With all the news, warnings, statistics, flying around out there during these unprecedented times, we were curious how the leaders of our SCV portfolio companies were coping. In this three-part multimedia series, we sat down with each CEO to get their thoughts on COVID-19 and its impacts on their companies and the business world as a whole.
First up, Paul Battista, CEO of Polarity.
Polarity provides an augmented reality software product that boosts productivity by relaying important information across the screen in real time. Prior to mandates dictating work from home, Polarity was already 100 percent remote. However, as they quickly learned, being office-less and working from home are two very different things.
Here's what Paul had to say:
Strategic Cyber Ventures: Week 1 of official quarantine in the books… how's it been treating you so far?
Paul Battista: Although we are already a work-from-home company, it is different to all actually be at home. Normally we are out at customer's sites, conferences, or other events so being home this much does feel different. That being said, from a technology and productivity perspective, it's business as usual for us.
SCV: How do you expect early stage startups will be impacted?
PB: I expect it will be different depending on the startup and the value they provide to their customers. Because we provide collaboration software that allows teams to collaborate better, we have seen an uptick in sales due to work-from-home requirements.
SCV: Since your team has lots of prior experience, do you have any tips on how to boost productivity at home?
PB: If you're one of the many people across the globe transitioning to full-time remote work for the first time, you'll be dealing with the many challenges that come with it — distractions, absence of routine, and isolation, just to name a few. In order to effectively keep cyber threats at bay, you'll first need to learn how to remain productive in your new work environment.
SCV: Have there been any unexpected positives about being home all the time?
PB: Of course it is nice to not be on an airplane every week and see my wife and kids more.
SCV: What's the best movie/book/tv show you've watched/read so far?PB: It's nice to see Venus is the brightest thing in the night sky other than the moon while I am reading the third book from The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey.
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Polarity resources to improve work from home productivity:
Community Webinar: How to Transition to Remote Life as a Security Professional on 3/25 @1 PM EST.
The Hardest Part of Remote Work — and How to Tackle it -Part I & Part II Productivity- Part I & Part II
ABOUT STRATEGIC CYBER VENTURES
Cybersecurity is national security, and we're a D.C.-based venture capital firm on a mission to find cutting-edge startups that help us make an impact. We go beyond the check to help our founders win by leveraging our industry connections and experience as cybersecurity veterans to fuel their companies from inception to exit.
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