Like most Irish businesses over the last two months, ActaFun was forced to pivot and moved its activity booking operation online.
It’s been six weeks since Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced that Ireland was going into lockdown to tackle the Covid-19 outbreak, with people asked to stay within two kilometres of their home unless essential travel is required.
Since March 27th, most of us have been stuck at home and have been forced to adjust the way we live our lives, be it working, communicating with friends and family, exercising, and so on.
ActaFun, an event booking platform that has previously featured on ThinkBusiness, was forced to pivot its business model as the Covid-19 restrictions meant all events and activities for the foreseeable future had to be scrapped.
“We decided to temporarily pivot as demanded by customers, especially corporate clients seeking virtual team building activities”
It remains to be seen as to when things will go back to normal, with phase one of the Irish Government’s recovery plan kicking off on May 18th, but it is more likely to be August 10th when phase five on the recovery begins that we might see activities and events taking place once again.
Online jiu-jitsu and self-defence classes take place every Wednesday and Saturday over Zoom
Unlike most other booking platforms, Actafun is unique in that no booking fees apply to the user. However, with no activities currently available, founder Steven Kinvi decided to move the business online as popularity in online games and classes has grown massively in recent weeks.
“We decided to temporarily pivot as demanded by customers, especially corporate clients seeking virtual team building activities,” said Kinvi. “We then identified the opportunity to create an automated algorithm for processing payments on our platform and sending Zoom links to people via Email notifications.”
The platform is now offering a number of different online activities including online jiu-jitsu and self-defence classes every Wednesday and Saturday, yoga, dance and even webinars teaching you how to make your own homemade coffee.
“When the lockdown is lifted, we are sure most people will seek more outdoor activities and ActaFun will be ready”
Despite no certainty around when indoor and outdoor activities will take place, Kinvi said he is already putting plans in place for when the time comes.
“We have shifted our focus toward improving our tech for when activities do open up again, but until then we have some amazing virtual activities for people from the comfort of their homes.
Asked if he was worried about the impact of Covid-19, he added; “In the short-term yes, but in the long-term we are certain the business will prosper as studies show that people are becoming less materialistic and seek more experiences instead, especially while travelling. When the lockdown is lifted, we are sure most people will seek more outdoor activities and ActaFun will be ready.”
All virtual activities can be booked through the ActaFun website or app, with classes taking place on Zoom. For anyone interested in teaching a class on ActaFun, you can contact the company’s virtual activities project manager at Andrew@actafun.com.
By Stephen Larkin
Published: 6 May, 2020
