Our team at the Elevate Northeast Indiana wants to provide our community with relevant resources for entrepreneurs in the midst of COVID-19 social distancing and quarantines.
But first, some logistical updates (of course):
Office Hours: We are cancelling in-person office hours for foreseeable future. Andie, our Regional Director of Entrepreneurship, will be conducting virtual office hours over video or phone call and invites you to schedule an appointment to chat with her through her Calendly.
A Message From Elevate Ventures, one of our partners:
As Indiana’s leading venture development investor we understand and see the impact that this pandemic has on businesses. Startups and scale ups across Indiana may experience supply-chain disruptions, loss in revenues, and an increased strain to make everything virtual so staff and guests are protected from contracting the virus. Businesses are encouraged to put the health and safety of their team first, but it is still imperative to ensure your operations run smoothly.
While some reports indicate that our lives and economy will be disrupted for three to four weeks, the likelihood is that it will be much longer than that. All businesses should have careful plans based around a four- to six-month disruption. Planning for the worst-case scenario is prudent and knowing one’s burn rate, along with how that ties into other economic disruptions, may cause different decision making.
Moving forward Elevate Ventures will be sending weekly communication to our broad constituencies that will include relevant and thoughtful resources and information specific to how companies can get through this hard time. To remain up to date with these efforts, make sure you subscribe to our content. One key resource that may come in handy is the free webinar offered by the Indiana Chamber. If you don’t have a login, create one when prompted.
Click here to read some additional ways to prepare. Please feel free to contact members of our staff at any time. While we are working remote, we are still here to help as needed.
Best,
Chris LaMothe
Chief Executive Officer
Elevate Ventures
Perspectives From Elevate Ventures:
The Elevate Ventures team is made up of thought leaders and experts with practical entrepreneurial experience. Below are some of our Perspectives with advice and insights to help startups get through this hard time.
- COVID-19 Preparation Tips for Startups – Chris LaMothe, Chief Executive Officer
- Startup Financial Management for a Potential Downturn – Ting Gootee, CFA, CAIA, Chief Investment Officer
- Webinar: Managing COVID-19: Communicating with Customers – Mark Gramelspacher, Elevate Ventures EIR and Kevin Flynn, CVR
- Talent – Handling Change in Times of Crisis
- Cultivating Culture in the Face of Uncertainty – Landon Young, Ph.D., Director of University Initiatives & Entrepreneur-in-Residence
- Commanding Your Virtual Pitch
- Fundraising in 2020 – Kyle Keeney, Ph.D., Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Southern Indiana
COVID-19 & Startup Info:
Startups and scale ups across Indiana will hit some rough patches in the coming months as the spread of COVID-19 continues to grow. Elevate is still here to support your needs and as such have gathered some key resources and information pieces from some experts across the nation to share. Below are a few that we felt may fuel your next steps.
General
- Sequoia & Coronavirus: The Black Swan of 2020
- Tomasz Tunguz estimates the impact of the Coronavirus and how the venture market will look afterwards
- First Round Review: This founder built startups in 2008, 2016, and 2018. Here’s what he’s learned about resiliency
- Letter to myself in late 2008, by Dalton Caldwell
- inDinero [Webinar] Tips & Advice for Businesses During COVID-19
Financial Management & Handling Burn Rate
- By Steve Blank: What’s Plan B? The Lifeboat Strategy for Your Startup
- How To Calculate Burn Rate and Understand a Cash Burn Analysis
- Hyde Park Venture Partners: Modeling COVID’s Impact and Making Hard Decisions
- How Long is my Startup Runway? A Guide to Calculating and Managing Monthly Burn Rate
How to Communicate During a Pandemic
- Communicating Through the Coronavirus Crisis
- Don’t Go Dark In A Downturn: How To Communicate With Customers In A Recession
- How a Founder should Communicate in Crisis
- How to Talk to Your Team During a Pandemic
- Good Communication Can Save Your Brand During Quarantine
- How to evaluate if your coronavirus message is necessary
- Even in the age of COVID-19, you need to stay focused on the customer
- AMIN Worldwide: Best Brand Practices in a Global Crisis
Fundraising & Venture Capital
- Mark Suster – Funding in the Time of Coronavirus: SaaStr Annual 2020 presentation to give an upfront view on what we may see in the funding markets ahead
- The Venture Capital Market is Effectively Frozen. Here is Why
- TechVenture Index™ VC Benchmark Survey
- This Founder Built Startups in 2008, 2016 and 2018. Here’s What He’s Learned About Resiliency
- Venture Capital Beyond COVID-19
- Raising Venture Capital In Unprecedented Times
Talent Changes & Projections
- The Families First Coronavirus Response Act: What It Does For Employees Who Need Paid Sick Leave
- Health, Wellness and Leave Benefits Help Employees with Coronavirus: What to tell employees who may have COVID-19
- Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Coronavirus Resources (sample forms, policies, template letters etc.)
- Employer Obligations Under the Proposed Families First Coronavirus Act (H.R. 6201)
- Handling Infectious Disease – Presented by First Person
- How to Make Sense of the PPP Loan Program for VC-Backed Startups
- Employer Obligations Under the Proposed Families First Coronavirus Act (H.R. 6201)
- How to Help Your Laid-Off or Furloughed Employees Manage Unemployment
- Layoff List
- Start-Ups Are Pummeled in the ‘Great Unwinding’
- The Coronavirus Crisis Doesn’t Have to Lead to Layoffs
- Weathering Coronavirus: Furloughs, Layoffs or Pay Cuts?
- The Startup Sectors Most Impacted by the Coronavirus
- How to Manage Coronavirus Layoffs with Compassion
- Best practices for onboarding remote employees
- 7 must-know remote hiring tips every recruiter needs
- 7 Essential Tips For Hiring Top Remote Employees (Who Fit)
Working Remotely & Company Culture
- 3 Ways to Inspire Innovation From Remote Teams
- Build Your Team’s Resilience — From Home
- How To Keep Your Office Culture When Working Remotely
- 5 Tips to Practice Workplace Wellness While WFH
- Business Professor Shares Tips on Staying Productive While Working From Home
- A Guide to Managing Your (Newly) Remote Workers
- Coronavirus: Best Practices for Working From Home, According to a Six-Figure Social Media Entrepreneur
Adjusting Your Pitch Strategy
Tools & Support
Several organizations across the nation are offering free extended trials and subscriptions to make running your business remotely easier. Below are a few tools to consider utilizing and taking advantage of in the coming weeks and months.
- THE SBA is currently accepting applications for Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) assistance. Applications can be submitted at www.SBA.gov/disaster.
- EMPLIFY has a free Employee Well-being Assessment Tool.
- BOARDABLE is offering nonprofits free access to Boardable for 90 days. Offer good for new accounts now through April 2020.
- LUMAVATE put together a list of helpful resources, now also available as an app.
- BANKABLE is developing more relief resources, providing direct advice, and sharing important updates of other relief resources.
- U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE‘s Coronavirus Response Toolkit.
- GOOGLE is offering advanced Hangouts videoconferencing to all GSuite and G Suite Education customers at no cost. GOOGLE is also offering $340 million in Google Ads credits available to all SMBs with active accounts over the past year.
- MICROSOFT is offering the premium version of it’s Team collaboration application available for free (6 month trial) and lifting restrictions on user limits.
- CISCO expanded its list of features and now supports 100 participants and unlimited usage. Customers can get a free 90-day trial.
- WALL STREET JOURNAL is offering LIVE coverage without a subscription.
- ICE MILLER provided a COVID-19 Task Force Update with some great tips for companies.
- PACTSAFE is offering a free “Contactless Contracts and Policy Kit” that lets you publish policies online, automate symptom screening, conduct rapid onboarding, and more.
- THE INDIANA SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER has developed a COVID-19 Small Business Resource Guide.
- THE NVCA shared Coronavirus Information and Resources for VCs and Startups.
- SBIR/STTR online courses designed to help interested parties learn more about the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.
Additional Links | COVID-19
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers & official CDC Coronavirus Page
- Indiana State Department of Health: State-Specific Updates
- Indiana Department of Workforce Development: Unemployment Insurance and other Workforce Topics
- Johns Hopkins: Coronavirus at a Glance
- Tableau Data – Trusted COVID-19 Global Data
- Features, Evaluation and Treatment Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Our list of resources and tips will continue to be updated as more information is available regarding COVID-19 and resources for small business, the people who run them, their families, and their employees.
We know this is a scary time, but it’s integral that we come together in support of our community in any way we can.
Happy social distancing and hand washing!