Listening to Venture Capital's Interest and Transparency in Investing During a Pandemic

Prolonged pandemic has ruined multiple startups globally. Changes in lifestyle to habits, make startups that have a certain business model, have to go out of business because they can't maintain business and earn money. revenue.

The interesting thing that then drew attention was, runway timeline which is a determining factor for the sustainability of startups and how startups can adapt to new realities, namely 'new normal'.

Here is a summary startup clinic which presented Kolibra Capital, Angin, and Skystar Capital discussing investment opportunities and the potential for startups to be able to survive during a pandemic.

New initiatives and innovations founder

When revenue can be obtained and traction continues to grow despite the pandemic, it is certain that the future of startups will be positive. One of the ways that startups can do to achieve all of these things is to change their mindset and business models that previously relied on offline factors or dependencies with users directly.

According to Teezar Firmansyah Partner from Kolibra Capital, startups can provide a positive response during the pandemic and can adapt to current conditions, of course, startups that can survive during a pandemic and when the pandemic is finally over.

In particular, the Kolibra which focuses on fundamentals and generaterevenue not to GMV, seeing now as a crucial time for startups to show their identity. Are they able to compete and offer new innovations to customers.

"One of our portfolios is Travelio have shown the importance of adaptability. As a platform that relies on customers with available resources, Travelio is able to innovate by conducting relevant collaborations and offering new services needed by customers," said Teezar.

The importance for founder being able to adapt is also a special concern and is highly recommended by Michelle Irawan from Skystar Capital to startups that are included in their portfolio. It is interesting when startup founders can come up with innovations and products to new services to customers.

"For us what has been done by Sweet Escape can be a positive example. Their business is very dependent on traveler of course experience impact directly. But with new service options and taking advantage of the momentum of social distancing, they are able to create new services for customers during the pandemic," said Michelle.

Meanwhile, for David Soukhasing, the Managing Director of Angin, their portfolio which targets the culinary business, has begun to adopt online sales and take advantage of their activities. digital marketing. Even though it doesn't generate enough income when coupled with outlets offline owned, at least can keep the business going.

"At Burgreens right now their focus is more on selling online online utilise online delivery offered by related parties. At the same time, digital promotions are also increasingly being carried out to attract customers' attention to make transactions online," said David.

Runway startups and investor interest

In the startup world, runway or runway is how long a startup can last if revenues and expenses are held constant. When startups raise money, they seek to improve runway.

Runway this can determine the sustainability of the company based on the money they save after fundraising. According to investors, runway timeline best for startups so that they can survive is for one to two years. The longer runway owned, the greater the potential for the startup to survive.

Although not all startups can apply this method, at least they can make savings and cut expenses that are felt to be not too important in their budget. Eventually 'cash is king' It is crucial for startups to be able to survive with the funds they currently have, while pocketing income even though the number has decreased due to the pandemic.

The smart way that startups can do to be able to extend the life of the runway is to make an initial agreement with investors when raising funds. Whether before the pandemic or during the pandemic, make sure an agreement is reached so that the startup can survive.

"I also advise investors to be more transparent to startups. Do they really intend to do fundraising or not. Because there are still many investors who are not transparent about their intentions to invest at this time," said David.

Although the opportunity to get fresh funds from investors is currently quite small, it does not make venture capital reluctant to invest. However, it is undeniable that the strict curation process and the selection of relevant startups are factors for investors to consider.

"For us at Kolibra Capital, we never choose the startup industry category that is our favorite. All startups are our concern as long as they carry the concept of generating revenue, not GMV," said Teezar.