press
Juli 27, 2020 + Jessica Di Palo
5 Minuten zu lesen
Venture Capital financing in Q1’20 will be the second steepest decline in the past 10 years according to data from CB Insights. Techtour interviewed our Managing Partner Christoph Kausch and 3 other investors to share their business priorities, how they adjusted their strategies and how are they helping their portfolio companies.
Tech Tour: How is the COVID-19 crisis impacting the funding landscape for startups?
Christoph Kausch: Like the rest of us, startups have not been exempt from the impacts of COVID-19. Some have benefited from the increased demand for technological solutions, enabling connectivity in light of social isolation. Other startups – in retail, for example – have clearly suffered. I think the hardest thing for both startups seeking finance, as well as investors, is the current state of uncertainty. There’s a general unwillingness to commit to new investments that aren’t “COVID-proof” right now when we don’t know how long this will all last. Many investors had already felt that startup valuations had been overflowing for some time now. In this respect, there has actually been evidence of better alignment between investors and management teams on finding the best solution to close the deal. There’s enough capital in the market to ensure that the best companies will still get funded. It just may take a bit more time than usual. It’s an obvious consequence that Investment Committees want to see additional diligence and risk assessments for COVID-19. I think it’s also very important now more than ever to support existing portfolio company management teams in their additional funding needs via both grant funding and additional capital injections if needed.