Each Friday over the past 10 weeks, as the coronavirus locked down economies and devastated communities, a positive thought crossed my mind.
Things will – they must — get better come Monday.
Unfortunately, by the time each Monday rolled around, the situation had worsened. We started each week facing yet another grim new reality.
Now, as we finish another week and another month of lockdown, we are settling into a changed world.
At GeekWire, we’re undergoing a rebirth of sorts as we adapt, change, pivot or whatever other word you’d like to use to describe the enormous lift in front of us all.
This is both invigorating and exhausting. In many ways, it feels like the early startup days when GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop and I scrambled to report the news, organize events, run a business — basically putting out fires, jumping on opportunities and figuring things out along each step of the unknown path.
In recent weeks, I’ve been drawing inspiration from the soccer pitch, even though I’m unable to lace up my boots right now. I am sure the GeekWire team is tired of hearing me repeat this, but our current situation is a bit like a fluid soccer match — you’ve got to make quick decisions, and play offense and defense at the same time.
We’re not sure how things are going to play out, but here’s an update on some of the offensive and defensive moves we’ve made at GeekWire since our last update a few weeks ago.
Paycheck Protection Program: After a mad scramble, we applied for and received a federal loan through the Paycheck Protection Program in the amount of $262,800. Like other small businesses and media companies that have received these SBA loans, we’ll use the funding for payroll and rent over the next two months. We are pleased to receive these funds, but with GeekWire’s physical event business on hold and advertising revenue sinking — revenue was down over 50% from February to March — the funds are really just a stopgap as our 12-person team alters course.
The good news: We are small, nimble and feisty, and have always punched above our weight here at GeekWire, a scrappiness that we think serves us well in these trying times. The irony of the situation is that this business model challenge comes at a time when the daily journalism we provide is more important than ever, and our readership is surging as we cover the coronavirus and its economic impacts. We’re committed to serving the community with high-quality journalism, and operating a financially sustainable media enterprise. It’s certainly a bumpy time right now in our business, but we are hopeful we can survive the turbulence, and possibly emerge even stronger.
GeekWire Membership Reboot: One of the bright spots in our business: GeekWire memberships. Dozens of new members have joined in recent weeks, and we appreciate this outpouring of support. Since GeekWire does not operate a paywall, GeekWire members help support our daily journalism, while also receiving other perks and benefits. We’ve reinvented this program, and over the past two months have rolled out member-only virtual events and a new community-based forum.
We are continuing to rethink the member experience, driving new benefits to our individual and corporate members. We’re planning another member-only virtual event for next week — a live interview with the new CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mark Suzman. (Stay tuned for details.) While membership does not replace the lost revenue from advertising or events, it does help support our mission.
Geeks Gaming For Good: For years, we brought the community together around the GeekWire Bash — a fun geek carnival of sorts where companies competed in heated games of ping pong, dodgeball, foosball, video games, robotics and more. We are now taking the spirit of that event and creating a new effort we’re calling “Geeks Gaming for Good.”
With teams dispersed and boredom setting in, this new 8-team virtual Rocket League tournament will help connect the community — both game players and spectators — in a mixed reality world. We are hoping this fun team-building event can help unify the community in a fun way, while also raising money for relief efforts in the Seattle area. Contact Holly Grambihler, GeekWire chief sales and marketing officer, at hollyg@geekwire.com if interested in participating.
GeekWire Events: We’ve been speaking daily to attendees, sponsors, vendors and others about the feasibility of our large-scale events, including the GeekWire Awards (slated for July 23) and the GeekWire Summit (fall 2020). We are closely monitoring the situation, and we’ll listen to health and government officials as we make determinations on whether events can move forward.
However, it is increasingly looking like large-scale, in-person events are not likely this year, so we are taking a series of steps to bring the community together in new and creative ways. (See the above Rocket League tournament as one example). Our goal with our events, whether digital or in-person, remains the same: connect, inspire, entertain and inform. We’ve seen a great response to our virtual events — including our CARES Act webinar and Pivoting in a Pandemic panel — and we’re looking forward to more of these in the near future.
Those are a few of the highlights from the past few weeks at GeekWire. We appreciate all of the support as we navigate these choppy waters. And while we can’t say with any certainty that this coming Monday will bring any hints of normality, we are looking forward to the coming week, embracing what’s ahead.
