Mo Elghamri shares hard-earned insights from navigating three major economic crises—2000, 2008, and 2020—and reveals a consistent pattern: companies that double down on digital growth don’t just survive—they lead.
I still remember when the dot-com bubble burst. It was the early 2000s. I was just getting started in the tech space in Silicon Valley, and the entire internet market was crumbling around us. Startups were going under. Big companies pulled back on anything that sounded like "eCommerce" or "digital."
But something unexpected caught my attention.
A handful of companies didn’t stop. They kept building. Investing. Testing. Mostly in the consumer space—books, electronics, travel. When the smoke cleared and the market began to recover, those companies weren’t just surviving—they were leading.
And that’s when it hit me:
Economic volatility doesn’t kill innovation—it fuels transformation.
What I didn’t realize back then was that this pattern would repeat itself. Again and again. In even bigger ways.
Fast forward to the 2008 recession. I was deep in B2C eCommerce by then. The market was in crisis. Retailers were shutting down. Inventory was sitting idle. Panic was everywhere.
But while most were pulling back, I doubled down.
And what I saw was astonishing.
Online sales in my eCommerce business began to rise—steadily at first, then exponentially. Customers who had never shopped online before were trying it for the first time. Regular buyers were purchasing more. Everyone was looking for a smarter, easier, more economical way to shop. Digital gave them that.
When the recovery came? While most sectors returned to slow, incremental growth...
Online sales exploded.
But something else was happening beneath the surface—something even more profound.
B2B was starting to wake up.
Here’s the thing: the people who buy in B2B environments are the same people who just started shopping online in their personal lives.
They began expecting the same ease, speed, and transparency in their professional buying.
That’s when I noticed something powerful: B2B manufacturers were getting traffic from buyers who had never contacted a sales rep. They were researching, comparing, even trying to request quotes—all online.
And almost no one was ready for it.
This shift was so clear to me that I began focusing exclusively on B2B and manufacturers. I took the digital strategies I had tested and proven in B2C—and started applying them where no one else was looking.
The opportunity was enormous. The competition? Almost nonexistent.
One of the most unforgettable moments in my journey happened when I worked with the incredible team at Upside Innovation, a manufacturer of commercial accessibility ramps and canopies.
They had a great product. A solid business. But their entire customer acquisition strategy was built on trade shows, word of mouth, and phone calls. No digital funnel. No automation. No data strategy.
We rolled out a digital sales funnel. Implemented targeted advertising. Launched campaigns that put their product in front of new audiences.
And then something amazing happened.
They started getting more leads than their team could handle.
They had to pause campaigns so their production team could catch up.
They expanded their customer base in a few months.
They started seeing growth from markets they had never touched before.
And it all started during an economic slowdown.
That was the moment it clicked for me.
This wasn’t an exception. It was a pattern.
And it was one that kept repeating—again and again.
Then came 2020. The pandemic hit. The economy froze. Fear was everywhere again.
But once again, I saw it.
The companies that had invested in digital before the chaos weren’t panicking.
They were growing.
Some saw 70%+ revenue increases.
Others tripled their new customer acquisition.
They were hiring when others were laying off.
Expanding while others were shrinking.
And the most surprising part?
Even companies that had just dipped their toes into digital—those with even a modest web presence or a basic funnel—still outperformed the competition.
But the companies that had benefited accidentally—those who never committed to a real strategy?
They began to stall.
Some crashed harder than before.
They couldn’t sustain the growth, because they hadn’t built the systems to support it.
And now... here we are again.
The signs are all around us.
Global uncertainty. Tariff wars. Changing supply chains. Trade tensions.
Most companies are cutting back. Slowing down. Hesitating.
But I’ve learned this the hard way, through three major economic crises:
When everyone is waiting… the bold ones are winning.
The next wave of digital transformation is already starting.
But this time, it’s not just B2C.
It’s global.
It’s industrial.
It’s B2B.
And it’s moving faster than ever.
The best time to invest in digital is when others don’t.
The next market leaders will be the ones who act now—not after.
B2B buyers are already online. The only question is: can they find you?
If you’re a manufacturer, distributor, or B2B business leader who wants to stay ahead of the curve, now is the time to act.
At eRevenu, we help businesses just like yours achieve:
Schedule your free strategy session and let’s uncover where your growth potential is hiding.