Post-Pandemic Entrepreneurship and Investment Trends

While the pandemic is long since over, the pandemic has aroused a wave of innovation as it launches a generation of entrepreneurs. This trend is not unexpected, as founders find themselves with extra time to come by inspiration and pursue their creative ideas. Our world has transitioned and transformed the age of digitization and contactless technology to sustain productivity. From Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to telehealth in the healthcare industry to e-commerce, more entrepreneurs are capitalizing on this opportunity to build startups.

Courtesy of photo by Prateek Katya from Unsplash

The US Census Bureau has reported that more than 5 million new businesses were founded in 2022. This is an immense surge, compared to the average of 4.4 million businesses started every year. 5.4 million new business applications were filed in 2021, which is the highest of any year on record and a 53% increase from 2019. Moreover, according to McKinsey’s article, the venture capital industry only saw a slight decrease in investment activity during the first half of 2020.

This has also changed the speed and initiative at which VC firms invest. Early- stage venture capital firm Day One Ventures announced the launch of their program “Funded, Not Fired” in November 2022. The firm plans to invest $100,000 each into 20 founders who were laid off from Big Tech companies. According to CryptoRank, Day One reports receiving approximately 1,200 applications up-to-date, having already made seven investments as of now.

The pandemic has rapidly accelerated business trends, such as contactless payment and online learning, which will not be going away anytime soon. This aligns seamlessly with our firm's thesis, which emphasizes investing in forward-thinking ventures and founders that embrace technological advancements and the ability to navigate and capitalize on evolving market dynamics.