Last week, I did an informal survey of my friends and colleagues on Facebook and LinkedIn to see when they will be ready to attend in-person 30+ person business events again. Overwhelmingly, most of them answered either when a vaccine is available or in Spring of 2021, assuming the COVID-19 virus is under control.
I do miss the opportunity to meet new members of Sacramento’s startup community and to deepen my relationships with those I already know through the serendipity of random collisions at in-person events. But my household (my octogenarian parents and me) is immunocompromised so I am being extremely cautious. I’ve learned to manage my Zoom fatigue by being more discriminating about the meetings I’ll take and by working to keep my Mondays mostly free from meetings (that’s how I got $h1t done pre-COVID). What coping strategies have you developed?
I have discovered a genuine silver lining to the pandemic — I can now easily “travel” to high-value events because EVERYTHING is now done online. And for startup founders, it’s now easier than ever to join an accelerator cohort — you don’t even need to leave home. You still have to apply and be accepted but many programs are even expanding the number of participants to their programs because the logistics of an online program allow that.
Below are just a few of the programs that have come to my attention this week. If your business has some traction, it might be time to apply to one of them.
Accelerator & Incubator Application Deadlines
- FourthWave Women-Led Tech Company Accelerator — Apply by July 15
- Berkeley Skydeck Startup Accelerator — Apply by August 8 (must have an affiliation with a UC Campus)
- Alchemist Microenterprise Academy for Food Businesses — Apply by August 9
- Founder Institute Global Food Program — Apply by August 30 (for food or agritech startups)
- Y Combinator Winter 2021 Cohort (likely virtual) — Apply by September 23
Could your startup benefit from MBA-level assistance? UC Davis has a pool of talented graduate business students who are interested in entrepreneurship and want to give back this summer by helping startups in such areas as Business Development, Business and Data Analytics, Financial Analysis, Marketing, Product Management, and Program Management. If you’re interested, submit a request here.
This Week’s Best Bet
TONIGHT! Compassionate Sacramento Presents Community Circles for Startup Founders, Mon, Jul 13 at 5:30 PM: Compassionate Sacramento is partnering with organizations within the Sacramento startup ecosystem to provide a space for founders to feel the support of each other and the community at large through virtual community circles.
Plan Ahead
Clean Tech Spotlight Pitch Night, Thu, Jul 23 at 5 PM: Join CleanStart and BlueTechValley as they spotlight four investment-ready clean tech companies by inviting them to pitch their businesses to an investor panel and an online audience.
StartupSac & Carlsen Center Happy Hour with Nicholas Haystings, Tue, Jul 28 at 5 PM: StartupSac, the Carlsen Center, and DiverseCity Ventures are collaborating to bring you a social impact focused event. Our featured guest is social impact entrepreneur Nicholas Haystings, founder and Executive Director of Square Root Academy.
Regardless of a socially distanced world, there is still lots going on in our Startup Community–check out the details in this week’s Startup Digest. If you’d like to receive the digest in your inbox every Monday morning, sign up for free here. And for even more startup information, happenings and resources, visit the StartupSac Website.
Want to connect with other founders? Request to join the StartupSac Community Facebook Group, a place where startup founders and those who support the growth of our startup ecosystem can connect and exchange ideas.
