elcome to the first edition of Flip, a biannual online magazine sharing stories of individuals and organizations that are innovating in challenging times. Created by the team behind Startup Guide, Flip highlights stories of adaptation during adversity. While producing our guidebooks to startup ecosystems, we have come across countless examples of business pivots and personal reinvention. Motivated by these stories, we have created a platform to share the lessons learned and insights gained with a hope of fostering new thinking and new ways of doing business.

For our first edition, we’re looking at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has instigated unprecedented change around the world. On a personal, community and societal level, the pandemic has disrupted the status quo and forced adaptation. Although this has brought hardship to many, it has also highlighted the human capacity for innovation and resilience. 

In this issue, you’ll meet some of South Africa’s entrepreneurial women, who seized opportunities to reinvent their businesses during the country’s lockdowns. We also take a look at the work of recyclehero, a German recycling pick-up service that pivoted to delivering soup during a bitterly cold winter, and Santos Collective, a Lisbon-based community organization rethinking public space, among other individuals and organizations.

These are just a small selection of the stories of adaptation prompted by COVID-19, but we hope that they inspire you to persist during difficult times and to make your own changes for the better.

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Learn more about Flip.