The primary concern for any country right now is to contain the further spread of Covid-19 but the consequences of such calamity will haunt us even after the lockdown ends. No active startup business in the US will be restated to its previous glory very soon. We are already expecting changes in customer behaviors in corporate and startup sectors as well. Unemployment in different sectors will rise to a high level across the world post-COVID-19.
The MSMEs and active startup businesses in the US have to face the devastating aftershocks once the Covid-19 pandemic is over. Due to complete lockdown in the country, the startup businesses that rely upon the constant flow of investments and capital have come to a standstill. Many active startup business owners are finding ways to cope with the situation of the market post-COVID-19. They are searching for appropriate exit strategies to curb further the losses. Some aspiring projects and ideas will take many years to bloom into reality. As the situation worsens, only tough and smart decisions can save startup businesses.
To better understand the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the startup business ecosystem on a global scale, let’s have a quick look on the major areas of impact due to lockdown for several months since the outbreak:
According to global surveys, 41 % of startup businesses have entered the “red zone”: they have less than three months of cash to continue operations. Many young startup businesses are also facing the same problem of cash runaway in such situations when fundraising is very difficult.
Nearly 53% of global startups are facing a situation of slow down or no response from the investor’s side. Only 28% of startups have their funds secured.
Since the beginning of the lockdown period, almost 74% of full-time employees have been fired by many active startup companies. If we break down the layoff statistics region-wise then active startup businesses in the US have fired almost 84% of employees which is followed by 67% in Europe and 59% in Asia.
Since the beginning of the outbreak, the start-ups have witnessed a revenue decline of 74 %. More than half of start-up businesses worldwide have seen an 80% and more decline in revenue collection. That means three out of all active start-up businesses in the US are severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since December 2019, two-thirds of all start-ups in the world have reduced their expenses following the lockdown. Aggressive cost-cutting measures adopted by the start-up companies have reduced expenses and tried to operate with limited resources even in the lockdown period.
For some start-up businesses, the new era of the global market would bring new opportunities. Many start-ups business ideas that were untouched before would find new heights of improvement. Many active start-up businesses in the US have already started planning for the post-COVID-19 scenario.
Some sectors that would need reforms and have advantages because of their business model:
There’s a massive opportunity for the health and wellness sector to showcase itself as one of the most important industries in the world. Post Covid-19 pandemic, they must brand themselves as the most needed support sector. The people are facing immense thereat of lack of immunity and are searching for anything that would help them to say fit and healthy.
Online classes and online courses have become the need of the hour as schools and universities have shut down worldwide in fear of Covid-19 spread. The sudden surge in the online mode of education has grabbed people from all walks of life in every Covid-19 affected countries. The education sector needs reforms in its mode of delivering education. And the online mode of teaching and learning could be the best alternative. Parents are afraid to send their kids to schools because social distancing will not be practiced efficiently. Thus, the Ed-tech sector is looking for alternatives.
Remote working tools are the need of the hour in the post-COVID-19 situation. The remote working tools would pave the way for future projects to greater extends. Most of the business operations in the future will use remote working tools for better productivity.
Post pandemic situation will give rise to customer-retail operations for which precautionary measures for Covid-19 will be maintained. The e-commerce and delivery based sector is increasing. This is due to large demand due to people refraining to gather around in shops. The start-ups need to go online for greater reach.
Every sector is experiencing a sudden wave of work from home culture along with cutting taking cost-cutting measures. Managed office spaces for start-ups and real estate would come as an alternative. This will be a cost-cutting measure to balance the things out.
Most start-up businesses have bleak futures. We have uncertain economies right now and global unemployment will be a challenge for the upcoming quarters. As the situation comes under control and we find a cure to stop people from losing their lives, the businesses will again rise. Only if appropriate measures and business model are taken into account.