Maintaining a Venture During this Uncertain Economic Time

An open letter to founders across the TechNexus ecosystem on navigating uncertain economic times. With portfolio companies in nearly 30 cities worldwide, TechNexus shares the operational guidance and mindset shifts that help ventures survive when markets turn volatile.

An open letter to founders and leaders of ventures across our ecosystem Over the past few years the TechNexus venture investment portfolio has grown to include companies in nearly 30 cities around the globe, and the broader ecosystem of partners expands to dozens more parts of the world. We separately shared workplace wellness suggestions for the current health crisis, but the effects on our economy and all of our businesses are real and interconnected. Precautionary impacts due to the COVID-19 outbreak, including restricted travel, uncertainty impeding 2020 business plans, progress delays, and supply-chain disruptions, are an unfortunate business side effect of this global health crisis. We believe the physical safety, health & well being of our community is of the utmost importance, and encourage you, your families, and your employees to take proactive measures in staying healthy during this time. If you lead a company into which TechNexus has been privileged to invest, we did so in large part based on our confidence in your leadership, within your own company, and across the broader ecosystem. Some of you may have seen the recent Sequoia Capital post that's been circulating over the last couple of days, Coronavirus: The Black Swan of 2020 . If you haven't had a chance to read it, we encourage you to do so. They do a great job of summarizing the economic situation, and we echo their suggestions to ensuring the health of your business while dealing with the potential business consequences of the spreading effects of the virus. Here are a few tactical suggestions we'd like to highlight from the article. It is best to question every assumption about your business, including: Cash runway. Do you have as much runway as you think? Have you made contingency plans? Fundraising. Private financing could soften significantly, what would you do if fundraising on attractive terms proves difficult in 2020 and 2021? Could you turn a challenging situation into an opportunity

By Terry Howerton at TechNexus Venture Collaborative