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Gray Skies ahead ☂ for SMBs

Gray Skies ahead ☂ for SMBs
May 25, 2022

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I think we all have a special place in our hearts for small businesses. If commerce were just a revolving door of big-box stores, we’d miss out on countless family recipes, handcrafted anything, and interactions with people genuinely following their passions. After the pandemic shuttered many neighborhood businesses, recovery brought in fresh ones, so it’s hard to hear that small businesses are feeling the squeeze again as the economy reels.

Grey Skies Ahead
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that 57% of all small businesses report feeling that economic conditions in the U.S. will worsen over the next year, up from 42% only a month ago, representing the greatest increase in pessimism since the pandemic began. Entrepreneurs feel that, yet again, circumstances out of their control are reducing their margins and making it more challenging to hire and retain employees. Inflation, supply chain issues, and rising wages for workers are all making the next few weeks and months a critical moment of survival for many companies.

The Big Picture
Small businesses make up 44% of economic activity in the United States. They’re also inventing at 16 times the rate of large businesses. Small business survival is also important to the technology and enterprise companies that rely on them. Small businesses spent an estimated $684BN on IT in 2021. They’re also responsible for employing 49% of the private sector’s workforce.

Deep pockets, short arms
Consumers are delaying making purchases of big ticket items, like cars and mattresses. The average age of vehicles on the road is 12.2 years, the oldest in the last 20 years on record. Maryland is tackling the issue, offering small businesses nearly $200MM in Federal funding. Moreover, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is advancing policy to embrace a Small Business Bill of Rights.

To learn about small businesses in your area, search the platform for companies with employees under 500 (or less) in your geographic region.

Language AI Startups are Coming
A nascent ecosystem of startups is at the vanguard of this technology revolution.
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TeamCoco sells podcast to SiriusXM
O’Brien signed a five-year talent deal with SiriusXM as part of TeamCoco's $150 million acquisition 
[Yahoo!]
Since last week, PrivCo has added:
1,322 Companies | 423 Funding Activities | 138 M&A Deals

Funding & Deal Highlights:
 

Galley raises $14.2MM from Astanor

Food Processing • Round A • San Diego, CA

GEMS raises $50MM from GEM Group

Esports • Equity • Hong Kong Island, Hong kong

EquipFi raises $12MM from Curql

Fintech • Round A • Scottsdale, AZ

PayEngine raises $10MM from Point72

Payments • Round A • Santa Monica, CA

Meter raises $38MM from Sequioa

Technology Services • Round B • San Francisco, CA

KLOwen raises $10.5MM from Columbia

Dental • Round A • Fort Collins, CO

Transfermate raises $70MM from Railpen

Fintech • Equity • Kilkenny, Ireland

Amaryllis raises $10MM from Fintop

Fintech • Round B • West Palm Beach, FL

Vestaron raises $82MM from Ordway

AgTech • Round C • Durham, NC

Professional Fighters raises $30MM from Waverley

Sports • Round E • Mclean, VA   

Valeo Network acquires Next IT

Technology • Acquisition • Muskegon, MI

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