Our panelists:

  1. Noelle Tassey - CEO of Alley‍
  2. Harry Alford - Founder of humble ventures‍
  3. Amanda Moskowitz  - CEO and Founder of Stacklist‍
  4. Abby Lyall - Program Director for Big Idea Ventures

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Sustainable and Maintainable Webinar Takeaways

In a crisis like the one we’re having today, we know that the first organizations to take a hit are small businesses.  At Alley, we want to do everything we can to help you to not only stay afloat, but sail—with our first virtual event, “Sustaining and Maintaining Your Small Business”.

In this event, our panelists, Harry, Amanda, and Abby, present you with real-world advice for Venture Capitalists and entrepreneurs just like you during Covid-19.

However, this crisis can be a time to reflect and even grow—our panelists even argue that a depression or recession-era can be a really good time to start a business.

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Adjusting to the New Norm:

Tackling the bigger challenges for venture-backed businesses can mean facing a threat of not only fundraising and venture funding but also to revenue—by not being able to secure new accounts or customers.

  1. may want to consider hitting pause and evaluate how your funds look in terms of investment.‍
  2. can pivot your business model to serve your customers in a way that’s more advantageous for you.‍
  3. should be more conservative economically during this time.
  4. practice general economic conservatism—watching your burn rate, runway, and know when your death date is.

Going Beyond the Data:

Since our society seems to be stuck in time (at home), it’s hard to imagine business moving forward. So, during this crisis, it’s important to set your eyes on something that goes deeper than stats.

 Moving forward, try and focus on:

  1. future planning—introducing a lot more intentionality to the managing of professional relationships
  2. figuring out your obligations and prioritizing (people, product, profits)
  3. pin pointing what drove you to launch and what drives you as a business
  4. working on the mental health of you and your employees (and how it can improve as a community)
  5. being more empathetic, vulnerable, and compassionate

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At Alley, our team is focusing on supporting our community digitally by sharing resources and hosting video events. We hope this event and our entire event series can help keep your business stay connected to the community, move forward in development, and grow with intentionality.

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Additional Resources: 

  1. Dailystack - Stacklist is going virtual and hosting weekly panels about topics that are sources of challenge and, often, enormous opportunity to early stage entrepreneurs. ‍
  2. Drive Capital - Eight Steps Startups Should Take to Survive the Coronavirus Crisis
  3. ‍ “The Hard Thing About Hard Things” - Top Takeaways For Startup Founders And CEO’s From Ben Horowitz Book‍
  4. Coronavirus: The Black Swan of 2020 - Sequoia Capital provide guidance on how to ensure the health of their business.