The Coronavirus Effect

Charles Armitage

Charles Armitage is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Florence. Florence is a marketplace that connects care homes to nurses and care workers looking for extra shifts.

Having started his career in the NHS, Charles entered the world of tech to help tackle some of the failures he witnessed. Charles loves sharing lessons from the frontline of building a platform business.

Discussion

Other than Florence, Charles and his partners developed National Care Force - a nationwide network of care providers, healthcare workers and volunteers, ready to support our social care services in looking after the most vulnerable members of society

With the covid-19 still looming, more and more citizens are greatly affected . In need of help and support, Florence and National Care Force is a response to the crisis with a commitment of helping care workers, health workers and volunteers reach out to vulnerable locals who depend on vital services.

Charles encourages people to sign up on their platforms and reach out to those in their community who are in need due to coronavirus.

Take Homes

People are resilient

Resilience is defined as the ability – and tendency – to “bounce back.” The goal of resilience is to thrive in a highly stressful situation or crisis. People who are more resilient are capable of adapting to adversity.

People who are resilient tends to be more aware of situations, their own emotional reactions and the behavior of those around them. In order to manage feelings, it is essential to understand what is causing them and why. By remaining aware, resilient people can maintain control of a situation and think of new ways to tackle problems.

Technology connects us together

Technology helps us connect beyond the social media aspect. With Florence and National Care Force, these platforms makes reaching out to health care more convenient.

It’s often said that technology drives us apart, but the reality is, technology has been keeping us all connected. With the recent crisis affecting our day-to-day activities, technology has been providing the solutions that allows us to live our "normal" lives.

It's important to remember the people who are closest to our hearts: family, friends, and loved ones. Technology helps us connect.

Special Guest: Charles Armitage.

James Townsend, the co-founder of Mobilise, is on a mission to transform the way the UK's growing number of informal carers access support.

James has over ten years of experience setting up and leading socially impactful organisations. He was formerly Teach First President, and set up the Church of England Foundation for Educational Leadership, facilitating 135,000 teachers, leaders and support staff into a learning community.

Discussion

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Mobilise is an online platform where carers can meet for a chat over a “virtual cuppa” and access vital information about the outbreak from their homes. A number of unpaid carers are finding emotional support through the lockdown period by joining a new virtual community.

At a time when we’re all worried about health, caring for someone you love is extremely stressful. James mentioned that he wants carers to know there is an online community available for them.

It has undoubtedly become a time where caring is very important. With Mobilise, they make sure nobody has to learn how to be a carer on their own and gets the needed support to be a carer.

Take Homes

Support those who provide support

It can be hard to know what to do when supporting someone, especially in the current situation we are facing. Giving and receiving support from others is a basic human need. The goal of social support is to decrease stress. If you are looking to decrease stress by developing a support network, start with people who understands where you're coming from.

Support comes in many forms, and it is helpful to have a variety of different resources to lean on.

Helpful tips

1 Evaluate who may be helpful.
2 Join a book club.
3 Be willing to ask for help.
4 Let important people in your life know that you appreciate them.

Technology plays a big role in connecting people

The coronavirus pandemic is overwhelming, and one of the most excruciating parts for many people is the feeling of utter helplessness in the face of widespread suffering and hardship. Though staying inside and staying healthy are the most crucial ways to stave off this outbreak, it’s the face-to-face interactions that we yearn for, the technology just makes it all a bit easier.

Technology has been fundamental in allowing people to do the things they love remotely; from online fitness classes to socialising with friends.

Out of all of this, unique ways of doing the things we love have emerged through the use of technology, and people are quickly adapting themselves to this new way of living.

Special Guest: James Townsend.

Eamonn Carey is the Managing Director of Techstars London. He's been an entrepreneur for most of his adult life - starting several companies in Europe and the Middle East - two successfully, others, less so.

He's been an active angel investor in Europe, the US and Asia for the last five years - investing in everything from AI to food tech and from messaging to co-working spaces. He ran the Techstars Connection program in New York, works with the Zeroth AI accelerator in Hong Kong and sits on several boards - including Lingvist, Paranoid Fan, and Motivii.

Discussion

We cover the way the landscape has changed for investors, technology and entrepreneurs. With radical shifts in how we live there is a lot of current change but also a lot of things that will stay different after this.

Eamonn explains the opportunities that are available for those willing to adapt quickly and how entrepreneurs can build new businesses that benefit the world. We outline the problems caused by uncertainty and how to deal with fear and act rationally.

Take Homes

Accept the Idea of Change

Change is inevitable not only in life but in business too. As long as the people and the technology are progressing, so should the businesses around them.

Businesses have to improve and develop new ideas that can be incorporated with their plan. They have to have a bird’s view of their business to understand what is going to happen next. This approach will help change the route in the shortest time if there is any unplanned change.

Everybody should embrace change in their organization. If not, there will be a negative implication. Businesses that do not adapt to their environment tend to slow down and ultimately die or shutdown.

Covenience is Booming

With the impact of covid-19, “convenience” has taken on a whole new meaning. Companies offering convenience are taking over.

This revolution is affecting all kinds of industries – not just retail – as some companies are developing new ways of doing business that make life easier for the customer.

It is clear, no organization is free from the push toward higher convenience. Time to become ‘fast’ and ‘easy’!

Good Communication in Business is Key

Possessing or developing excellent communication skills will help business leaders and their teams in every facet of business operations.

Helping team members learn to communicate in professional and respectful ways builds a positive atmosphere. Friendships build as people are more likely to communicate about work and weekend activities. As your team gets to know each other better, they become stronger as a unit, helping to build team morale. Positive team morale is good for department productivity.

Syncify

An app to let you be social at a distance. Listen to your favourite podcasts and books together with friends and groups.

Listen Live

Stream audio together and chat back and forth as you have ideas.

Facilitated catch-up

Mark shared interests or a playlist to listen to together. When one listens to something it gets put to the top of the playlist of the other individual so they listen on the same day

Discover

See what others have listened to and join in.

Curated playlists

Journey of podcasts to teach you how to raise money or develop a growth mindset.

Chat about the audio experiences as you share and learn from others' perspectives and vocalising your thoughts. Commit to taking actions by sharing your ideas.

Special Guest: Eamonn Carey.

I am an adventuraholic. As such being confined to one space is an unusual place to find myself.

I am embracing my curious spirit and invite listeners to explore their minds and body and have their own personal journeys of adventure inside.

When You Can't Go Outside, Go Inside

We are used to being able to jump on a plane and appear in a new culture and immerse ourselves in adventures. But now we are all stuck at home. The future may have limited travel for a while as we maintain social distancing and restrited travel.

Instead of relying on buying experiences we can have our own adventures just by using our minds. There are so many things to explore that we have never done before. We can go inside to push our minds and bodies in ways we have never done before.

We can still learn about the world and about ourselves. We can have adventures, face our fears and come out stronger and wiser. All of this can be done inside our own homes.

Thrillseekers Adventure Club

Sam has launched a club (facebook group - free) for anyone to explore their limits and have adventures.

We are a freindly bunch who aren't about comparing ourselves. The only competition is with yourself. To do the things that scare you and learn.

In the first week Sam didn't eat anything for two days whilst enduring the amazing smells of his families cooking. He then spent 5 days doing the "Sally up Sally down" challenge on the hour every hour. He pushed his mind and body into places he had never gone and came out a lot wiser than he expected.

Next week, he is eating only porridge for a week to practice stoicism.

About

Dame Stephanie Shirley is one of Britain's leading philanthropists and has used her life to drive positive change in the world. Shirley empowered a generation of women in technology, giving them unheard of freedom to choose their own hours and manage their own workloads.

She started her business in the sixties working from home with no computer or email. Writing machine code in her kitchen. It went on to become a business worth over £3billion and she is perhaps the most important person in technology you haven't heard of.

Her book 'Let It Go' explores Shirley's trail blazing career as an entrepreneur but it also charts her incredible personal story - her dramatic arrival in England as an unaccompanied Kindertransport refugee during World War Two and the tragic loss of her only child who suffered severely from Autism.

The book is so highly regarded that it is being made into a movie so more people can enjoy her inspiring story and give her the recognition she deserves.

Interview

We discuss some of Dame Stephanie's biggest lessons in life. She has dealt with incredible adversity and knows what it is like to have the world crumble around you. She provides amazing insights for dealing with the terrible things life throws at you whilst remaining a force for good.

Dame Stephanie started the remote work movement in the sixties employing women who couldn't get equal pay. She is a master of confronting major problems and finding ways to solve them instead of just accepting things the way they are. The "When life give you lemons" philosophy accurately describes her stunning ability to just keep fighting and making the world a better place.

She teaches us how to stay calm and build ourselves back up whilst not dropping the ball on key concerns for the planet.

Special Guest: Dame Stephanie Shirley.