Today I discussed product–market fit strategies with a rising entrepreneur and another advisor. The entrepreneur is addressing in a unique way a problem she’s passionate about. The pandemic has disrupted her vision for solving it, though. Today we explored the feasibility of digitizing her solution. She referred to this idea as a “digital first, physical second” approach.

After the meeting, that characterization stuck with me. I thought about it. Before 2020, life was “physical first.” Most people shopped in brick-and-mortar places like malls and grocery stores. Online shopping was growing rapidly, but it was still secondary. People regularly met up with friends and family to socialize. Phone calls and other digital communication methods were common, but only when seeing someone wasn’t feasible. Work meetings often took place face-to-face. Some people even flew regularly to conduct meetings (salespeople and consultants, for example). Tools like Zoom and Google Hangouts existed and were used, but only when travel wouldn’t work. Students went to schools and universities for their education, even though e-learning tools have been around for a decade or so.

The world has been flipped. We’ve moved to a “digital first” society.

Like everyone else, I’m living this every day, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise. But hearing it expressed so simply and clearly opened my eyes. I now recognize how big a change we’ve made in a short time. This change has had an enormous impact and will reverberate through our society for the foreseeable future.

As entrepreneurs look to solve old problems in new ways, they should consider embracing a digital-first approach.

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