Supporting our Startup and Innovation Community

In these unprecedented times, our region’s startup and innovation community is faced with uncertainty and volatility like never before.

As a partner to more than 145+ early-stage companies and their founding teams (which accounts for over 1,000 jobs), here is what we’re seeing from the front lines.

Startups and innovators are:

  • Focusing on customers and ensuring customer value remains the top priority
  • Re-prioritizing and brainstorming the best ways to protect the essential parts of their business
  • Putting hiring on hold or re-examining against other operational goals

As always, our clients are going the extra mile to continue supporting their customers, as well as each other. Here are just a couple of recent examples:

  • ScriptDrop, an integrated prescription delivery company, recently announced the expansion of its nationwide prescription delivery service to better support at-risk patients.
  • Updox, a healthcare collaboration platform, is focusing on expanding the availability of its HIPAA-compliant video chat for healthcare providers that are now approved by the majority of insurance companies.

Meanwhile, the entire Rev1 Ventures team has mobilized to ensure the delivery of our advisory, services, and funding are aligned with the needs of the companies we support during this critical time. To that end, we’ve made the following shifts to our Startup Studio:

  • Shifting all in-person advisory meetings to virtual, allowing our clients to proactively select the best times to meet with us, even if that is beyond traditional work hours. This flexibility is a must, given that many are now also working-from-home while supporting the needs of their families and school-aged children.
  • All cohort-based training sessions are virtual and on-demand. For example, our popular Founder Story event was held last Wednesday via Facebook Live, and our Learning Labs are all moving online.
  • Adding virtual 1-1 and chat group meetings with our Advisors and Vetted Service Provider Network, allowing startups to ask critical questions and receive on-demand coaching from Legal, Accounting, HR, and Marketing professionals.
  • Developing a weekly client email to keep clients up to date on trends, tips, and opportunities in these changing and uncertain times.

Our startup and innovation community is a vital and dynamic part of our regional economic development strategy. I thank the dozens of partners who share our mission to come together to continue supporting these companies and their teams.