😅Adulting, jobs, teddy bear hunts, zoom parties, sentiments, money, tequila and more

This is a bi-weekly newsletter offering helpful life and work updates/resources for founders, funders, family, and friends.

Apr 05, 2020

Adulting is extra exhausting these days. +7K died and +270K are infected by COVID-19 in the US; and, we set an all-time weekly unemployment record with 6.6 million Americans filing for unemployment. It’s hard to see the bright side. But there is some good news: some companies are still hiring. Here’s a list of +1,500 jobs. Also, there will be $1,200 checks for many Americans. Fingers crossed on that.

So how are people staying sane? We’re getting creative, doing teddy bear hunts, holding zoom parties (here’s how to run your own), dressing up as caterpillars and doing other things like stress-baking (which some say is leading to an egg shortage). Josh and I are taking daily walks, and re-learning how to play old game favorites like Jacks and Mancala.

It’s helpful to remember that we’ll get through this. And then, we’ll be able to do all the things we’re craving to do (like getting another tattoo)! 🙂

✨Lolita Taub
lolitataub.co | twitter
Reach out with requests here.

ICYMI: Received the BBJ’s 2020 Leaders in Diversity Award, joined the Vinetta Project Venture Committee to help support female founders, and Josh + I invested in Crafter's Box.

Shoutouts

Congrats! Mandela for establishing a partnership between Founder Gym and the Anita Borg Foundation. April for making Partner at Obvious Ventures. Arlan for her book It’s About Damn Time (it’ll be out May 5th). Emmett for putting in $1M to keep small businesses running. Ablorde for his three new hires. Henri for Harlem Capital’s 2020 Female Founder Report.

Work

Funders

According to NFX’s VC & Founder Sentiment Survey…

lolitataub @lolitataub

VC's 🙂39% say we’ll recover from COVID-19 April’21-22 🙅🏽‍♀️50.9% not shifting investment strategy 💰34.2% will adjust the rate of $ deployment by 80% 😔41.2% of port cos have had layoffs or plan to ⚖️43% expect ⬇️ valuations to be at 30% ⏯50.9% recco founders to delay fundraising

There are investors who continue to write checks amid COVID-19.

lolitataub @lolitataub

💰Founders: @laurentgrill crowdsourced a list of over 190 investors who are actively investing despite COVID-19. Take a look at the list. airtable.com/shrML0D37gYVrU…

airtable.comAlphabetical View - AirtableExplore the “Alphabetical” view on Airtable.

And Unshackle Ventures is set to write <30 checks of $200-300K checks for immigrant founders.

lolitataub @lolitataub

💰Immigrant founders: look-up @UnshackledVC! In the next 12–18 months, they will be making 20–30 more of $200-$300K into visionary immigrant founders. medium.com/@UnshackledVC/…

medium.comRising Up With Passion & PerseveranceWe aim to be the social signal others follow

Founders

According to NFX’s VC & Founder Sentiment Survey…

lolitataub @lolitataub

Startups 🙂32.7% believe that we’ll recover from COVID-19 Oct’20-21 😬3 top worries: VC drying up, sales declining, team morale 🧘🏽‍♀️+40% connecting w/people + exercising + sleeping for self-care 👛51.5% cutting office expenses 🙅🏽‍♀️38.9% cutting marketing spend

While some investors recommend you pause fundraising, some say go for it.

lolitataub @lolitataub

💰Seed founders raising, don't hold back, get on those phone calls with investors.d

Eric Stromberg @ericstromberg

Founders: VCs can afford to spend endless hours on Zoom engaging in “fundraising theater”. You cannot. If you’re raising a seed, go for it. That can maybe happen on Zoom. If Series A or beyond I’d either a) constrain only to investors you’ve previously met in person, or b) wait

If you choose to raise, make sure to ask questions.

lolitataub @lolitataub

💰Founders: if you’re raising, ask investors: 1. Will your LPs be able to make their capital calls? If the fund can’t access capital, they may not be able to invest in you. 2. What is your capital reserve strategy? 3. Are you investing in new or current portfolio cos?

Operators

The NVCA put together a COVID-19 info and resource guide that covers refundable employee retention credits, unemployment insurance, loans, PPP, and more. And, if you have to do layoffs, take a look at A16z’s post below.

lolitataub @lolitataub

😔 Founders: if you need to do layoffs, read this do's and don'ts post first. Consider 📄Furloughs 🩺Health benefits 🕰Timing 🗣Comms 🙏🏽Delivery of layoff a16z.com/2020/03/31/pla…