COVID-19 Community Resources

Techstars invites you to an AMA on SBIR grants

Join Techstars and serial entrepreneur Laila Partridge for a live Ask Me Anything session this Thursday. Partridge will talk with Stacy Swider, director of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Center of Excellence, about how to apply for SBIR grants.

Click here to get more details and register to attend.

Mailchimp offers free .com domains

Until the end of May, Atlanta’s own Mailchimp is letting people sign up for .com domains and providing a $25 discount, which tends to take care of the annual fees. The discount renews annually for up to five years, as long as you publish a website with Mailchimp within 11 months, but the site says there are limited quantities on the deal, so get your soon.

Click here to get more details on Mailchimp’s domain discount and to sign up.

CallRail offering free trial to new all customers

Atlanta-based call analytics platform CallRail has announced plans to offer a two-month free trial to all new customers to aid small businesses struggling due to the COVID-19 crisis. The company also plans to extend a two-month free trial of its Conversation Intelligence and Forms products to current customers who have yet to try them.
Click here for more on CallRail’s free trial.

Nikon is offering all its online photography courses for free in April

This is a great opportunity to get a little better at using that DSLR, or learning the basic fundamentals of using a camera in general, be it still photography or video content. From fundamentals to specific subjects, this is a great way to add a little technical skill to your visual branding and marketing efforts, or at least sound smarter when your shutterbug buddies start using initialisms like ISOs and DSLRs in conversation.

Click here to sign up for the online courses.

Experienced CEOs share what they’ve learned about navigating a crisis

Techstars and Foundry Group recently came together to offer startup founders actionable advice from CEOs with experience in navigating economic downturns and crises of all kinds — and how you can apply what they’ve learned to your journey through COVID-19.  Speakers included Techstars co-founders David Cohen and Brad Feld, High Alpha managing partner Scott Dorsey, and others.

Click here to watch the video.

Invest Atlanta’s CARES Act PPP for Startups Live Stream w/ Charles Potts of Independent Community Bankers of America (Published April 2, 2020) 

Led by featured speaker Charles Potts of the Independent Community Bankers of America, this video will tell you what you need to know about the CARES Act. The plan, which went into law on March 27, is a modification of the traditional 7(a) SBA loan designed to get funds out quickly.  Recorded live on Thursday, April 2nd at 10:30 AM, the video runs down the new CARES ACT Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), including what startups and small companies should know — and what they should do —  right now.

“If the small business follows the requirements and the parameters, there is forgiveness of these loans,” Potts says in the video, further saying that it behaves like a grant that will help small businesses stay operational and pay employees.

The video is a collaboration between Invest Atlanta, Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), Atlanta Tech Village (ATV), and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce (MACOC), in partnership with Silicon Valley Bank, Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), and Mailchimp.

Hytch launches Shelter in Place app feature to reward employers and workers for staying home

Employers can now use the Nashville-based mobility incentive platform’s Shelter in Place rewards to encourage their employees to engage in safe and healthy habits, ease financial burdens associated with teleworking or being furloughed, and to make sure that people are actually staying home. Governments and corporate brands can also offer cash rewards to incentivize sheltering in place for larger groups.

Click here to access Hytch Rewards’ Shelter in Place app feature.

OnPay creates resource page for small businesses

Atlanta-based payroll service provider OnPay has created a detailed resource page for small businesses that includes guides to navigating the Payment Protection Program (PPP), understanding the CARES Act, creating remote work policies, and more. The page also shares CDC guidance on workplace safety, caring for COVID-19 patients, OSHA compliance, and health benefits.

Click here to access OnPay’s COVID-19 resource page.

Sharecare launches Sharecare Telehealth for remote patients

According to Sharecare’s “Flatten the Curve” survey, 42% of Americans feel that the pandemic has negatively affected their healthcare access. Additional research also shows that one-third of all counties in the U.S. have only one medical doctor per 2,000 residents.

To help close these gaps in access, Sharecare has launched Sharecare Telehealth, a comprehensive HIPAA-compliant solution that instantly enables providers, practices and health systems of all sizes to care for their patients remotely. The web-based platform features video chat, text capabilities and access to Sharecare’s larger platform. In light of the pandemic’s effect on the healthcare system, the Atlanta-based company is also making the platform available for free through September 1, 2020, for all U.S.-based healthcare providers that sign up by June 1.

Click here to learn more about Sharecare Telehealth.