Entrepreneur & Startup News Roundup: January 14, 2020
The New Year Brings New Startups and a Revamped PPP
The PPP re-opened this week, and eligible companies can now apply for a second draw
Small Business News
Here we go again! Paycheck Protection Program Round 2 (PPP 2) is now open for small businesses that have been adversely affected by COVID-19. This is technically the third round of PPP funding but what makes this one significant is that it now allows for companies to apply a second time.
To be eligible for a second draw, businesses must prove a 25% revenue loss in any quarter of 2020 over the same quarter of 2019. It is important to note, however, that your business does not need to have already accepted a first draw to participate in this round of PPP.
Most are optimistic that new restrictions will help make sure the money gets to where it’s needed most. For example, this time loans are capped at $2 million, down from the $10 million maximum in the prior version. Additionally, the maximum number of employees is reduced from 500 to 300. This round of funding is allocated at $284 billion, and the SBA is confident this will be enough funding.
There are many great resources out there for information about the new PPP. If you’re active on Twitter, an awesome account to follow is Trevor Loy (Trevor Loy on Medium), who summarizes every SBA release of information, which can get overwhelming. The latest guidance from the SBA is posted here, and you can download the forms to apply for a PPP loan here (both links are to the SBA website).
Additional small business stimulus is expected after the Biden administration takes over next week, and we will continue to follow that in the days and weeks ahead.
Funding Roundup
Hello Ralphie
The use of virtual medical visits, or telehealth, has expanded in use since the start of the pandemic. And while the recent surge came out of necessity, it’s not a new trend. Between 2016 and 2019, remote patient visits doubled — from 14% to 28%. But what about the family pet? Enter Hello Ralphie, a veterinary telehealth startup, which recently the closing of a seed funding round. Pet owners can make appointments for both video and chat visits with a veterinarian, priced at $55 and $35 respectively, and payments are processed within the Hello Ralphie mobile app. If an urgent appointment is required, there are immediate appointments with a veterinary technician for just $20. The platform partners with Covetrus to provide prescriptions. The company’s seed round of $1 million was funded by HearstLab and WPMC Fund.
Alchemy Code Lab
Alchemy Code Lab is a software development school located in Portland, Ore. Their program takes just 23 weeks to complete and has an alumni job placement rate of 87% with a median starting salary of $80,000. But if you’re one of the many unemployed job-seekers looking to retrain, the $24,000 tuition is a lot of money. Now, you can pay for school after you graduate and get that high-paying tech job through an Income Share Agreement (ISA). The school recently announced $5.8 million in funding for its ISA program, and expects to be able to offer it to over half of its students over the next several years. The funding round was backed by Social Finance’s Career Impact Bond. For more information about ISAs and how they work, check out this article from NerdWallet.
Outer
We’ve been profiling startups for a while now, and it’s always fun when you see a company in the news as it gains subsequent funding rounds. We first looked at Outer, an outdoor furniture company, back in June of last year when they completed a seed funding round. Now, just seven months later, we get to congratulate them again, this time for completing a $10.5 million Series A funding round. It looks like it’s going to be another summer of outdoor socializing, so the company looks to build on its sales from this past year, which were up a whopping 1000% over 2019. Recently the company introduced a new product line of outdoor rugs made from plastic water bottles. This round of funding was led by Sequoia Capital China, return investors including Mucker Capital, Social Starts, and Unlock Venture Partners, and many angel investors.
Uprising
Just in time for your New Year’s resolution of eating fewer carbs, Uprising is offering keto-friendly “superfood cubes,” a bread substitute made without grains that is both high in fiber and protein. Available via a subscription service, they have just added “chips” to their menu. The company recently raised $1.25 in funding led by Trousdale Ventures with participation from several angel investors.
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