apartment renters connect with prospective
neighbors to get the scoop on buildings and
landlords. Because the pandemic limited
people’s ability to meet in person, Locaris
enabled renters to get the lowdown on a
building safely.
“I tried to focus on, what is COVID a catalyst for?
What trends is it bringing to market a couple of
years ahead of schedule?” says Catania, who lives
in Henderson, Nevada. Locaris launched in June
and quickly found success.
As owners are forced to shut businesses,
they’ve had to figure out what to do next. For
entrepreneurs like Catania, the answer has
been anticipating the next trend and creating a
company to take advantage of it. Some owners
have started businesses similar to those they
lost, or companies that fill a different role in
the same industry. Others have gone to work
for someone else, while perhaps holding onto
hopes of eventually reviving the businesses
they shuttered.
It’s not known how many small businesses have
failed in the pandemic, but different estimates
all show devastation. Based on a projection
last spring by the National Bureau of Economic
Research, the number is likely well into the
hundreds of thousands. Data from the work
scheduling software company UKG shows
that about one in six small businesses have
closed their doors since the pandemic began.
And the National Restaurant Association, a
trade group, said 17% of U.S. restaurants, or
more than 110,000, had permanently shut
by Dec. 1; it’s likely that many were small or
mid-sized businesses.