Navigating Foggy Waters

4 min readJul 8, 2020

If launching a startup wasn’t hard enough, navigating these waters in the COVID-era is no easy task. I’m not going to belabor impacts of COVID-19, we get it. I want to talk about how to navigate decisions and how the E-fish team has managed to progress during such a significant time of uncertainty.

Cash is King

Well, obviously. But this is true now more than ever. Investors have tightened their belts and having a strong balance sheet is absolutely crucial to weathering this storm. As a bootstrapped startup, we have to pay close attention to that number in our SVB account. Although at the same time we can’t be cheap.

We have to pay to play, but we must do it in a smart way.

For example, we had to make a decision on whether to temporarily sell direct to consumer or make this a permanent business model and push the pedal to the metal. This decision came down to a few key insights: our appetite for uncertainty, and, of course, cash flow. If we partnered with restaurants, not only would it be difficult to predict if they’ll order, but the better question is when (if ever) will they pay us for our services! Direct to consumer allows us to scale so much quicker with less cash on hand.

During times of uncertainty, look to your balance sheet for guidance.

Community Impact: Donating Proceeds

We care deeply about the suppliers and buyers (formerly restaurants) that we support. While we tend to focus on improving harvester wages, without restaurants these fishermen can’t stay afloat. When we launched direct to consumer, we did so while donating all proceeds from the Namesake Foods site to non-profits in the food service space to support front-line restaurant workers. We did so because we knew that they needed the money more than we did — It was the right thing to do.

The follow-up question I get from my wife is, “How long can we afford to do this?”. At some point we have to shift our focus back on ourselves. If we can’t survive than we’re not helping anyone.

We donated profits through the end of May and have since begun to transition our donation model. Since launching E-Fish.com the team has been hard at working deciding how to retain this donation aspect of the business.

We’ve made the decision to move forward with donations for first-time customers.

Most of the other players in this space will entice their customers with a 10% discount on their first purchase. For us, this just doesn’t make sense. We want to continue paying our harvesters a premium for their superior product and don’t think that discounts do that product justice. Instead, we want to donate proceeds from their sale to non-profits that support the food space.

Expect this model to be around for the long haul. To start, we will be donating all proceeds from a customer’s first purchase to the Restaurant Strong Fund. Some think we’re crazy for doing this as a young startup still trying to find product-market-fit. For us, we believe that doing the right thing needs to be done at the outset. It’s a slippery slope to say we’ll do it right once we have the money. The risk to company culture, suppliers alignment, and employee recruitment is too high to push this off to when we’re successful. If investors think we’re crazy, then we’re not talking to the right folks.

Support Local

When the future looks foggy, double down on what is clear to you in the present.

For us, it is crystal clear that the community we want to work with is experiencing something no one before them has dealt with or could plan for. All we can do is be there for them and ease the pain. We’re trying our hardest to onboard as many qualified fishermen to the platform who are willing to take the time to pack their own shipments. We’re doing our part to help this community, and you can help us! Support your local community that is hurting.

I’m not asking you to support E-fish. I’m asking you to support your local retailers, butcher, fish monger, or harvester who haven’t seen a customer in months. If you can’t find one, come to us.

These people are there for you whenever you need them, it is our time to be there for them.