Elevate Perspectives

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
• Webinar: Startups Doing Business with Big Companies During COVID-19 – Ting Gootee, CIO at Elevate Ventures; Rob Martens, SVP and CIO at Allegion; Travis Coy, Head of Transactions and M&A, Corporate Business Development at Eli Lilly; and Joanna Milliken EVP of Product Management at Salesforce Marketing Cloud

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Articles & Information

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 some that 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
• 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
• 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

• How to Bring Employees Back to Work When They’re Getting Vaccinated at Different Times
• 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 and 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
• The 2020 Complete Guide to Remote Work [W/ Tips & Tricks]

Adjusting Your Pitch Strategy

• How to Elevate Your Presence in a Virtual Meeting
• Now might be the perfect time to rethink your fundraising approach
• How to Pitch a VC virtually: 5 fundamentals
• How To Pitch A Venture Capitalist Virtually
• 18 Virtual Pitching Pro-Tips from a Non-Silicon Valley Entrepreneur

Working With Big Corporations

• Putting Your Thinking Cap On – How To Sell During a Pandemic
• Sales during COVID-19: What We are Seeing – Bowery Capital
• Five Strategies to Selling During a Recession
• How to Market in a Downturn
• Five Creative Ways Small Businesses are Succeeding During COVID-19

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Tools & Resources

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.
• THE INDIANA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE‘s Coronavirus Update page includes resources for employers and more.
• 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. 

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COVID-19 Links & Facts

Below are some additional links that will help keep you updated with facts and information specific to the pandemic. This list is not exhaustive.

• Back on Track Indiana: Governor Holcomb’s Roadmap to Safely Reopen Indiana
• 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)

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Let Us Help You

As we mentioned, we are here to help. We’ve got a team of experienced entrepreneurs who can help you navigate these uncharted waters. If your company is high-growth, high-potential, consider connecting with one of our Entrepreneurs-in-Residence. They can help with assistance and funding needs. Click here to get in touch with us.