New Data: PPP Loans Helped Save Startups

Data indicates startups that took PPP loans sustained revenue through the pandemic - startups that did not need PPP continued growth

News provided by

Kruze Consulting

Mar 22, 2021, 08:59 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, March 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- New data from Kruze Consulting, an HR and accounting firm for more than 400 venture-funded startups, compares revenue trends amongst startups that took a PPP loan last year to startups that did not. According to the data, startups that did not take PPP loans doubled their monthly revenue over the course of 2020. Startups that received PPP loans showed a more challenging year, with revenue growing, on average, towards the end of the year - spiking 50% since October. These trends confirm that many startups did not require government assistance to grow during the pandemic and that PPP loans were effective at sustaining the startups that needed them. The complete data can be found here.

The data indicates that, on average, about 80% of startups did not take PPP loans. Most of these companies managed to recover relatively quickly from a small revenue dip at the beginning of the crisis, and experienced healthy growth during the middle and end of 2020.

However, startups that did take PPP loans tended to experience a more pronounced and prolonged revenue trough, lasting through July/August. On average, these companies did have a spiking revenue recovery November, and managed to grow revenues 50% by the end of the year.

"The COVID19 pandemic was totally unexpected and unprecedented. Many startups required PPP loans to sustain through the shutdown. Our data is consistent with our anecdotal experience with clients and I can confidently say that the PPP loans helped many startups keep critical staff on payroll. And because those teams were able to stay together, many companies were able to rebound in the last quarter," said Scott Orn, COO of Kruze Consulting.

When narrowing the data to look at the top performing, non-PPP startups, it showed they had relatively consistent growth during the year, and their monthly revenue was about 6x higher at the end of the 2020 vs the beginning of 2021. The data concludes that startup Founders and their boards were extremely effective at understanding whether or not they needed the loans to survive.

About Kruze Consulting
Kruze provides Startup CFO Consulting to over 350+ startups in Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, New York, and other major startup hubs. To date, Kruze's clients have raised over $4.5 billion in venture capital and are market leading Saas, software, eCommerce, eHealth and FinTech startups. Founded in 2012 by Vanessa Kruze, a big four alum, startup controller and CPA, the firm handles all things accounting, tax, finance, & HR. Everything from interim CFO Consulting, financial modeling, startup tax returns, venture debt consulting, 409A valuations, bookkeeping, AR/AP, and Seed/Series A/B Fundraising Preparation can be seamlessly handled by the professionals at Kruze. Visit https://kruzeconsulting.com/ to learn more.

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SOURCE Kruze Consulting