Times are tough, but certainly not dull
Frits Polman • nov 17, 2022
The past two years have been hectic at Guide-ID. Not only were museums forced to close during the pandemic, but we also saw the outbreak of a global chip crisis. And then the war in Ukraine drove up inflation and sparked an energy crisis. Read more about these two turbulent years and a drastic choice we had to make.
Sharing stories around the world
As the founder of Guide-ID, I’m naturally used to things being hectic. Building a company from scratch and turning it into a serious player on the world stage takes quite a bit of work. There’s never a dull moment. 2009 was the year in which the first Podcatcher started to tell the most captivating stories in museums. Fast-forward thirteen years, and you’d expect me to have pretty much seen it all. But nothing could be further from the truth.
Guide-ID has grown significantly since 2009: more museums, more countries, more features, and more team members. Until 2019, everything was under control. We had some ups and downs – don’t we all? – but they’re part and parcel of our ambition. After all, our mission was and is to share stories worldwide. By the end of 2019, everything was in place for us to achieve quick (yet controlled) growth and start operating in even more countries and even more museums.
As the founder of Guide-ID, I’m naturally used to things being hectic. Building a company from scratch and turning it into a serious player on the world stage takes quite a bit of work. There’s never a dull moment. 2009 was the year in which the first Podcatcher started to tell the most captivating stories in museums. Fast-forward thirteen years, and you’d expect me to have pretty much seen it all. But nothing could be further from the truth.
Guide-ID has grown significantly since 2009: more museums, more countries, more features, and more team members. Until 2019, everything was under control. We had some ups and downs – don’t we all? – but they’re part and parcel of our ambition. After all, our mission was and is to share stories worldwide. By the end of 2019, everything was in place for us to achieve quick (yet controlled) growth and start operating in even more countries and even more museums.
A succession of crises
Everyone knows what happened next. The pandemic led to lockdowns worldwide; museums were forced to shut. Having just welcomed lots of new faces into our team, we had no choice but to downsize again. And this frustrating situation didn't just impact us, but also affected our customers. We knew they'd be hit hard by declining visitor numbers and forced closures. That's why we stayed in touch with them as muck as possible and did everything we could to come up with solutions in the form of payment schemes. We made effective arrangements that enabled us to weather the pandemic together. Everything was under control...
Until it wasn't. The pandemic and the huge rise in working-from-home caused a spike in demand for consumer electronics, laptops and monitors. The big tech companies bought up all the chips, sparking a global chip crisis. Being a relatively small company that is dependent on chips, this was a huge blow for us. While we were developing a brand-new Podcatcher, prices shot up and delivery times skyrocketed.
Rising costs
The procurement costs for our components went up and up, and we had no choice but to keep larger stocks. This further squeezed our liquid assets – even when times are good, liquid assets are always a concern for fast-growing companies like ours. And just when we thought it was all over, the war in Ukraine brought us inflation and an energy crisis, driving up our costs. Our procurement costs for hardware, office space, energy, and – of course – staff are at a very different level from a year ago. We’ve never been in this situation before. How do you respond?
‘Just raise your prices', I hear some people say. 'Inflation is at 12%, so raise your prices by 12%. Job done. Easy peasy.' However those views are at odds with mine. We see our customers as friends, and friends share the pain. The museum sector has been through some brutal years and is now recovering from the effects of the pandemic. They need to heat their buildings, which are often old, in order to protect their collections and are now facing sky-high energy prices. It's a terrifying dilemma.
Everyone knows what happened next. The pandemic led to lockdowns worldwide; museums were forced to shut. Having just welcomed lots of new faces into our team, we had no choice but to downsize again. And this frustrating situation didn't just impact us, but also affected our customers. We knew they'd be hit hard by declining visitor numbers and forced closures. That's why we stayed in touch with them as muck as possible and did everything we could to come up with solutions in the form of payment schemes. We made effective arrangements that enabled us to weather the pandemic together. Everything was under control...
Until it wasn't. The pandemic and the huge rise in working-from-home caused a spike in demand for consumer electronics, laptops and monitors. The big tech companies bought up all the chips, sparking a global chip crisis. Being a relatively small company that is dependent on chips, this was a huge blow for us. While we were developing a brand-new Podcatcher, prices shot up and delivery times skyrocketed.
Rising costs
The procurement costs for our components went up and up, and we had no choice but to keep larger stocks. This further squeezed our liquid assets – even when times are good, liquid assets are always a concern for fast-growing companies like ours. And just when we thought it was all over, the war in Ukraine brought us inflation and an energy crisis, driving up our costs. Our procurement costs for hardware, office space, energy, and – of course – staff are at a very different level from a year ago. We’ve never been in this situation before. How do you respond?
‘Just raise your prices', I hear some people say. 'Inflation is at 12%, so raise your prices by 12%. Job done. Easy peasy.' However those views are at odds with mine. We see our customers as friends, and friends share the pain. The museum sector has been through some brutal years and is now recovering from the effects of the pandemic. They need to heat their buildings, which are often old, in order to protect their collections and are now facing sky-high energy prices. It's a terrifying dilemma.
Trouble shared
Johan (our COO) and I have discussed this frequently, and we’ve come to the conclusion that Guide-ID can’t sit there and do nothing. We, too, are affected by current events, even though we’d much prefer not to be. That’s why we had to take the painful decision to apply indexation. It’s the first time since being in business that we’ve had to make this drastic choice. However, in the belief that a trouble shared is a troubled halved, we decided to pass on only 50% of the inflation rate to our customers. If you can do something to help your customers in troubled times, you can celebrate together in better times
Better times
Call me an optimist, but I absolutely believe that better times are coming! You just need to look at our figures or at museum visitor numbers: little by little, those numbers are creeping back up to previous levels. People can’t live without art and culture. They will always come to museums. The wonderful stories at those museums need to be shared, and we just happen to be the masters of storytelling.
These are hectic times, yet we’re making major investments in a completely new Podcatcher and a new online platform. We’re making difficult choices and having sleepless nights. But it’s more than worth it. Because let’s face it: hectic trumps dull every time.
Johan (our COO) and I have discussed this frequently, and we’ve come to the conclusion that Guide-ID can’t sit there and do nothing. We, too, are affected by current events, even though we’d much prefer not to be. That’s why we had to take the painful decision to apply indexation. It’s the first time since being in business that we’ve had to make this drastic choice. However, in the belief that a trouble shared is a troubled halved, we decided to pass on only 50% of the inflation rate to our customers. If you can do something to help your customers in troubled times, you can celebrate together in better times
Better times
Call me an optimist, but I absolutely believe that better times are coming! You just need to look at our figures or at museum visitor numbers: little by little, those numbers are creeping back up to previous levels. People can’t live without art and culture. They will always come to museums. The wonderful stories at those museums need to be shared, and we just happen to be the masters of storytelling.
These are hectic times, yet we’re making major investments in a completely new Podcatcher and a new online platform. We’re making difficult choices and having sleepless nights. But it’s more than worth it. Because let’s face it: hectic trumps dull every time.
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