Are Venture Capital Investors Open For Business?

There’s a lot of talk, argument, and misinformation flying around about whether or not investors are still writing checks to startups.

On one side of the argument: No. It’s an incredibly stupid time to be raising money. Investors are hiding under mattresses along whatever cash they’re still holding on to.

On the other side: Of course! The savvy among the investor class are ready to hear pitches from anyone with Powerpoint and a Zoom account.

The answer, as usual, lies somewhere in between.

Over the last month, I’ve been tending to the survival of my own company as well as that of a few other startups I advise — big startups, small startups, some of them brand new, others much more established and healthy.

During this time, I’ve talked to venture capitalists, angel investors, private investors, lawyers, accountants, bankers, serial founders of companies that have exited, first-time founders of companies that haven’t even launched yet, and dozens of other people with hands-on roles in the survival of their business.

The problem: No one knows anything yet

I’ve been an entrepreneur for over 20 years and I’ve seen some crazy shit, but nothing like this. I’ve built companies through the…