To learn more about how our Endeavor Entrepreneurs are staying optimistic through crisis management and how their businesses, new ventures, and daily environments are changing, we decided to go directly to the source in our new blog series, “Candid Through Crisis.” Our second EE in the spotlight is LISNR CCO, Rodney Williams.
How is your company supporting companies and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic?
One of the pandemic’s most pressing challenges is how to recreate our experiences in a touchless or contactless environment. Our core premise to develop LISNR was to introduce a wireless data technology that would utilize all of the flexibility of software alternatives to hardware connected devices. This translates to a solution that can be implemented across any mobile application and device with a speaker/microphone, offering the application owner the ability to completely tailor the wireless or contactless experience. For communities, it means payments, access control, pick ups, ticketing, delivery confirmation and authentication experiences could happen up to 10ft with the ability to even create hands-free scenarios with LISNR.
How are you managing a remote team?
LISNR has had multiple offices and remote employees for some time. Therefore, we at least had the systems set up to manage dispersed teams. With that said, the current times are drastically different than before, and we are managing as best as possible. Our biggest priority is the safety of our team and their ability to be productive.
What areas do you predict entrepreneurship will flourish following the pandemic?
Following? During? Prior? I believe the same economic rules apply in terms of supply and demand. Obviously, the current shift in consumer behavior has redistributed that scale to alternative areas than before, but that’s life. As entrepreneurs, founders and innovators, it’s our duty to seek out those areas of opportunity. It’s our duty to create products and services based on foresight – vision. The ideas that will flourish will revolve on meeting that demand in stride.
What have you learned during this experience that makes you a better entrepreneur?
It’s easy to forecast based on past data, it’s much harder to forecast a sudden significant shift in consumer behavior, but once it shifts, it has shifted for the foreseeable future.
How can the community support you?
For LISNR, we want to help retailers, mobility enterprises, delivery platforms and venues institute contactless services within the methods their consumers use to pay, enter, authenticate receipt and access services in a way that is safe. We all can support LISNR by recommending secure, contactless solutions.
