With fires in LA still burning (but hopefully not for long), here's a thread about what we know about entrepreneurship in the wake of (and during) natural disasters 🔥 (🧵 1/15) - ThreadSky

buildit.bsky.social • 44 days ago

With fires in LA still burning (but hopefully not for long), here's a thread about what we know about entrepreneurship in the wake of (and during) natural disasters 🔥

(🧵 1/15)

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buildit.bsky.social•44 days ago

Entrepreneurship in the wake of the disasters often gets a bad rap – profiteering & price gouging. And sometimes it is! See @davidmcswane.bsky.social’s amazing “Pandemic, Inc” on efforts to source PPE during Covid

buildit.bsky.social•44 days ago

The most insane anecdote from the book was a Texas company that took $7.3M to provide vials for rapid antigen tests – and handed over uninflated 2 liter soda bottles instead

Also reported by @propublica.org here: https://www.propublica.org/article/the-trump-administration-paid-millions-for-test-tubes-and-got-unusable-mini-soda-bottles

buildit.bsky.social•44 days ago

But there were good stories too! During #COVID19 entrepreneurs helped keep our hospital system afloat – sourcing hundreds of millions of units of PPE and innovating complex medical supplies like ventilators

https://hbr.org/2021/02/one-way-to-build-more-resilient-medical-supply-chains-in-the-u-s

buildit.bsky.social•44 days ago

And this is often how it works. Entrepreneurship is *huge* part of economic resilience. Ppl on the ground can often move faster and address unmet needs faster than (overwhelmed) state agencies & institutions

buildit.bsky.social•44 days ago

Entrepreneurs often occupy the critical middle ground – meeting needs and filling gaps after the emergency rescue crews have left, but before markets and infrastructure are functioning normally

buildit.bsky.social•44 days ago

For example, entrepreneurs sold food and water in tent cities following the immediate aftermath 2010 Haiti earthquake. Others provided orphan rescue, psychological counseling, and job placement

Paper link: https://bit.ly/4heYHrX

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