A global recession is looking inevitable. Here are 10 practical tips from Europe's top investors on how founders can weather 2020's black swan.

Dawn Capital

Evgenia Plotnikova, partner at Dawn Capital

• Europe's venture capitalists expect a recession as the coronavirus outbreak heralds a slowdown in economic activity.
• We asked venture capitalists to share one piece of advice for startups to help them weather the coronavirus.
• The most common advice: cut your burn rate and build up your cash reserves.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

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

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Tech firms are adapting by moving to remote work, but face long-term disruption to their growth, fundraising, and hiring. Some businesses - even those which looked healthy before the coronavirus crisis - will likely collapse thanks to the unexpected slowdown.

Europe's tech investors are trying to put a brave face on events, but predict a recession and a market shakeout.

"I want to be honest with founders that it makes the already hard process of raising capital that much harder. Some VCs claim it's business as usual and I think that's disingenuous," said Paul Murphy, partner at Northzone.

But startups can mitigate their risk. Business Insider consulted nine European venture capitalists and asked them to share a piece of advice for founders trying to navigate 2020's "black swan" event.