Child care options have dwindled during the pandemic and entrepreneurs are finding ways to address the problems parents are facing. Startup Weekdays pivoted to match parents to programs with six children or fewer, while Leg Up has created a guide, in partnership with HR leaders, to show small and midsize businesses how they can assist working parents.

Investor Hunter Walk, co-founder of Homebrew, in this podcast discusses the future of direct-to-consumer startups, the qualities he looks for in founders and why his company invested in packaging startup Lumi. "We were pretty deliberate from early on about the type of founders we wanted to back and the relationships we wanted to have with them -- both of which have remained consistent and help us do our job during a time like this," he says.

Attrock's Gaurav Sharma offers six reasons why video is essential for content marketing, citing studies that show video is the preferred content format, drives sales and is more likely to be shared by people than other content. He also explains how video can alleviate pressure on customer service teams and why it boosts return-on-investment in email marketing.

The disruptions and difficulties related to the pandemic have opened the door to litigation, an expensive challenge that could leave a tech startup without funding needed to survive, writes mediator and arbitrator Ryan Abbott. Startups can turn to alternative dispute resolution to quickly find a solution, he writes, giving an example of a startup and venture capital firm that were in conflict over funding.

Entrepreneurs can help each other through established or ad hoc networks, offering support and advice in times of crisis, write Daniel Isenberg, Vincent Onyemah and Dhirendra Shukla. The pandemic "has upended business models all over, but it has also created new needs, making this an opportune (if uninvited) moment to try out new business alliances," they write.

With the right tactics, entrepreneurs can succeed in getting a response from a cold email, writes Jessica Stillman. Do your research to target the right person and make sure to emphasize what's in it for them without being long-winded, says SafeGraph CEO Auren Hoffman.

Entrepreneurs who are unsure whether their startup can continue need to determine whether a pivot is possible, and if not, consider how to sell assets and return investments, writes Maynard Webb, former CEO of LiveOps. He recommends clear and honest communication with employees and customers, and reflection on what went wrong.