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wbjournal.com | June 22, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 17 ance is oen one of the first things to drop, so the bar for first-time founders, seeking brand new investor relation- ships, is probably going to be higher then it might have been three months ago," Glantz said. "Investors who have an existing relationship with an entre- preneur are likely to be more open to continuing those engagements." Later-stage startups are in a better position to succeed than those in earlier stages. "It is harder for some of the earli- er-stage companies that are maybe about to go to a Series A round or about to go to a new round,'' Weaver said. "ey don't have a lot of institutional investors at this stage and that fund- ing milestone is probably going to get delayed." Glantz said uncertain times result in challenging circumstances for fundraising. "e times of economic uncertainty always present a challenge for early stage fundraising, and we are certainly in one of those times right now," Glantz said. Weaver said opportunities for start- ups are available throughout the pan- demic and economically trying times through strategic partnerships. e National Institutes of Health, with its Small Business Innovation Re- search program, has continued through the pandemic and aided early-stage companies, Weaver said. "e landscape is different right now, and I think the venture world will come back and hopefully come back soon; but there are still a lot of ways for com- panies to make progress even in this environment," Weaver said. Fundraising can come from various outlets and so can opportunity, said Levin, who expressed optimism about fundraising during the recession. "ere are a ton of other options outside of venture capital," Levin said, noting available potential support from the organization Entrepreneurship for All or the U.S. Small Business Admin- istration. "Depending on how much money you need to keep your business going, or to make your business happy," she said, "you may have to look a little harder, but there are opportunities that are still out there." Here for you. Here for our community. We're your neighbor and we're here for you. Please reach out to your local UniBank branch, visit unibank.com, or call us at 800.578.4270. As your local community bank, we know we play a vital role in the livelihood of many individuals, families, and businesses. Member FDIC/Member DIF We are stronger together. E N T R E P R E N E U R S & I N N O V A T I O N F O C U S W Jon Weaver, president and CEO of Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives Venture capital in Worcester County Source: PwC/CB Insights Healthcare MoneyTree Worcester County Boston metro area Massachusetts Total investment (in millions) Deal count Total investment (in millions) Deal count Total investment (in millions) Deal count 2014 $48.7 13 $4,952.5 648 $5,042.6 662 2015 $230.0 15 $8,015.0 726 $8,253.1 742 2016 $49.8 7 $7,010.9 598 $7,098.4 605 2017 $29.2 12 $9,066.4 630 $9,099.8 647 2018 $88.2 10 $11,755.0 644 $11,885.7 660 Massachusetts gets more venture capital funding than any state other than California and New York. Worcester County has secured about $446 million in venture capital funding in the five years ending in 2018. 5-year total $445.8 57 $40,799.8 3,246 $41,379.6 3,316