Businesses Tap Into the Power of Networks As VC Funding Disappears

PYMNTS asked business leaders for their take on how to plan for the rest of 2023 and what they are telling their teams to focus on. David Metz, CEO of Prizeout, says businesses need to look to fellow businesses for opportunities as funding sources grow more difficult to obtain.

Within the span of a couple of months, we saw the consolidation of companies and assets; we saw more talent hit the market than ever before due to layoffs; and we saw funding dry up and capital being reined in, only to be spent on things that produced guaranteed ROI. And it all came to a head in March when we watched the downfall of Silicon Valley Bank, the first bank run in over 100 years.

In recent years, money was flowing freely, funding was never-ending for ideas that sometimes never came to fruition, and companies without products saw unexpected valuations. We’re seeing this end, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

We will see a lot more intentionality, focus, and direction on how companies spend and make money. I believe the culture of “disrupt” is on pause, and the culture of necessity is on the rise. I predict that the companies left standing in 2023 will be those creating products that are not just “cool,” but rather essential and solving real and tangible problems for all walks of life.

At Prizeout, we serve nearly a dozen industries across gaming, crypto, government and financial institutions, and we work with consumers, partners and merchants. We help consumers gain more purchasing power on their cash withdrawals and support merchants with their customer acquisition while supporting partner growth.

I’ve counseled my teams to focus on industries that have the highest ROI — and right now, we see that as financial institutions. While we continue to nurture all of our verticals, our focus is on credit unions and banks. After creating a CUSO to provide our technology to credit unions and attending credit union tradeshows, we’re now ready to execute and help members get more purchasing power on their withdrawals while supporting their local communities and merchants. We can’t wait to see how our technology will support the millions of credit union members nationwide and the merchants we will help get new customers. Simultaneously, we’ll be rolling this out with banks.

Running a business is a tough endeavor that includes blood, sweat and tears. Over the next year, many a lot of industries and competition will begin to thin out by virtue of running out of funds. Now is the time to leverage creativity and utilize resources — and one of the best resources entrepreneurs have is fellowship. My prediction and hope are that businesses will exercise more of their creativity, support each other and focus on what truly matters.