PitchBook Analyst Note: The Great Unlocationing

The COVID-19 pandemic is setting the stage for a new era of fully remote venture-backed startups without central offices (that is, distributed) that could serve as a model for growth and innovation over the next decade.
 

• Relative to the pre-pandemic era, distributed startups are likely to find themselves more favorably positioned in the current environment when it comes to attracting VC and recruiting highly skilled workers.

 

• At the onset of the crisis, distributed businesses were likely able to more quickly adapt to stay-home measures while keeping expenses low relative to location-based peers.

 

• As the recovery ensues, these characteristics could support higher private valuations, helping attract increased venture investment and creating the conditions for distributed businesses to become key innovators over the next economic cycle.

 

• Over time, institutionalization of distributed organizations could have significant economic, social and political impacts as businesses adopt new approaches to work, and as employees and capital become untethered from specific geographic locations.