My dear friends,

First, I hope you and your families are all healthy, and that you are staying safe and well. 

Second, we are sending this RBF newsletter tonight and moving our bi-weekly send to Sunday evenings from now on.  Things are changing so rapidly and we don't want to lose focus amidst the chaos.  Our hope is that a Sunday evening send will give you the time you need to be able to utilize this information effectively on Monday when you hit the ground at a dead sprint.

Here in KC we were issued a stay-at-home order on Saturday. The order goes into effect on Tuesday night but we, like many of you, have have been staying at home for days, in an effort to do our part, limit the spread of COVID-19, and protect the most vulnerable people in our personal networks. 

It is in times like these that we as a community band together to help one another in ways we hadn’t anticipated would be necessary. To that end, I urge each of you to use your networks to influence the work underway in Washington DC and elsewhere to develop aid packages for SMBs.  These are the very companies for whom we do this very important work.  These are the companies that form the foundation of our economy and drive employment.  The problem is that these companies are neither well-represented nor understood by elected officials - most of whom are consistently lobbied by much larger companies and organizations.

While those elected officials are listening, we as a community can help them hear and understand the kind of help that will be meaningful to the companies we care about and support.

For example, the SBA and banks are likely to be the conduit through which emergency loans are deployed, but they are not set up to move fast enough.

Another item the government is proposing is an extension on tax payments and tax credits.  While helpful items, these do little to feed companies starved for cash.

There are other, faster ways to help these vitally important entrepreneurs weather this uncertainty. Maybe you can deploy capital quickly. Tell your elected officials that. Tell them what will happen to the companies you talk to, that you invest in, that you care about if red tape strangles the deployment of these loans and other capital. 

Our friend Victor Hwang suggested to me the following: If you have the energy, the members of the House and Senate committees on Small Business and Entrepreneurship are important too. Pick some members who have some link to you, such as a company you're working with.

US Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

US House Committee on Small Business

I urge each of you to reach out to your elected officials and to these committees. Let me know if I can help. 

With that I’ll share some updates below. Stay safe, stay healthy, and be well. 

Love,

Keith