Businesses can continue to grow and hosts meetings despite travel restrictions. Source: Shutterstock

Businesses can continue to grow and hosts meetings despite travel restrictions. Source: Shutterstock

How Sequoia Capital keeps the lights on despite interruptions in China

BUSINESSES in China have been interrupted due to the sudden epidemic outbreak. The spread of coronavirus — and the government’s directive — has caused operations to pause. It isn’t ‘business as usual’ in China.

The disruption has not only impacted the supply chain but also young businesses looking to grow since conventional face-to-face meetings between business representatives and investors where pitches and deals are made can’t be carried out as usual.

Sequoia Capital, a major venture capital firm, understands how this can be costly for business and has decided to leverage a digital point-of-meeting platform to help businesses continue to pitch to investors and secure funding.

However, Sequoia still believes that businesses need to continue to grow and have the funds to be able to adopt technology capabilities, materialize their digital initiatives, or venture into other growth agendas.

In an official WeChat announcement, the firm said, “The epidemic, causing inconvenience for travel and meetings, has brought challenges for investors and entrepreneurs to manage the pace of fundraising.”

To help the business landscape recover, the company offered to connect the two parties to ensure the continuity of the business-investor relationship in the market through online events and teleconferences.

Sequoia aims to play matchmaker to businesses with the right investors and vice-versa through online financing and investment events.

The effort has already received an encouraging response as nearly 30 businesses and 50 venture capital firms have registered for the teleconferences.

As it was announced, the first teleconference is set to be hosted soon and be focused on technology and corporate service. The second in the series will be an online event focused on consumer and service sectors.

Sequoia Capital‘s efforts allow entrepreneurs to present business cases, pitch ideas, and secure capital fundings online without the need to risk their health.

Neil Shen, the Co-founder of the company in China, had seen how the SARS outbreak disrupted the economy, so he believes that a lag like this would only burden budding companies.

Moving on, it seems like businesses in China would see more of online platforms and online-based meetings that can help the business scene continue to move at a normal pace again.

Not to mention, other digital solutions can be integrated as well to further enhance the realm in which businesses conduct operational processes online.