Normally, Atlanta-based Shadow Ventures, an incubator, accelerator and venture capital firm for BuiltTech startups, offers its proprietary platform to the startups in its portfolio.
But in these uncertain times, serial entrepreneur and Shadow Ventures Founder and CEO KP Reddy said they're trying to do their part to help startups: the organization has opened their closed platform for free to anyone and everyone.
The online ecosystem was developed to provide content, know-how and other systems that have aided Shadow Ventures and its portfolio companies with seed-stage investing and startup incubation. Whether you're a startup, an investor, an innovator, at a university or just looking for virtual connection in the innovation space, Shadow Ventures' Virtual Community is open to you, no matter where you're based in the world.
"We've always run our firm globally," Reddy said.
Shadow Ventures, which has about 70 startups in its incubator, built software around programs like Zoom and Slack that lets everyone involved connect and provide content. The platform currently has more than three years of content for community members, including articles, insights and video content on topics such as fundraising, research and development tax credits and other vital information founders need to know.
Reddy said his team took their platform, replicated it, took out what was proprietary for them and put it out to the public. Since its debut, more than 600 new members have joined the public platform.
"We decided when all of this was going on, we're all kind of grounded, so what can we be doing to help the broader community?" Reddy said.
For those who have webinar fatigue, Reddy said users can still go back and watch a recorded version of a webinar they missed and talk to the speaker at any time through the platform.
"I can watch the recorded version and talk to the speaker two weeks from now," he said.
Reddy said the platform is also a resource for the academic community. For instance, many MBA students who had their summer internships rescinded due to the pandemic have reached out on the platform as an alternative way to build a community of connections, he said.
Even in a stressful time, there's still room for fun. Shadow Ventures is working on giving opportunities to locals in the community such as yoga instructors or coffee roasters who can teach their skills to others on the platform.
Reddy is even making himself available to those seeking advice and assistance. After tweeting out a Calendly link for 15-minute meetings on Twitter he normally reserves for Shadow Venture startups, he was immediately flooded with requests.
"I have more time now," he said. "(We're) happy to give advice and be available --- to do whatever we can to help the broader community."
Though he stresses this is a great time to pause and reevaluate for anyone --- whether they're a founder thinking about shutting down their startup, a company debating a pivot or even a web developer wondering if they should stay in the city they're living in --- Reddy said it's also an opportunity for innovation. Hopefully, Shadow Ventures online community can aid in both those areas.
"All these things that we thought were impossible to solve for are going to be possible to solve for," he said.
