At NEXT, it is our mission to support our community of 600 entrepreneurs and all Canadian startups in any way we can. On a good day, it’s hard being a founder, so we recognize just how challenging this new set of circumstances must be for our intrepid Canadian entrepreneurs. To play our part in ensuring our entrepreneurs can stabilize their businesses and then thrive when we once again attain some normalcy, we’ve put as many measures in place to help out. Here, we are sharing a list of resources for startups, sourced from across the startup community and informed by our network of founders, academics, NEXT team and corporate partners. We hope to arm you with the tools you need to move through this trying time with us, so that we can emerge on the other side stronger, together. 

HR and Talent 

• Real Ventures’ Template COVID-19 Prevention Guidelines: Leverage Real Ventures’ template to create a comprehensive set of guidelines for your business to ensure your team is aligned on COVID protocols and prevention measures.
• The Help List: The Help List is a non-profit initiative committed to curating the most relevant and meaningful resources for the Canadian Technology Sector during this global crisis.

WFH and Operations

• Platforms: Zoom, Google Hangouts, Adobe Connect, Microsoft Teams, Pheedloop, Air Meet, Hopin, Run the World, Hey Summit, ON24, Stage Ten, Shindig, Slido, LifesizeGO.
• “Working from Zoom”​ – Remote work tips from a WFH veteran by Ben Wilde
• 10 G Suite tips to work with remote teams via Google
• How to run a remote team by Melissa Kargiannakis
• Tips for Working Remotely From People Who Do it All the Time via Vidyard
• Managing through Covid-19 as an employer via Osler
• How to Collaborate Effectively If Your Team Is Remote via HBR
• Working together when we’re not together via Google 
• Tools and tips for conducting your business virtually via OCAD U
• Working From Home & Mental Well-Being via Animo
• How to set up payroll for remote employees via Intuit

Funding and Cash Flow 

• List of active funders in Canada via HockeyStick
• Managing cash flow during a period of crisis via Deloitte
• Communicating with your investors via Real Ventures
• Managing your supply chain and cash flow
• Continuity plan templates for emergency situations via BDC
• Raising Capital Virtually by Maren Bannon
• Fundica’s COVID-19 funding for Quebec workers (infographic)

Small Business Financial Aid

• Facebook Small Business Grants: Facebook is offering small businesses $100M in cash grants and ad credits to help during this challenging time.
• Government of Canada Resources for Canadian Businesses
• City of Toronto Economic Support and Recovery Measures
• Trade Commissioner of Canada’s four key considerations for businesses
• Service Canada’s Work-Sharing program application : Work-Sharing is a three-party agreement involving employers, employees and Service Canada.
• Loans: BDC, EDC, Shopify
• Canada’s Six Biggest Banks Help Customers Impacted by COVID-19: Canadian banks have made a commitment to work with personal and small business banking customers to provide flexible solutions to help them manage through challenges associated with COVID-19. 
• NGen will invest $50M in Supercluster funding to support companies as they rapidly respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by building a Canadian supply of essential equipment, products and therapeutics.

Marketing/Communications

• Communicating Through the Coronavirus Crisis via HBR
• What Marketers Can Do Right Now in the Age of Coronavirus via Marketing Profs
• Monitor trending hashtags through tools like Ritetag and Trends24 

Your Well Being

• Consider hosting a virtual movie night with Netflix Party or Kast
• Use online exercise apps such as Strava, Peloton, or Apptive
• Engage in virtual lessons such as cooking, music, art or robotics, or start a book club
• Follow Morgan Rosenberg’s ‘Mental Health From Home’ series.
• Practice a daily body scan
• Help 40,000 people learn to read by remotely narrating a short story with Simbi
• Comprehensive list of mental health resources by Vivian Ngai

Additional Resources

• The Upside Foundation Resources & Tools to Help: A robust curated document of resources and tools to help you manage your business through COVID-19.
• CFIB’s Small Business Resources: The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has compiled a list of everything you need to know to keep your business safe.
• EY Blog: EY shares their most relevant insights on responding to volatility and building enterprise resilience.
• Highline BETA’s 7 recommendations for startups
• MaRS Resources: Crowdsourced resources from the MaRS community including official sources, data trackers, background readings and useful guides.
• DMZ’s Startup Guide: Ryerson DMZ’s guide to surviving COVID-19 as a startup includes resources including virtual workshops, mentorship resources, fundraising and more.
• Engage with your local startup community through platforms like StartupNorth, Toronto Startups or Connect NEXT (Note: The Connect NEXT portal is currently only available for NEXT’s alumni community.)
• OCE’s COVID-19 Collaboration Platform 
• BMZ resources for health tech companies
• Startups Against Coronavirus: Where startups help companies solve business-critical problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic