The COVID-19 recession is battering startups, with 40% of 250 startups surveyed by NASSCOM having halted business altogether. 92% of all startups have faced some level of revenue decline. Around 62% of surveyed startups are suffering revenue declines of over 40%, with 34% suffering a revenue decline of over 80%. Many startups' very survival is uncertain, as 70% of all startups have only a 0–3 month runway, beyond which they won't be able to stay solvent without intervention. It's worth noting that half of the surveyed startups were in the fintech, ed-tech and health-tech sectors. Marketing and pay cuts Surveyed startups are cutting pay and marketing spend across their operations. 65% of startups mention reducing their marketing spend as a key step; 70% of B2B startups have cut their spending here 53% are cutting pay for employees (3 out of 4 low-revenue startups are cutting pay) 13% admit to laying off employees 54% of startups said they are looking into pivoting their operations into other activities entirely. Growth and funding biggest challenges Operationally, startups have come to a grinding halt in growing and scaling, and raising money. 36% of respondents said growth and business development was their biggest problem 28% said raising funding was the biggest problem, with over half of all startups facing issues in this area 21% of businesses' main challenge is day-to-day business operations, such as getting raw material or getting payments from clients 15% of businesses cited the challenge of upgrading their technology and developing new products in…
