It’s no secret that uncertainty and instability have pervaded much of the tech industry over the last few months. It has faced a constant need to adapt throughout a year made turbulent by COVID-19, civic unrest, and the resulting economic recession. However, for WTIA member DeepCell Industries, these concerns were mitigated at the outset of the pandemic with timely and relevant information provided by WTIA. The WTIA community has helped them inform decision-making about shipping overseas, managing IT and logistics processes, and continuing to expand their business in a time when many others are struggling to stay afloat at all. 

“WTIA took [COVID-19] seriously from the very beginning and provided resources to its members,” said DeepCell Industries COO, Gary Bonilla. WTIA worked quickly to move its events and programming online and to create workshops and webinars to help member companies better handle these unprecedented challenges. Bonilla noted that WTIA’s workforce approached the pandemic in a scientific and direct way, ensuring members were able to transition smoothly to working from home without losing productivity or profits – two elements that are even more critical for startups like DeepCell. 

Bonilla also recounted how WTIA’s programming throughout the pandemic has allowed the company to consider new avenues for innovation and helped them remain calm in the face of chaos. From the beginning of the pandemic, WTIA has been seeking to procovvide valuable information to its members through educational webinars, blog posts, and newsletters specifically tailored to the tech industry and its concerns. DeepCell has pulled from those events and writings to develop new strategies, protocols, and best practices for making the transition to working from home. Of equal importance is the fact that these resources have allowed them to remain calm with the knowledge that WTIA is looking out for its members and doing everything possible to assuage their concerns with actionable suggestions for managing a business through a pandemic. 

DeepCell Industries became involved with WTIA in 2017 after their CEO, Kelly Ogilvie, chatted with a WTIA member and heard about the benefits offered to tech companies. Since then, DeepCell has utilized WTIA’s phone plan and health insurance options. As a startup, Bonilla mentioned, it’s incredibly important to research options to see where money and time can be saved. WTIA allowed DeepCell Industries to do just that with a flexible no-frills, flat-rate phone plan. In a time when face-to-face interaction is virtually impossible, having convenient and affordable access to a variety of communication platforms through WTIA’s phone plan has been invaluable for DeepCell Industries. 

The same ease extends to the health insurance plan they have been using. None of DeepCell Industries’ employees have had issues with the health insurance policy, copay prices, or paperwork; “it’s all been smooth, which is unusual for health insurance!” Gary quipped. He was able to find a plan that perfectly fit DeepCell’s needs by looking through WTIA’s dozens of options and finding one that saved him both time and money, while ensuring that details such as preventative health care coverage weren’t being overlooked. 

Beyond health insurance and phone plans, DeepCell has also been making the most of WTIA’s extensive presence in the tech field. With 1000+ member companies running the gamut from one-person startups to tech giants like Amazon and Microsoft, WTIA members benefit from being much more connected to their peers. As Bonilla and his team began diving into the nitty-gritty of startup life and working to expand their presence, they were inspired by success stories from other startups who had taken advantage of WTIA resources to grow their business. Having this kind of confidence has allowed DeepCell’s team to make the best strategic choices for their company, even during a global crisis. 

Specifically within the startup space, DeepCell Industries’ team has benefitted from WTIA’s commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship. DeepCell is the first startup Bonilla has been involved with, but his partners are seasoned veterans in the industry. Despite this, they still find themselves seeking out WTIA-exclusive resources and connections tailor-made for startups in order to strengthen their business and help them expand. 

Taking into consideration all of the elements that have helped DeepCell, Bonilla highlighted that working with WTIA has allowed them not only to make the best decisions from a business standpoint, but, more importantly, has empowered them to do right by their employees despite global circumstances making it more challenging than ever.

Access benefits like these and more. Join WTIA today.