Since the beginning of March, Chicago tech has taken precautions against coronavirus by shutting down offices and canceling events, but things escalated this week with more closings and cancellations as the virus spreads rapidly through the U.S., with 25 confirmed cases in Illinois.
SpotHero, a local parking app startup, is closing its office on Friday, asking its 200 employees to work from home, according to Jen Holmes, the startup’s senior director of communications. Similarly, Sittercity, a Chicago babysitter marketplace startup, is also asking all of its employees to work from home beginning tomorrow. Both startups said they will re-evaluate the policies on a weekly basis.
Steven Galanis, the founder and CEO of celebrity shoutout startup Cameo, said on Twitter Wednesday night that he has shut down all of the company's offices for the next 30 days. The decision came about a week after Cameo had shut down business-related travel.
And Twitter, the San Francisco-based social media company that has a Chicago office at 111 N. Canal St., is now forcing its 4,900 employees to work from home. Earlier this week, Google recommended that its North American employees work from home for the next month, which affects more than 1,000 employees at its Midwest headquarters in Chicago.
Salesforce has made changes to its annual Connections event in Chicago, making it a completely virtual experience as opposed to a three-day, in-person event. mHUB, a local hardware startup incubator, announced Thursday that it is postponing its 2020 demo day and product showcase, which was originally scheduled for March 19.
Additionally, the Smart Bet charity poker tournament, an annual poker game that's donated more than $1 million to charity over the last 15 years, announced it is postponing this year's event. The tournament, which began in 2004 as an annual charity poker game in serial entrepreneur Chris Gladwin's basement, aims to reschedule for the fall.
As for higher ed institutions, the University of Illinois System, Northwestern University, Illinois State University, University of Chicago and Loyola University Chicago, have all announced plans to move classes to online formats and cancel campus events. Many of the institutions, like Northwestern and UChicago, have active entrepreneurship programs and pitch competitions that take place during the spring semester.
Last week, local companies like ReviewTrackers and Jellyvision, took steps to either shut down offices or recommend that employees work from home, and Oracle canceled its Modern Business Experience 2020 conference, which had been scheduled for later this month at McCormick Place.
Coronavirus, also referred to as COVID-19, originated in mainland China at the end of last year and has been spreading globally since. Symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of press time, there have been more than 1,200 reported cases in the U.S., including 37 deaths. The global death toll was 4,613 on Thursday morning, while more than 124,000 people have been infected in 118 countries, according to the World Health Organization.
The virus has impacted the economy significantly since it began spreading, with trading in the U.S. halting just minutes after opening Thursday morning because of a 7 percent drop in the S&P 500. Economic downturns and uncertainty affects everyone across industries, but startups may be particularly vulnerable because of the nature of an early-stage business.
“We’re providing guidance about how to be thoughtful ... so that you’re protecting your team, clients and community,” said Hyde Park Angels Managing Director Pete Wilkins. "The marketplace is uncertain but it is reasonable to believe that good stewardship from a financial perspective will allow them to weather this storm."
