In 2020, the pandemic hurt both large corporations and family-owned businesses we know and love. Yet, it also became a center of opportunity for startups. According to a 2020 McKinsey Report, 75% of US consumers switched their shopping behavior and 36% of consumers cut their brand loyalty ties and tried a new brand. And of those who tried a new brand, 73% intended to continue incorporating new products and brands after the pandemic subsides. These shifts in consumer behavior reflect a new era, where entrepreneurs have an abundance of opportunities to gain new customers and make their startups into unicorns.

While gaining venture capitalist investment may still be difficult as the pandemic begins to subside, here are 3 ways you can get access to funding this year.

Tip 1: Meet the Drapers Season 5, Brand Accelerator

Tim Draper created Meet the Drapers for the sole purpose of investing in small businesses and startups all around the world. On Meet the Drapers, you get to pitch your company in front of Tim Draper and his family; make connections with VIP entrepreneurs and executives; and get your company’s name in front of over 9 million viewers who can invest in your company through crowdfunding.

On Season 4 of Meet the Drapers, Tim Draper invested over $1.5 million to our winners. From crowdfunding, entrepreneurs raised over $3 million in crowdfunding this season, and $15 million in total across all four seasons.
If your startup is looking for funding and global exposure, apply for Season 5 of Meet the Drapers here!

Tip 2: Crowdfunding

Besides crowdfunding on Meet the Drapers, crowdfunding has proven to be a great source in gaining investment for startups in 2020. According to research explored by Kickstarter, the number and percentage of visitors who pledged on Kickstarter’s project pages stayed consistent with pre-pandemic numbers. Additionally, the funding success rate has increased by 51 percent in 2020, which is 5 percentage points higher than 2019’s stats.

On top of raising funds, crowdfunding can build your market and network, accelerate the growth of your business, and can make outreach, lead generation, and fundraising manageable as it is all on one platform.

On Meet the Drapers Season 4, over a third of our contestants gained over $300K in investment and two of entrepreneurs — Akua and DigiBuild — maxed out at $1 million. Other startups such as Wyrmwood Gaming raised $8 million on Kickstarter in the midst of the pandemic. Crowdfunding can be the key to turning your startup into a multi-million dollar business.

Tip 3: Perfect Your Zoom Pitch

While the pandemic is beginning to subside in some parts of the globe, zoom meetings will continue to be the norm, especially investor meetings. Providing high-quality audio and video as well as having a private and quiet place to virtually meet with investors is crucial to gaining investment. In other words, perfecting your zoom setup translates into professionalism for your company.

As for pitch content, making conversation with investors rather than passively presenting to investors is key to getting funded, according to David Rogier, founder and CEO of MasterClass who raised $100 million in Series E funding at the peak of the pandemic. Having a discussion and/or finding ways to engage with investors during a zoom pitch may be the edge you need to get the funding you’ve been looking for.

Many people are still writing checks during the pandemic, you just have to know where to find them.