The hub of Indian entrepreneurship abroad, the Silicon Valley in the US, is bracing itself for a post-pandemic situation across the country. The number of cases in the US has recently become the highest in the world, surpassing China.
The ones going to be affected are the startups that have to survive the economic downturn and will most likely take measures, such as layoffs, pay cuts and freezing of hiring for sometime. They are in no position to go out and raise money because they will receive poor valuation. Therefore, the immediate measure is to make sure they have enough cash in hand and can survive through the year.
The big companies, on the other hand, may not succumb to drastic measures such as layoffs and pay cuts, as they have big businesses and are likely to be able to weather it out. In all likelihood, they will put a hold on hiring, so as to not incur any additional costs. The story, however, is different for the startups, as they will have to fight to survive.
Companies that earn their business through the most affected sectors, such as the travel, tourism or the hotel industries, will see a definite dip in their revenues. Those associated with financial services, on the contrary, will not.
The current scenario may not fall hard on the Indian IT professionals, who are out there on H-1B visas as they are already saving a lot of money for their organisations and for their customers. Unless the business declines, they will be better off than the rest.
