by Peter Yu, Zeacon
This article is the second in a two-part story. If you haven’t already, please first read the article “Pivot or Persevere” first.
In 2019 (ah, the good old days), Zeacon started as a business and launched its App as “the easiest way to find something to do with a single glance — enabling users to discover events, experiences, and offers in real time.” Many retailers, restaurants and small to medium-sized businesses with a physical storefront joined Zeacon’s SaaS platform so they can leverage location-based technology to push out offers, create on-App promotions and events, as well as track online and offline traffic (including physical store visits).
This early success was short-lived due to Covid. As shops closed, users saw the plethora of events, venues, offers, and promotions evaporate. Similarly, Zeacon’s clients — the brick-and-mortar retail establishments hit hardest by shutdowns — lost their revenue streams. This set the stage (more like “forced”) Zeacon’s first Pivot. It quickly transformed into an ecommerce livestream company focused on creating new revenues channels for its retail clients. Zeacon figuratively threw its customers a lifeline.
Enter the “Zeacon Box” era where the company livestreamed cooking, dancing, mixology and other “edutainment” classes while fulfilling the delivery of physical elements to complement those digital experiences. Using this model, Zeacon led the charge to support local businesses and felt validated when so many consumers joined this cause. It quickly gained expertise in three key, interrelated areas: livestreaming, ecommerce sales of virtual experiences, and fulfillment services to deliver physical goods that complimented the digital…such as fresh ingredients to be used during an interactive, virtual cooking class.
Zeacon’s most recent pivot was to move up to supporting ever-larger organizations and companies on their “DigiCal” (Digital + Physical) transformation. Over the past five months, Zeacon has helped corporations move large annual events online, powered countless live streamed fundraisers for nonprofits, and hosted several B2B virtual conferences. This brings us to today. After two nimble pivots, Zeacon went from seeing Covid cut off its initial SaaS revenue stream to surviving (after its 1st “Zeacon Box” pivot) and is now thriving (after its 2nd “DigiCal” pivot). Zeacon has hit revenue targets for the fourth consecutive month and continues to grow, hire, and add clients.
Through these pivots, Zeacon never stopped investing in its App and location-based technology. Its top-notch team of software engineers continued enhancing the Zeacon App even though it remained dormant during Covid shutdowns. So, despite pivoting not once but twice, Zeacon also persevered.
Zeacon still believes that physical locations, real-time geo-fencing, and retail discovery are important and will make a comeback. And when that happens, its new App will be ready. But if reopening continues to be elusive, that’s ok too. Zeacon’s successful pivots have prepared it to operate in either an online or offline scenario seamlessly. In fact, it is chomping at the bit to help others do the same and thrive equally in a virtual or physical environment.
So, like an early-day Apple, Zeacon has both pivoted (twice) AND persevered. It is having its apple pie and eating it too. Pivot or Persevere? Why choose when you can do both. Oh, and stay tuned to learn more about Zeacon’s soon-to-launch, upgraded App.
PS: interested in joining Zeacon? We’d love to have you on our team! Check our open positions on Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/zeacon/jobs/
