk about mental health

Based on personal experience

The history of Safe Space began after co-founders Patterson and Navaneeth Sreekandan discovered the challenges that Singaporeans are facing in securing mental healthcare providers.

As professionals in the advertising industries, both of them felt the need to “speak to someone that is not a family or friend” to help them deal with stress. But in addition to being embarrassing, finding a therapist was also a difficult process that forces them to search and make phone calls, one-by-one.

“We decided to create a platform that basically simplifies the process … by matching a person to a therapist in real-time,” Patterson says.

The startup is currently fundraising for its seed stage funding round. Currently run by a small team of three, Safe Space is looking forward to growing its team members to help them get more therapists on board.

“When we started in 2017, there was barely any coverage on mental health in major media platforms. But today there is always something … from the use of TCM for mental health to how to identify anxiety,” Patterson closes.

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Image Credit: Safe Space

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Fintech has changed the landscape of investment and capital financing. Given the global scope of decentralised finance (DeFi), one of the biggest challenges faced by the industry involves fragmentation in regulatory frameworks.

This is an opportunity for regulators to establish policies that are conducive to growth and innovation. 

For technology providers, this is also an opportunity to collaborate on solutions that ensure compliance across global jurisdictions and standards. In a whitepaper, the World Economic Forum has cited the need for policymakers to establish standards in regulation that will encourage innovation and growth.

This entails a higher level of collaboration between technology firms and regulators, as well as cooperation among the companies involved. Such collaboration will encourage wider adoption of fintech services, and it has the potential to improve the levels of capital flow, utilising innovative mechanisms for investment and finance.

“The biggest challenge I feel is the lack of regulation or regulatory clarity in many jurisdictions. This has also led to jurisdictional arbitrage,” says Ian Lee, Founding Team and Lead Investigator at Merkle Science, a Singapore-based deep-tech startup that provides comprehensive monitoring solutions for the security of digital assets. He adds that “the lack of regulatory clarity has also been one of the biggest barriers preventing institutional money from getting involved in the space.”

Also Read: Morning News Roundup: Cashlez becomes the first Indonesian fintech firm to debut on country’s Stock Exchange, plans to raise US$5.8M

Regulatory standards need to support growth and innovation

In any financial system, regulatory frameworks are established to improve trust through transparency and adherence to standards. This is geared toward protecting consumers and investors.

Having clarity in global regulation and compliance enables better collaboration and innovation in the ecosystem. “Businesses could focus on the innovation of technology without being afraid of law enforcement if the developers and entrepreneurs comply with the applicable rules,” says Sheldon Xia, Founder and CEO of BitMart, a global trading platform. “Investors’ and users’ rights could be protected not only by the code of rule but also the regulation in real life.”

By ensuring transparency, compliance leads to improved trust in technology platforms and the ecosystem.  “Regulation and compliance transform to transparency and trust. The more we can observe how these products work and how they are managed internally, the better,” says Hendrik Henrikson, Chief Business Development Officer of PARSIQ, a platform that provides automation solutions for businesses to manage their internal workflows, mitigate risks, and provide flexibility in working with blockchain data. 

Tech companies need to collaborate with regulators

Establishing regulatory frameworks will require better cooperation and collaboration between regulatory bodies and technology companies. This is necessary to arrive at solutions that promote both compliance and innovation. Regulators should not be seen as a challenge to innovation. Rather, they should be seen as collaborators.

“Strong support for regulation and compliance is in the best interests of developers and innovators. Regulators will need to have a pulse on the need of the industry in order to create rules that address the most pressing needs,” says Kenny Au, Founder at Elevate Ventures, a Hong Kong-based technology venture firm. “For example, in many jurisdictions–which in Asia include Singapore, Thailand, and Hong Kong–regulators have established sandboxes to insulate their main financial systems from potential externalities, but there needs to be more collaboration done in order to achieve scale.”

Also Read: 5 reasons why 2020 is the right time to invest in fintech

For one, there needs to be better communication and information exchange in the ecosystem. “More collaborations need to be made among the stakeholders, and the information needs to be shared and exchanged in a wider range,” says BitMart’s Xia. “We have witnessed in the market that some VC-funded projects went insolvent prior to the launch of the product due to very limited real needs in the market.”

Such collaboration will enhance the flow of capital. “Exchange of information, mutual integrations and bringing accessibility to regular users” are necessary for addressing the needs of the ecosystem, says PARSIQ’s Henrikson. He adds that “access to capital and increased transparency will remove borders from access to financial products, promoting financial liberty.”

The takeaway

Solutions that enable compliance through transparency and intelligence will play a significant part in ensuring trust in the ecosystem. The right tools will enable financial institutions to conduct a comprehensive analysis of fund activity and movements. “With products being secure and transparent, I see that there are more chances for these types of products to be accepted by existing authorities,” advises Henrikson.

In addition to collaboration, there also needs to be more visibility and education concerning the ecosystem for FinTech. Such awareness helps legitimise new technologies, leading to improved recognition, knowledge, and acceptance from the market.

In conclusion, standardising regulatory and compliance frameworks will encourage larger capital flows into technology projects and the digital asset ecosystem as a whole, thus improving access to capital and further enhancing innovations.

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The Southeast Asian startup ecosystem has been one of the fastest-growing, but it is now threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to research by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company, the Southeast Asian Internet economy is currently worth a massive US$100 billion (tripling its value over the past four years) and is expected to be worth $US300 billion by 2025; while the focus on startups in SEA has generally been on early-stage startups, the number of matured startups continue to grow, with many going on to achieve Unicorn status; these include startups such as Singapore’s ride-hailing platform Grab, Indonesian ride-hailing platform Go-Jek, Vietnam’s online gaming and e-commerce platform VNG, and the Philippines’ prefabricated home company Revolution Precrafted.

COVID-19 infections in Southeast Asia are rapidly growing, and the chart of the current outbreak is similar to what we’ve seen in other COVID-19 hotspots; experts are predicting that Southeast Asia could be the coronavirus outbreak’s next hotspot.

Not only could this fact threaten the Southeast Asian economy, but it poses serious threats to the region’s rapidly growing startup economy. So far, governments across the region have started to take steps to curtail the spread of the coronavirus, and these steps are already threatening the business model of the region’s most successful startups.

This significantly threatens the business model of one of the country’s most successful startups, Grab. The Philippines is also currently on a lockdown which it’s the president has publicly admitted there is no end in sight to — this is also certain to affect the business model and growth of the country’s ride-hailing startup Go-Jek, despite recently securing funding of about US$1.2 billion during the pandemic.

Southeast Asian startups have been coping in so many ways. They’ve made several moves including pivoting service and product offerings (for example, Singapore’s ComfortDelGro is making its taxi drivers deliver meals and groceries) and by being frugal when it comes to spending. More notable, however, is the compulsory shift towards remote work — which a lot of startups are unfortunately unprepared for.

Also Read: How gamification is increasing productivity during COVID-19

I believe that besides changes forced by the current COVID-19 circumstances, there are several reasons why SEA startups should move towards having pretty much all their employees work remotely post COVID-19. Here are some of those reasons:

Disruption will force startups to work from home

Southeast Asian startups are no stranger to disruptions that force them to work from home — the latest of which is COVID-19. Just recently, in the Philippines for example, several incidents have prompted startups to work from home before COVID-19; there was the Typhoon Kammuri that forced startups to work from home for a few days in late November, there was the Taal Volcano that forced startups to work from home in early January, and there is the COVID-19 lockdown now.

Whether it is due to natural disasters or pandemic, there will be other occurrences in the future that forces startups to work from home. It is much better, then, to make working remotely part of the culture if possible.

It makes it much easier to attract talent

An advantage Southeast Asia has over many other regions of the world is its huge talent pool. While a lot of other regions are suffering a brain drain when it comes to talent, Southeast Asia continues to see its talent pool — consisting mostly of young and tech-savvy people under 30 — grow.

Unlike a lot of regions, the “Sea Turtle” phenomenon has been coined to describe the eventual return of people who are trained abroad to further their careers in the region. A remote work ecosystem makes it much easier to attract the best of these talents.

It leads to better employee satisfaction

There is a correlation between employee satisfaction and startup growth, and if available data is anything to go by then startups will have more happy employees by embracing remote work.

Also Read: StarFab’s TAIRA accelerator joins forces with Taiwan’s biomedical firms to develop screening platform for COVID-19

Recent research by EngageRocket analysing the response to Singapore’s COVID-19 Circuit Breaker lockdown has found that a whopping 80 per cent of employees wish to continue working from home after the lockdown.

Preventing a productivity crisis

As Southeast Asian startups move towards more remote work, it is essential to also take steps to prevent a remote work-related productivity crisis.

So far, available data shows massive interest in remote work but the associated productivity issues should not be ignored. The EngageRocket study earlier referenced found that 46 per cent of employees report lower productivity and taking more time to achieve the same result as before.

This isn’t necessarily an argument against working remotely but an argument for why remote work systems should be optimised.

There are several ways in which a remote work productivity crisis can be prevented:

Ensure employees have access to the right tools and resources

The push towards remote work this time around was all too sudden for a lot of startups so there hasn’t been enough opportunity to prepare, but going forward an emphasis should be put on the availability of the right tools for remote workers.

EngageRocket’s study found that one of the major reasons for employee’s low productivity during this period is a lack of access to resources and tools they need and had access to in the office.

Also Read: Report: 3 out of 4 major online marketplaces in Vietnam experience traffic drops during COVID-19

It is important to realise that there are several remote collaboration tools and processes, and startups should be able to avail themselves of these; this includes the use of project management software to set goals and keep track of projects, video conferencing apps to ensure regular meetings, and effective tracking systems to ensure progress is being made.

Ensure regular follow-ups and check-ins

Following up regularly and checking on employees is not necessarily due to a lack of trust; instead, it is because you want them to succeed. It is important to realize that one of the major reasons why remote employees suffer low productivity is due to environmental distractions in their new work environment; regularly checking on them while they work remotely pushes them to ensure they achieve results in spite of these distractions.

Integrate a social component into the remote work experience

It is important to understand the loneliness and mental health issues that can come with working remotely; a lot of times, employees who had for long been working in an interactive environment with peers and colleagues are unprepared for having to all of a sudden work alone from home.

This can be addressed by introducing a social component into the remote work experience; this could be a group chat, an employee only forum, or occasionally video conferencing that allows employees and team members to interact with one another and discuss issues beyond work every once in a while.

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COVID-19 is forcing every business to reconsider their strategies and develop more powerful ways to grow. DevX initiated a webinar on the growth opportunities for any business during COVID-19 where startups and businesses could take the opportunity of grabbing knowledge from the industry experts from various domains.

The webinar focused on the important factors for entrepreneurs and early stage startups. Different sectors have been affected due to this pandemic in different ways. The prospective funding opportunities in the changing scenario and various support activities that could help the businesses to maintain their position in the market were the few key points discussed by the speakers.

The event was moderated Faraz Wadhwania, Head of Ops at DevX. He requested everyone to share their experience in terms of how they began their startup and the major struggles faced in their respective industries. Yash Shah, CEO and Co-Founder at Gridle, shared his experience on how they spent years researching and developing the customer life-cycle software. Lalit Aggarwal, Co-Founder at F5, started off by mentioning how they conducted a pilot research study for testing their business model. Sucharita Reddy, Co-founder at MeraCashier, mentioned how the co-founders understood the importance of automation for any business owner through their past experiences thus wanted to create an accounting automation tool for businesses.

During this period, how can young entrepreneurs work on their idea or MVP and kickstart their businesses?

Addressing the question, Yash mentioned that at this point in time, early stage companies should focus on survival rather than focusing on their growth. They should also validate the assumptions behind their business ideas as much as possible. He further mentioned certain factors that would help in growing the business which includes:

• The cost of acquiring the customers or branding has reduced drastically in the market, so the companies can use this opportunity to market their products.
• Position yourself in a way to help your customers grow, understand the situation of crisis, and support them through various activities.

Lastly, he also suggested taking this period as an opportunity to provide a demo of your product/service to your prospective customers which would ultimately help to broaden your funnel as everyone is relatively free at this point of time.

Also Read: Quoting Victor Frankl’s book, Grab CEO urges businesses to stick together during tough times

Should businesses adopt new strategies to improvise or change their product?

On this, Sucharita mentioned that there is no particular formula. It purely depends upon the market and the customer requirements. If a particular company is offering a product that has a synergy with the current situation such as sanitiser manufacturers then it is a great opportunity for them in the market.

Timing and opportunity play a major role in any business. It depends upon the company as to how they want to pivot their business to earn more revenue. She also mentioned that it is not necessary to make revolutionary changes for a small period of revenue or growth. She did, however, recommend getting accustomed to digitalisation, which would be of benefit, especially for the local stores.

How can businesses that have hit hard bounce back?

Discussing this question, Lalit answered that altogether these sectors can be seen very differently. He mentioned that there are many cities where the restrictions will ease off sooner than expected. He also added that consumer preferences and taste are changing and thus the traditional ways may not work any longer.

Instead, they would have to adopt new and modern styles of working patterns. So, the opportunity in these specific sectors can be catered by thinking out of the box. People might travel from one geography to another for work purposes rather than leisure now, so it could benefit those sectors. He concluded by saying that these companies might have to modern up their ways for a broader picture that is soon to come up.

How do you see WFH as a cost-saving strategy for the startups?

As per Yash, large teams would face a little difficult to manage work. So, if we want to monitor the tasks of our teammates, then, first of all we will have to build an internal trust initially. He does believe that productivity and flexibility have improved in a way as compared to when people were working from offices. He pointed out that there are many other benefits like people do not have to pay any miscellaneous costs. Two aspects that need to be considered are:

• Brainstorming ideas, creating content, developing strategies etc. where you need to connect with people and discuss things.
• All the tasks that people need to do on regular basis, are predefined and do not need any discussion process.

Lastly, he concluded by saying that people can overcome this is by developing new ways of connecting with each other to increase their productivity while working from home.

Also Read: A case for businesses leading healthcare digital transformation

How can people leverage the benefits of digital marketing during these times?

Sucharita said that digital marketing has to be the centre of focus during times like these for each and every business out there. She mentioned that companies can use any form of digital marketing method, whether it be SMS, emails, Whatsapp, or Facebook for promoting their business.

She also suggested that companies could connect to their customers via Facebook live sessions and address their queries and concerns. For Sucharita, this is the right time to engage with your customers and make them understand your product. Influencer marketing is one such technique to build trust among people. Lastly, making proper content and placing them to the right customer is very important!

How to keep your operation cycle going with limited cash flow during this situation?

Lalit mentioned how this can be different for both, startups who have raised as well as not raised their funding. Collaborating with different players in the market can be of great help. He mentioned that businesses should focus on increasing the lifecycle value of the customers. Lastly, he said that companies should be well aware as to when they should focus on profitability and when to work on the expansion!

Summing this up, Faraz quickly highlighted the key points of the entire session by our speakers during the webinar as follows:

• The Team should be chosen wisely
• Startups should research well and choose their idea accordingly
• Build a strong MVP and business model that lasts for a longer period of time
• Brainstorming for new ideas while working from home
• Use various digital marketing strategies to grow your business
• Focus on the core of your business and identify the best for your business

On a hopeful note of resuming to the normal lives soon, all the speakers & participants signed off post the conclusion of the entire session. DevX will make sure to engage the community with another engaging discussion on topics affecting us soon.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. Become a thought leader in the community and share your opinions or ideas and earn a byline by submitting a post.

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