We understand how unsettling the global news about the COVID-19 pandemic has been for everyone. We are sure you have been inundated with information and guidance on how to keep yourselves and your families healthy, but we know you also have concerns about your businesses during this time. In our COVID-19 Resources section, we provide a running list of online resources on how to respond to Coronavirus from a business perspective.

We hope you find the resources included in this month’s newsletter helpful and wish you and your families safety and good health during this time. Many of you are uniquely situated and connected to the startup world and broader ecosystem. We encourage you to contribute to our running list of resources that will be shared widely with our universe of stakeholders. We will also continue to post resources and information on our social media channels as the situation unfolds.

While it is important to take the risk seriously and prepare your businesses, we encourage you to stay home and continue monitoring CDC’s website for updates.

EDUCATION

Thrive Global has a new section on their website, “Thriving in the New Normal,” that includes articles on well-being, productivity, and staying connected with loved ones during this time. Some highlights include working from home tips, book recommendations to help you stay resilient and optimistic and how to stay active while home.  

RESOURCES

Want to secure investors and bring in capital for your business? How do you successfully pitch your company? You need an Investors Pitch Deck.

This is a presentation designed to give a short summary of your company, business plan, and vision to investors and other interested parties. Pitch deck presentations can serve many different purposes such as presenting to investors, presenting to large audiences, or even talking about your business to an intimate group. 

Click here to download our free, Investors Pitch Deck template!

AWARDS

USA Grantee Spotlight

As an Aviation Ordanceman in the U.S. Navy for five years, Shakeia Kegler gained valuable experience in purchasing, compliance, and quality assurance. Following her service, Shakeia worked as a compliance and contract specialist for a pharmaceutical company. Recognizing the gap in knowledge about utilizing governmental contracts to grow a small business, Shakeia participated in an accelerator at Broward College that allowed her to leverage her professional experience and found GovLia in 2017. Since launching GovLia, she has won first place at AnitaB.org’s Grace Hopper Celebration PitcHER competition, Vetpreneur competition, and PS27’s competition.

GovLia is a business to government marketplace designed to increase transparency and  accessibility, and simplifies how small and diverse businesses sell to state and local governments. It also provides services that help businesses, governments and anchor institutions of all sizes to increase opportunities and visibility, as well as improve accessibility and inclusion for all small and diverse businesses. This past November, Shakeia’s entrepreneurial and personal journey was featured in Success magazine. To read the article, click here!

Our Universe

COVID-19 Resources

We want to hear from you! If you are experiencing economic challenges due to COVID-19, share your thoughts with us. Your information is critical in our pursuit to share more with policymakers.

Also, to help simplify your search for resources and information, we would like to share a list of resources that provide guides and tips as well as information on governmental relief actions in response to COVID-19. 

Click here to access a running list of resources that our team has collected. If you would like to contribute to the document, add a comment!

Self Made on Netflix

Are you looking for something new and inspirational to watch this weekend? Something that will definitely boost your mood and make you jump out of bed and shout: “I can do this”? If you answered yes to all above, consider Netflix's new historical mini series, Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker.

Madam C.J. Walker, born Sarah Breedlove in Louisiana in 1867, was the most successful black wellness mogul of her day. This new Netflix series depicts how a daughter of freed slaves empowered generations of black women to dream big and never give up. A special shout out to Founder Natalie Madeira-Cofield and our friends over at Walker’s Legacy for their efforts to support women entrepreneurs of color in honor of the late Madam C.J. Walker.

#EnvolveEDU & the Ecosystem

Advocacy

This past February, we hosted our first ever Congressional Day of Action policy roundtable alongside AnitaB.org and the US Senate Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee. Our goal was to create a bridge between diverse early stage entrepreneurs and policymakers in order to better inform policy.

We continued this engagement by hosting a conference call for our community with Congressional policymakers to discuss the federal government’s relief efforts for U.S. small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. We connected with over 80 small business owners and stakeholders shortly after the US Senate passed over $377 billion in funding for small businesses as part of the CARES Act. We were proud to have Envolve Award grantees, Carolyn Pitt of Film Connx and David Gibson of SportsMarkit, speak, as well as Jason Green of SkillSmart and Doug Abdelnour of Nancy’s Restaurant & Snack Bar. A special thank you to Maggie Moore from the Office of Chairman of the Committee Senator Marco Rubio (FL) for joining! 

Check back next month for more as we plan on sharing what we are hearing from entrepreneurs and small business owners across America are saying about COVID-19 and its impact on their business. Follow us on social media at @envolveglobal for updates. 

Word of the Week

Also known as Business-to-Business, B2B refers to a model that focuses on selling products and services to other companies. B2B companies offer the raw materials, parts or services companies need to boost profits, from manufacturing industries to retail environments. 

CMSwire asked marketing experts why they believe building a customer community is important. Check out their tips for brands looking to get started! 

Friends in the Ecosystem