MSMEs were facing major challenges driven by uncontrollable macro-environmental factors caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper shows the strategies that a sample of Colombian start-ups developed for their survival in the first months of the COVID-19 crisis and the close relationship between these strategies and the aid policies deployed by the Colombian government. This study involved 220 Colombian enterprises from different sectors of the economy (agriculture, commerce, services, and industry) and different stages of the life cycle. Our statistical analysis was based on a deep survey of highly significant rank correlation, the qualitative association between variables, a structural equation model, and mediation analysis. Among our results, we highlight a high dependence on ICT technologies, varied access to economic aid, and strong dependence on negative crisis impacts with the need for aid and deep business changes. Concerning the last conclusion, we found a significant mediating effect of the adaptability of the start-ups in order to explain why older, bigger, and more necessary enterprises were the ones that obtained aid.