Despite the hopes of many to the contrary, 2021 proved just as disruptive as 2020. The ongoing pandemic, supply shortages, and many people still working from home are just a few challenges businesses have had to continue to overcome this past year.
As we now head full steam into 2022, here are some lessons and business goals tech CEOs and founders are planning to carry into the new year with them.
#1 Continued expansion – Zhong XU, Co-founder & CEO, Deliverect
The Belgian unicorn, Deliverect provides software solutions to businesses worldwide, like restaurants and supermarkets, which offer quick order-to-delivery times for consumers who order online. Current world events have meant this service has become increasingly popular over the last two years. Co-founder & CEO, Zhong XU, plans to carry this growth through to 2022.
“In 2022, we will continue to focus on expanding and developing new products that match what we currently have so we can optimise the entire ordering process even further. Not only for restaurants but also for supermarkets and others that do quick delivery (q-commerce).”
#2 Achieve new levels of user experience – Niklas Dorn, founder of Filestage
Niklas Dorn is the founder of Germany-based Filestage, a content creation, collaboration, and promotion resource that enables teams to work on a project remotely together with ease. The software enables simple file sharing, notes & annotations, messaging, integration with other popular services like Google Drive, and team management and feedback tools.
“With our software Filestage, we are closing the gap in tech stack between content creation and content promotion. In 2022 we’re going to provide users with the best file review and approval experience ever.”
#3 All-round health for all – Ranjan Singh, co-founder and CEO, HealthHero
Health services around the world have been strained to breaking point since the pandemic began. Yet, with resources already over-stretched, the number of people requiring healthcare support, not linked directly to the pandemic, has increased. This is especially true in the area of mental health.
UK-based HealthHero is the largest digital “telehealth” platform in Europe. They work with healthcare providers to improve the user experience for online health services, increase efficiency, provide clinicians with remote consultation tools, and effectively triage patients, directing them to the most appropriate service.
Ranjan Singh is the co-founder and CEO of HealthHero and his 20-year history in business suits HealthHero’s lofty goals. A former executive at Expedia and managing director of Ebookers, Ranjan Singh founded Isango!, achieving a yearly growth of 100% before selling to Tui.
Singh was drawn into the healthcare industry in 2014 while at Penta Investments. The large private equity firm had heavy interests in the industry, and this allowed him to spot this “very exciting” opportunity.
“The healthcare sector was poised to go through a fundamental change owing to digital.” Said Singh.
Building on their success, Singh outlined HealthHero’s goals for 2022:
- Launch a comprehensive mental health proposition for consumers in the UK.
- Launch augmented self-care for employees (via their employers) through our corporate app. “Augmented self-care is our take on a personalised, proactive, and data-driven approach to keeping people healthy.”
- Launch new service lines, such as a consumer sexual health proposition for the French market.
#4 Innovation and scaling up – James Grover, Director, Kinetik Wellbeing
On the other side of healthcare is healthy living and self-care. Since the start of the pandemic, due to boredom or gym closures, more people than ever before have taken up working out at home as well as working at home and, due to pressures on health services, remote and homecare for mild and chronic conditions has become more commonplace. James Grover, Director at Kinetik Wellbeing, wants to enable people to manage their health at home without the need to go to a gym or travel to a clinic/hospital regularly.
Kinetik Wellbeing is another UK startup that has turned the pandemic to its advantage, James Grover shares his vision for the business in 2022,” The New Year is an opportunity for us as a business to look past the challenges of the pandemic and empower many more people to manage their health at home, while also easing pressure on the NHS.”
“We have ambitious goals for 2022, such as building more innovative products within a sustainable supply chain, scaling our business to support our health system, and empowering people to manage their own health where possible. Kinetik will be key in meeting the additional need for access to monitoring tools at home.”
“Wellbeing isn’t just in our name, it’s in our culture. Last year saw a huge spike in individuals choosing to prioritise their health at home. At Kinetik Wellbeing, people are at the core of our business, and we take a human-centric approach to providing the tools and products to allow people to keep well and understand their own health. Our business is centred on wellbeing, so we will continue to practise what we preach when it comes to our employees, who embody the brand.”
#5 Prioritise mental wellbeing – Murvah Iqbal, Co-founder, HIVED
London-based delivery startup, HIVED aims to build a parcel delivery service that is 100% carbon neutral through the implementation of modern technologies, ideas, and data analysis.
Murvah Iqbal, Co-founder of HIVED explains the stresses involved in running a new startup, “A one-size-fits-all solution doesn’t exist, but I truly believe there are ways to ensure that your employees maintain a healthy work-life balance. Now, more than ever, it’s crucial to prioritise our mental wellbeing.” He continued, “My New Year’s resolution is to combat meeting fatigue. Virtual meetings have been such a significant part of our lives, and I know I am not alone in experiencing an entirely different kind of mental exhaustion.”
#6 Nurturing and maintaining a truly hybrid workforce – Namrata Sandhu, founder and CEO, Vaayu
Another environmentally conscious startup hoping to build on its success during the pandemic is Vaayu.
Berlin-based Vaayu provides carbon footprint calculations to retailers who want to prove their green ethics to consumers. Their founder and CEO, Namrata Sandhu explains their journey and future goals, “Vaayu launched at the height of the pandemic and that means we’ve only ever operated remotely. I’m based in Berlin and our global workforce spans fourteen countries which have of course not been without its challenges!”
“However, I’m proud to say that in 12 months we have grown to twenty full-time employees and expect to grow to fifty by the end of the year. With that in mind, a big priority for me this year is nurturing and maintaining our company culture and creating a truly hybrid workforce. This means striking the right balance between continuing to grow a remote company, while also finding creative and unique ways to bring everyone together once a quarter either online or in-person.”
“If we can successfully achieve this, we will become part of the fast-growing community of businesses reaping the social, financial and environmental benefits of both the offline and online worlds.”
New year goal setting can be a useful tool for businesses if there is room to adapt and revise those goals when needed. But always remember to make a detailed action plan to help you stay on track.
