Silicon Valley's startups are facing the biggest crisis in a generation. Here's what venture capital investors are telling founders they need to do to survive.

• We asked venture capitalists to share one piece of advice for startups to help them weather the coronavirus and its effects on the health of their business.
• Tech investors from Greycroft, Menlo Ventures, and Mayfield pitched in.
• Many of them warned of a potential downturn that could make it harder for startups to raise new funding. They are telling portfolio companies to cut costs, shrink plans for growth, and maintain focus to conserve capital.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

For young startup founders, the coronavirus outbreak and the market turmoil represent the first real economic crisis after a decade-long bull market.

It's a scary time, whether you're the founder of an early-stage startup that just launched its first product or a $1 billion unicorn with a large staff and a growing business to keep healthy.

Many tech firms are restricting travel or asking people to work from home to slow the spread of the virus. But beyond those immediate safety measures, startups are facing an uncertain future and looking for guidance and insight to help get through the challenging time.

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Business Insider talked to a dozen venture capitalists and asked them to share one piece of advice that they're giving to the startup companies in their portfolios. Having lived through past downturns, many of these VCs shared practical tips as well as strategic wisdom to help businesses manage the crisis.

"It's not business as usual," Sarah Guo, a partner at VC firm Greylock, said in an email.

"We're telling companies to readjust their models and get to profitability faster, even if it means sacrificing growth," said William Hsu, a founding partner of early-stage venture firm Mucker Capital.

Here's what some of Silicon Valley's top VCs are advising their startups to do to keep their businesses healthy.