The pandemic crushed my startup back in March, but somehow, that was one of the best things that could’ve happened to me.

Most people don’t know, but I spent most of 2019 building the MVP for my now defunct startup called Bagdrop, a short-term luggage storage and delivery service.

How did it work? Imagine checking out of your Airbnb at 11 AM, but your flight doesn’t leave until 7 PM. What are you going to do with all your luggage?

In the same manner you call an Uber, you can request a Bagdrop by putting in your pickup time and location, drop-off time and location, number of luggage items, and a Bagdrop driver comes to meet you at your pickup time and location to take your luggage to storage, freeing you up to roam the city luggage-free. When it’s time for drop-off, another driver meets you at your drop-off time and location to return your items back to you.

My plan was to launch right before SXSW 2020. Imagine, you land in Austin, TX for SXSW and instead of having to first rush to your Airbnb or hotel to drop-off your luggage, a Bagdrop driver meets you in the airport lobby to take your luggage to storage so you can go catch a show or meet up with friends. Later that day, another driver meets you at your hotel or Airbnb to return your items back to you.

I thought I had it all figured out. 2020 was my year lol

I finished building the MVP (minimum viable product, the most basic version of the app) early February and swiftly switched to business development mode, on the phone and emails trying to set up partnerships with Airbnb hosts and hotels in Austin, as well as partnerships with other luggage storage companies to be their delivery partner.

The initial reception was great! I had hosts signed up on the platform, hotels that were interested, and almost 50 drivers ready to go!

My startup was geared for a breakout launch at SXSW!

Like Mike Tyson said, “everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”.

That pandemic punched me so hard I thought I got JUMPED!

NOT ONLY did SXSW get cancelled early March, but a couple weeks later Austin, TX went on lockdown and the travel industry came to a halt 🤦🏿‍♂️. My business, which revolved around the travel industry, had to pack its bags and… nvm 🙃

I was crushed. Seeing my brainchild get popped like that was heartbreaking. A year’s worth of hard work went out the window in a matter of days. No way I could fund the business through the pandemic, especially considering the new safety measures that would’ve had to be put in place to protect my drivers and users, and the potential liability issues. I had to shut down.

But, this story ends well though.

After my startup failed, I refocused on my initial business where I teach people how to code, ROOTs Technology, and launched a YouTube channel (ToluVsTj) to support it. That channel just crossed 2K subscribers, is a few months away from being monetized, and ROOTs Technology has taken off as a result.

Moral of the story: when life gives you pepper, make pepper soup.