The impact of Covid-19 on Ventures
For founders, employees, freelancers or investors related to a venture or multiple ventures Please fill in this form, if you already did please also fill in the post-covid-19 survey.
If you are a founder, employee, freelancer or investor related to a venture or multiple ventures, please fill in the form per venture so we can monitor, research and publish a report about how ventures (start-ups, scale-ups, corporate ventures, spin-offs, …) are currently impacted by the Covid-19 epidemic.
The data is anonymous (you can leave an email address to receive updates on the report with all insights and advice)
Insight: summary impact Covid-19 on ventures
Update on 22/06/20–1:00 PM — We decided to post no more new updates on this story. All the insights and data from the last months are summarized 👈
There was no commercial or promotional interest, this was a bottom-up and not for profit initiative to avoid a crisis situation, voluntary help and advice ventures that are in or potentially could be in a moment of “crisis” due to Covid-19.
A big thank you to all volunteers and partners that contributed. Don’t forget to click 👏 to say “thanks!” if you liked this story and to thank our volunteers.
Stay safe! 😷 Follow Techventures for further, future updates and insights.
Launch: Moving CovTech towards PandemicTech
Update on 24/05/20–4:00 PM — We decided with the Techventures network to change the #CovTech cluster towards a #PandemicTech cluster, a pro-bono accelerator program for ventures fighting the pandemic.
The accelerator program is a cluster and project designed to fight pandemic disease threats through collaboration between the ventures, mentors, and experts. Apply here 🚀
Launch: EUvsVirus Hackathon
Update on 20/04/20–8:00 PM — The European Commission launched a EUvsVirus Hackathon. Register here, more Hackathon initiatives? Have a look at: https://covtech.org/hacks
Insight: Moving from #CovTech to #RecovTech?
Update on 16/04/20–3:00 PM — We mentioned earlier that a new Tech cluster is rising: Share your initiative with the CovTech* cluster.
The last days we noticed that a lot of initiatives are working on RecovTech solutions that are benefiting the recovering process from the Covid-19 disease but also the societal and economical recovery that is needed to create a post-covid-19 world.
Launch: Post-Covid-19 impact survey
Update on 10/04/20–9:00 PM — We launched a post-Covid-19 survey, please fill in here. Results will be shared in this medium post.
Does your venture have a post-Covid-19 strategy?
Insight: Statistics impact on ventures
Update on 05/04/20–6:00 PM — We developed a new page on CovTech.org with the evolution and measured statistics out of the crowdsourced survey.
There is a dramatic evolution of the economic impact on ventures… It is time to prepare us for a post covid-19 strategy.
Tips: Hackathons
Update on 29/03/20–6:00 PM — A lot of Hackathon initiatives are being hosted, some of the biggest tech companies: Facebook, Amazon, Slack and many others are organizing a global hackathon based on the challenges of the World Health Organization, UNICEF and UN Women, as well as local governments, private enterprises and so much more.
CGH registration deadline 30th of March!
Explore more Hackathons or share your own hack initiative on CovTech.org
Insight: The impact on governance
Update on 25/03/20 — 6:00 PM — What is the impact on the boards of directors of ventures? In the last updates, we discussed the general impact on ventures and the team but directors on the board have hectic days now, in the current crisis they have to take their responsibility and make important decisions to decide what’s best for the venture. Not only reflecting and finding answers on the financial impact is important but members of the board have to assure and overlook that the crisis can be managed properly.
Manage your stakeholders right
Stakeholder management is crucial at this point. How the venture is dealing with its customers, investors, employees. For example, are you taking up your social responsibility? Launching initiatives for good? And in the meanwhile, make sure you adapt for example your business model? Manage the cash position and burn rate by putting your employees (temporary) unemployed.We are all in the same boat
As a board member, it’s important to give guidance and feedback to the team of the venture. Hold the management accountable and let them solve all small fires. Avoid going into operational decisions. Keep your nose-in, and your fingers-out. Short communication cycles and feedback loops are important to measure and steer the ship in the right direction. Setup a Covid 19 war room between the board members and the management to streamline this.Be pro-active
Shareholders and investors will come with questions, be pro-active as a board. Inform your stakeholders in advance with the latest updates and news. In some cases, you will need to hold an extraordinary general meeting. Organizing a physical EGM meeting or event is not possible so you will need to look into digital solutions to organize this. The same for ventures that are launching all kinds of initiatives. This is a good moment to digitally involve everyone from the organization into the discussion making process. Requiring new ways of doing governance.
New ways of governance?
How can boards deal with this? Be open to test new ways of doing governance and use tools for remote board meetings, digital voting.
Organizing your annual or extraordinary general meetings over broadcasting. If you want to involve people remote in a decision-making process you can experiment using a DAO.Decentralized Autonomous Organizations
What? “A decentralized autonomous organization, or just DAO, is an organization model whose decisions are made electronically (digital) by written computer code or through the vote of its members. In essence, it is a system of hard-coded rules that define which actions an organization will take.Some features of a DAO are:
- Flexibility and agility
- Decentralized trust
- Fast and autonomous
- Always accessible
- Open, transparent and secureLearn or read more about new ways of governance? Read the article and paper from Jacobs Henri (Chairman of the board of Techventures)
Insight: Dealroom report available
Update on 23/03/20 — 7:00 PM — Dealroom published a report on how startups can survive such extreme conditions? Which changes are cyclical and which are structural? A 12-page report provides an initial view of the impact of the Corona crisis on startups & tech. Download the full report for free.
Impact of the Corona crisis on startups & tech
Launch: CovTech accelerator 🚀
Update on 22/03/20 — 2:00 PM — The last days with the Techventures network and thanks to the partnership with Acceleratorapp we worked around the clock to set up the CovTech cluster and a pro-bono accelerator program for ventures.
The CovTech accelerator program is a cluster and project designed to fight pandemic disease threats through collaboration between the ventures, mentors, and experts. Apply here 🚀
Launch: CovTech cluster
Update on 19/03/20 — 3:00 PM — We mentioned earlier that a new Tech cluster is rising: Share your initiative with the CovTech* cluster.
The last days we noticed that a lot of ventures are launching all kinds of initiatives and working on tech solutions, CovTech curates and clusters them.
* CovTech are all the tech solutions and initiatives that are tackling Covid-19
Keeping the balance between damage control and helping out where you can.
Update on 19/03/20 — 11:30 PM — An intermediate status based on the survey: the average negative economic impact is +10,83 %, of ventures who estimate to enter a financial disaster. The challenge is to balance between damage control and contributing, helping out where you can.
There is no us and them or competitors anymore, just us.
More Tips:
- Avoid price-wars and similar things.
- Stay calm, assess, question all certainties.
- Be 100% transparent to your team.
- Check government help.
- Seek new opportunities within your customer base
- Keep on solving problems and pains for your customers and stakeholders
- It’s the right time to give something back and help where you can.
- Collaborate with all market players & partner up with each other!
Must read: A crisis checklist for the management of a venture.
Highlights: Singularity University Covid-19 summit
Update on 18/03/20 — 11:00 PM —The 3-day virtual summit from Singularity University is over. In case you missed it, you can check all the highlights and watch the recorded sessions:
→ Su.org/summits/covid-19-virtual-summit
Tip: European ecosystem survival team
Update on 17/03/20 — 5:30 PM — For all the European ecosystem builders (incubators, accelerators, networks, communities, ventures…) and others that are interested in the survival of the entire ecosystem.
— > Join the community on this slack channel.
Insight: Social impact
Update on 17/03/20 — 14:00 PM — Insight based on 100 respondents.
The intermediate social impact on Ventures.
The Whitehouse asks the Tech Community on New Machine Readable COVID-19 Dataset
Update on 17/03/20 12:30 PM — Requested by The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the dataset represents the most extensive machine-readable Coronavirus literature collection available for data and text mining to date, with over 29,000 articles, more than 13,000 of which have full text. Read more: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/call-action-tech-community-new-machine-readable-covid-19-dataset
Insight: In the meanwhile, we hit over 100 replies, we are constantly updating the questionnaire and analyzing all responses. For example, we are now analyzing the impact on the governance and stakeholders of ventures. More updates soon.
Insight: Investors will be reconsidering or renegotiating ongoing fundraising deals
Update on 16/03/20 — 11:00 PM — Covid-19 has a materially adverse effect and a valid reason to cancel any commitment. Founders need to go into (or stay in) lean and mean mode. Don’t put your hopes on raising funds, but on making money. Don’t continue hiring people without firing some first. Don’t keep paying bills blindly, but renegotiate your deals with freelancers and service providers. Don’t push it with customers, because cash is king again. As rates will be slammed, the money will continue to flow, but only into cash-generating ventures.
Insight: Turn this crisis into a massive opportunity by directly or indirectly solving the problems it causes.
The last days we measured that 64% of the new responses in the questionnaire mention that the ventures which they are related to are taking initiatives to turn this crisis into opportunities and directly or indirectly are solving the problems it causes. Virtual hackathons are being hosted with people that barely know each other to come up with solutions within a few hours. Like open-source designs, you can download to 3D print mouth masks or building a citizen participation platform for helping your more vulnerable neighbors with for example doing the groceries for them.
Highlight: CovTech?
Update on 16/03/20 — 3:00 PM — CovTech, a new tech cluster tackling Covid-19 is rising. Share and join the CovTech global open-sourced tech handbook with best-practices for everyone (hospitals, libraries, schools, ventures, businesses, …) on Coronavirustechhandbook.com
Tip: Singularity University organizes a 3-day virtual summit today, for free.
Insight: Intermediate heat-map
Update on 15/03/20 — 1:30 PM — Global heat-mapping of impacted ventures
The intermediate count of ventures impacted globally.
Global heat-map but most of the respondents are based in Europe.
Tip: Don’t only inform your investors on a more frequent basis as we mentioned earlier, but also update your entire communication include major updates and changes, adapt your strategies like for HR (for example reduce your hiring).
Forcit.co homepage “Communicate info on major updates”Update on 14/03/20 — 1:30 PM — The European Commission launched a call for ventures and SME’s working on initiatives that tackle the outbreak.
Apply till Wednesday 16/03/20– 5:00 PM.
Update on 13/03/20 — 5:30 PM — Some ventures are launching initiatives to share the tools they use to work more efficiently remotely. For example Techagainstcoronavirus.com/all
On the other side, hackers are misusing Covid-19 for spreading malware: https://futurism.com/the-byte/hackers-coronavirus-maps-spread-malware.
We also added a question in the form to track which ventures are launching a specific initiative? Please help us by filling in this form
Update on 13/03/20 — 3:00 PM — More than 55 replies. Some first graphs summarize:
There is a significantly higher, negative impact on the business. Especially ventures active/related to the event industry are impacted and are feeling financial difficulties.
Most of the people that answered the questions are the founders of the ventures, followed by the other stakeholders.
Update on 12/03/20 — 11:00 PM — More than 40 replies already. The main insight out of the current reporting is that ventures who are in a fundraising round get stuck with investors. Investors postpone their decision making and react in the same way the stock market is reacting to the corona (covid-19) virus.
Tip: Keep your current and potential investors informed on a more frequent basis, sending reports about your current situation and include in your reporting the impact of the coronavirus (covid-19) on your venture.
2 out of 41 replies, active in markets like edtech, hrtech are experiencing an increasing amount of revenue.
Update on 12/03/20 — 9:30 PM — More than 15 replies already. One of the main questions is how to decide if people need to work at the office or stay home?
Use stayinghome.club to compare your HR policy with other tech companies and ventures. And follow the advice of your local government per region your headquarters/branch is active in.
Don’t forget to click 👏 to say “thanks!” if you liked this story.
