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Meet the Globe's Most Innovative Digital Businesses, Thriving Mid-Pandemic and Beyond Three industry leaders show how to reframe international economic decline into a world of opportunity

By Srivatsa KR

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur Asia Pacific, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

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As covid-19 massively shifted the globe's economic landscape, companies and brands across the world were faced with a reckoning: adapt or die. With nearly 100,000 U.S. businesses shuttering their doors permanently due to pandemic-born operational challenges, many enterprises made the shift online -- or expanded their pre-existing offerings -- to cater to an increasingly digital consumer base.

Today we explore three of the most ground-breaking companies forging a new frontier into online enterprise, breaking free from the restrictive shackles of covid-19 and ushering in a new era of flourishing, virtually-focused services.

One such agency innovating the online landscape has been 360° marketing agency UPRISE Management, whose deft navigation of digital marketing at the onset of the social media revolution helped firmly establish them as one of the modern go-to sources for marketing, consulting and creative needs. Bolstered by its CEO Lion Shirdan's more than 20 years in the game, UPRISE has managed to make a major name for itself in the industry, successfully helping companies of all sizes make a major splash in the U.S. market -- pre, mid and post-pandemic -- through its full-service, client-forward approach.

With origins in the talent management space, UPRISE's initial team assembled from top music managers and entertainment experts in the business. The agency quickly grew from servicing artists to representing some of the most sought-after social media influencers of the 21st century, relationships UPRISE still thoughtfully maintains. Continual success saw UPRISE transition into brand representation at the onset of 2018 and expand into the industry disruptor it is today. It now offers its full scope of services to both emerging and established companies across the world, including Y Combinator and Kimbal Musk backed, plant and gardening startup, Neverland, helping them grow a community of over 100k plant lovers pre-launch. They've also taken long-time, leading player in baby care, Hubble Connected (the brand behind the Motorola Baby brand), into the next phase, assisting their successful launch as a global, independent brand.

As part of its 360° ethos, UPRISE offers a unique range of services to help accomplish its clientele's goals from start to finish, including advising and consulting, public representation, and a full-scale in-house production team that develops ideal, brand-specific media content in both video and photo formats. Likewise, UPRISE leverages its historical camaraderie with Instagram's in-demand tastemakers, expertly pairing them with business clientele to make an effective marketing splash amongst UPRISE's strategically chosen core audience. Creating meticulously individualized plans for each client's needs, UPRISE curates a personally customized, multi-tier list of content creators, varying from niche micro influencers to highly followed macro influencers and credibility-earning celebrities, to partner with its clients, drive sales and increase brand awareness.

UPRISE's meteoric rise would not have been possible without the decades-long expertise and direct impact of its very own CEO, Lion Shirdan. Shirdan shirks the confines of a traditional CEO for a more hands-on approach, working in close capacity with UPRISE's clients to aid them in achieving their goals. As part of UPRISE's strategic advising, Shirdan personally consults clientele on developing marketing and launch strategies, onboarding innovative talent and facilitating growth hacking to deliver the most comprehensive results possible. He executes each strategy in full synchronicity with the brands' own in-house teams, keeping them highly involved in the process while essentially acting as an external CMO for select clients. Shirdan's renowned deft touch and keen eye for strategy have since inspired countless, high-end clients to sign with UPRISE, cementing Shirdan as one of the agency's premier assets.

While covid-19 undeniably brought numerous challenges to enterprises across the globe, UPRISE managed to thrive, growing its staff roster by 20 new personnel and, against the odds of the economic climate, quadrupled its business throughout the last year-and-a-half. The unique opportunity to transition businesses from its brick-and-mortar locations into bustling online retailers fell directly into UPRISE's wheelhouse, allowing the agency to help boost virtual sales and enter new markets. As covid-19 raised the prices of raw materials and goods, diminishing many providers' supply of their own products, UPRISE helped navigate these issues by advertising directly to a precise base of consumers, generating exactly enough demand for its clients' available inventory and preventing them from unwanted overextension.

Sitting firmly at the crux of traditional advertising and the modern domination of social media marketing, UPRISE Management's thorough methodology and quick adaptation to the times has firmly established it as an agency set to stand the test of time, no matter what global crisis or technological revolutions come its way.

Meanwhile, as the wealth gap between middle-class Americans and the top one percent continues to grow and has only been bolstered by the covid-19 pandemic, recent country-wide polls have shown that lessening this inequality is one of the top priorities of a significant portion of the population. Rather than waiting on outside intervention to amend the issue, burgeoning platform Passive E-Commerce has stepped in to help bridge the economic divide, providing the opportunity for lower and middle-class Americans to turn their home equity into a lucrative e-commerce business, increasing their monthly income and setting them up for future success.

As per 2020 statistics, some 65.8 percent of U.S. households are occupied by their owners rather than leased out. Due to a lack of public education on the subject, many of these homeowners believe the only way to profit from owned property is through its rental -- a non-option for most in the middle class. This is where Passive E-Commerce comes in, giving homeowners the ability to earn consistent cash flow from their very own abode without having to resort to renting.

To do so, Passive E-Commerce actively breaks down the barriers of the mysterious "castle model' and makes its components, once only privy to the upper class, available to the general population. Providing the average American homeowner access to this consistent and risk-free castle model, Passive E-Commerce clients can use their own personal savings or tap into their aforementioned existing home equity that can then be leveraged to generate $10,000 to $15,000 in monthly income by opening up their own plug-and-play e-commerce business.

While the newfound business intrinsically belongs to the client, Passive E-Commerce handles all of the day-to-day operations, from sourcing products to price listing and shipping directly to the customer, using the client's home equity or additional line of credit to pay for the wholesale costs that are near immediately recouped. Through this innovative approach, patrons directly benefit from the business without having to manage inventory, customer service or operations, splitting earned profits with Passive E-Commerce and bolstering their monthly earnings by five figures on average.

To accommodate clientele of all fiscal backgrounds, Passive E-Commerce offers several different entry options, making it easier than ever for the middle and lower class to get a leg up in the U.S. economic market, helping fight income inequality through education and accessibility to the lucrative e-commerce market.

Likewise making waves on the international scene, BTC Mine Au has emerged a nimble player in the blockchain mining space that has taken it upon itself to reduce bitcoin's ecological footprint. Established in Australia by forward-looking entrepreneur Andrew Parry, BTC Mine AU has introduced a cutting-edge technology solution -- powered by its ZEPRO 90TI multicoin rehashing machine -- which mines bitcoin at record efficiency.

In just the past 12 months, Parry has grown BTC Mine by over 300% and -- at BTC"s current rate of market adoption -- it won't be long until the ZEPRO 90TI becomes the market standard for Bitcoin mining efficiency.

As cryptocurrency's mainstream popularity and financial valuation rose meteorically throughout the pandemic, BTC Mine Au's role has established itself as a key player helping to bring the ongoing crypto craze well into the post-pandemic world, converting the trend into a sustainable practice for a better future for all.

Though the pending recovery of the global economy remains uncertain, the future of the world after covid-19 surely looks bright with businesses like UPRISE Management, Passive E-Commerce and BTC Mine Au leading the way forward, setting the new standard for innovation sky-high and beckoning other companies to follow in their revolutionary wake.

Note: Investment in cryptocurrency is subject to risk and readers should do their own due diligence. Entrepreneur Media does not endorse any such investment.

Note: The content featured in this article was produced by the brand

Srivatsa KR

Start-up enthusiast & Blogger

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