Camp COVID
How one company managed the crisis and made the switch to virtual camps with seven key steps
By Richard Ginn
Photos: Courtesy of Black Rocket
Black Rocket is a technology-education company that has been partnering with camps for 20 years to provide STEM programs. It works with 225 different camps around the country to teach children coding, game design, virtual reality, drones, and robotics. For the most part, the camps are in-room and in the summer. Like many camps around the country, when COVID-19 first became a reality, they were on the verge of going out of business and, unfortunately, many have.
“I’m lonely. Does anyone want to play Battle Royale with me?” That was a chat on the company website from a former student. About two weeks into the shutdown, the 12-year-old expressed what children around the world were feeling. She had previously competed in the Black Rocket eSports League (e-sports is competitive video gaming) and reached out to play Battle Royale. When the chat came in, the company was in a dark moment. The staff had just discussed 50-percent pay cuts across the board and the possibility they soon could be out of business. How do you motivate yourself to come to work in times like these? But, at that moment, everyone in the company stopped what they were doing and played video games with the student for the next 30 minutes. The laughter and excitement gave them the spark to keep fighting.
A Good, Hard Look In The Mirror
It is hard to keep motivation going day in and day out. To do so, the company went back to its mission. For Black Rocket and most camps, the mission is to engage and empower children, whether through hiking or learning to code. After that moment with the former student, the staff’s next move was to create a video game to teach kids how to fight COVID-19 and use the game as a fundraiser for children impacted by the virus. Did it make any money for the company? No. Did it help the company pivot? No. But it was fun and gave the staff members a way to remember they were luckier than most. Helping others and having fun helped them fight back the despair that the team and many people around the world were feeling. They realized that the first step in a crisis is to not give in to fear.
At the same time, the debate began within the company about whether or not to switch to virtual camps, hold out for in-room programs, or do some combination of both. During those first few weeks of quarantine, the company was hopeful that restrictions would be lifted by summer and in-room programs would be business as usual. By early April, the company realized this was not going to be the reality and also how complicated it would be to do both in-room and virtual instruction. Hiring staff members, training, and setting up equipment take months to prepare. The company did not have the capital or the time to do both types of programs. So it took a leap of faith and went all in on the virtual option by the end of April—something it had never done before. Beyond the diversity of systems at partner locations, the other concerns were about tech specs and home computers. Normally, each location had standard specs. Now, the company would have to accommodate thousands of diverse computers and bandwidths; that alone made the company hesitant. However, in the end it was the only option. The hardest decision was choosing a path and committing to it. Once the company settled on an entirely virtual format, all but a handful of the partner schools also committed, and that made a huge difference.
Financially Speaking
There was still one big problem. The lifeblood of any business is cash and Black Rocket did not have enough. What saved the company and allowed it the time to explore the new path was the PPP loan from the federal government. With the loan, an existing line of credit, and cash reserves, the company had enough capital to get to July. That provided a 60-day lifeline and a chance to turn things around without having to lay off any staff members or make pay cuts. With cash on hand and the decision made, all that was needed was to make the move to virtual. Sounds easy for a tech camp, right?
Not so much. The transition was very difficult and took many unexpected turns. Creating a virtual camp was much more complicated than just creating a Zoom meeting. It required the company to redo every contact in two weeks (which normally takes six months), revise curriculum, figure out the right class sizes, evaluate various distance-learning platforms (remember the Zoom bombs?), figure a way to train all staff members remotely, create a new back-end software and a new pricing model, and convince hesitant partners to buy into the new plan. For staff members, many of whom had kids and additional demands at home, this meant 60- to 80-hour work weeks from mid-March through the end of May. Since everything about going virtual was new, plans were often created, released, scrapped, revised, and remade. With all of these decisions, communication was a key and the company switched from weekly department meetings to shorter, daily stand-ups. Although the stand-ups now often included dogs, cats, and 5-year-olds, the meetings kept everyone focused, allowing the company to change course quickly when something was not working.
A Series Of Ups And Downs
One of the more critical decisions was how to offer programs that parents could afford. There were plenty of virtual programs, and many cost $350 or more. In addition to the standard players in the industry, it seemed like everyone had the same idea, and a new virtual option popped up every day. How to differentiate from the competition was a constant question. The team knew it needed to find the unique reason for why people would choose Black Rocket. Beyond empowering kids, Black Rocket has a core mission of reaching every child, not only the ones who can afford it. The company knew it did not want to charge $350 per course; however, early projections showed that going virtual could possibly cost more due to server costs and other expenses. In the end, the company relied on the strength of its existing community called the Creator Corps. This innovative approach combined large group classes with small group breakout rooms to balance affordability and value.
Another critical decision made early on was reducing complexity and creating a standard schedule for all schools nationwide. Traditionally, the company creates a custom schedule for each partner and prides itself on the ability to say “yes” to everything. However, the new mantra became “just say no,” something no one in the company was comfortable with. Yet, with so many new challenges, the company needed to reduce the number of decisions it and the customers had to make. The process was simplified as much as possible. Even still, if there was one thing that could have been changed, it would have been to reduce the options even more.
Then the biggest challenge yet arose. The virtual camps went live. The original concern about the diversity of tech specs became a reality and almost sank the first week of camp. After a grueling first day, the company rallied and made a series of adjustments in real time. Among them were extending one-to-one sessions, setting up special tech-support groups, and using text messaging to communicate with parents. By day two, things were back on track. One parent posted on social media after that first week, “While my kiddos were attending their first summer camp. Yes, camp during COVID-19! From home! They both loved it! They made worlds with caves, llamas, disco balls, egg statues, and mountains of treasure chests (don’t ask). They learned new skills, made friends with kids from other states, and actually listened to their instructors. I am very proud of them both!
Reflecting on these last three months and the tremendous change the company has undergone, it all came down to trust. The longstanding relationships with partner schools allowed the company to make the leap to virtual. The parents and students who have been taking programs for years trusted the company and tried out these new programs. Most importantly, the team trusted each other to do what was needed, no matter what. They trusted that, after 20 years, they would make it through this. And they did.
Richard Ginn serves as CEO of Black Rocket and began his career teaching violence-prevention to elementary and middle-school students in urban areas. Ginn transitioned from the classroom to school administration, where his responsibilities included supervision of a staff of 90, curriculum initiatives, parent relations, and the school budget. Ginn received a B.A. in Education from Clemson University, an M.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University, and an M.A. in Education Administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University.