How to Use This Database

There are two main ways to use the database

1. Filter Search

To find the resources you are looking for, you can check all the categories and filters we created to find specific resouces. Below are some examples:

  • If you want resources on funding for students, you can check "Funding" in the category "Topic of Resource" and "Students" in the category "Target Audience".
  • If you want to know resources for legal help regarding trademarks that are free of charge; you would check the "Legal assistance: Intellectual property, Trade marks, Patents" in the "Legal Assistance" category of "Topic of Resouces", as well as "Free" in the category "Free or Paid".

Categorization of the Resources Info

Free or Paid

This indicator shows if the resource is free
to use, costs money to use, or is a mixture
of both

Free
Paid

Geography

Geographical location that an
organization/program focuses their work.

Local North County
Local San Diego
California
National
International

Stage of Business

The stage that a business is in.

Ideation - Entrepreneur has an idea, is trying to implement
Seeding - Business started, selling a bit, still some trial and error in what to do
Establishing - Business started, selling, reached owners expected income - could be income enough for them to sustain themselves or what
they were expecting to generate as a side job
Growing - Business is established and generates income for entrepreneur to sustain themselves, entrepreneur is trying to grow their business
Selling/Exiting - Business owner decided either to close the business or sell

Type of Business

The type of business (size, focus, etc.).

Micorenterprise - Small business that has no brick and mortar location, does not have more than 2 employees that are not family members
Innovation/Tech - High growth business, focused on innovation and/or tech
Main Street - Business that have a brick and mortar location and have more than 2 employees that are not family members
Medium/Large business - Business that are a medium/large size - more than 5 employees
Pop ups/Vendors - Business does popups (sells their products in framers markets and other places but at specific dates)

Industry

The type of business the service or
company aims to serve.

Tech Indusrty
Non-profit Social
Sector
Government Sector
Agricultural
Comsumer Goods
Retail
Entertainment
Other Industry

Entrepreneur Demographic

The community the resource is aiming to
assist.

Veteran
Women
People with Disabilities
Multicultural
Black
Asian
Latin X
Immigrants
Under privileged (low income)
LGBTQ+
Veteran Women
Student

Topic of Resource

Funding - Resources regarding where to find funds or grants to your business or organization

Venture Capital - A sum of money investors commit for investment in early-stage companies
Private Equity Firms - A private equity firm is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in private
equity of startup or operating companies through a variety of loosly affiliated investment strategies including leveraged buyout, venture capital, and
growth capital
Angel Investor - An investment form someone that seeks equity in return
Grants - A grant is an amount of money given to a person that does not need to be paid back
Loans - A loan is an amount of money given out that need to be paid back
Crowdfunding - The practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts on money from a large number of people, typically via the
internet
Microcredit/Microloans - The lending of small amounts of money at low interest to new businesses
Other Funding - Any other type of funding not included in the other categories

Financial Information - Resources that provides you with general information about finances and
banking organization

Investment Advisor - A person or company that provides advise about securities to their clients
Education: Financial Literacy, Business Plans, Business Cards - Education in these specific fields
Wealth Management - Wealth management or wealth management advisory is an investment advisory service that provides financial management
and wealth advisory services to a wide array of clients ranging from affluent to high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth indviduals and families
Accounting Assistance - A company or service that helps startups with accounting
Banking - A bank that provides banking services for startups

Networking - Places and events that allow entrepreneurs to network with other entrepreneurs as well as
funders, universities, clients, etc

Meetups - Gatherings where people can meet others interested in the same field or topic
Networking - A company or service that helps people create connections and build relationships with one another

Incubator/Accelerator - Information about different incubator and acceleerator programs

Accelerator - A program focused on supporting a business from the early-stages of development and providing resources for them
Incubator - A startup incubator is a collaborative program for start up companies -- usually physically located in one central workspace -- designed to
help startups in their infancy succeed by providing workspace, seed funding, mentoring and training

Mentorship - Resources where you can connect with mentors that can help you launch or develop your
orgranization

Mentoring - A company that provides a person or group of people to provide guidance to a startup
Startup Advisor - A startup advisor is a specialist with training and experience in a certain sector or industry who provides advice, mentoring, and
networking opportunities to startup founders to help startups in their infancy succeed by providing workspace, seed funding, mentoring and training
Business Counseling - One-onone or group counceling services with prospective business owners tohelp guide them towards their goal

Education/Training - Resources such as workshops, educational programs, degrees,books, articles,
where entrepreneurs can learn more about entrepreneurship

Training - A company that provides training in a certain field
Article - An article for people to read
Education - A company or service that works to provide business education opportunities to entrepreneurs

Tech Assistance - Resources about different companies, softwares, and apps that can be useful for
businesses

Tech Help - A company or service that provides general tech assistance to entrepreneurs
Project Management Software - Software that helps a startup with project management
Website Assistance - A company or service that helps startups with creating or fixing their website
Software - A software that is helpful for entrepreneurs
Mobile & Web App Development - A company or service that helps develop mobile or web apps for a startup
Mobile Form Development - A company or service that helps develop mobile apps for a startup
Cyber Security - A company or service that works to help digitaly secure a business
Website Builder - A software where you can build your own website
Software Development - A company that will develop software for your business

General Business Assistance - Resources about different aspects of a business such as marketing, human
resources, and supply chain tools and services; certifications for businesses; places to commercialize your
products/services; insurances; etc.

Mental Health - A resource that helps entrepreneurs with keeping positive mental health
Hiring Assistance - A company or service that helps startups hire employees
Work Space - A space where people can work on their startup
CRO - A contract research organization is a company that provides support to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries in the
form of research services outsourced on a contract basis
Insurance - Insurance programs for startups
General Business Assistance/Services - A company/individual that will help entrepreneurs wwith general business services
Marketing - A company or service that provides marketing services
Supply Chain - A company or service that helps businesses with figuring out their supply chain
Consulting - A person who advises on how to modify, proceed in, or streamline a given process within a specialized field
Commercialization and Marketplaces - Spaces or organizations that help entrepreneurs sell products/services (i.e. farmers markets, popup events, online
marketplace, etc)
Certification - A credential that an organization/individual can earn to verify legitmacy and competence in a subject

Legal Assistance - Any help related with legal matters in a business/nonprofit

General Legal Assistance - Legal assistance in general areas of business such as labor, taxes, contracts, etc
Legal Assistance: Intellectual Property, Trademarks, Patents - Legal assistance regarding the name of the business (snd it is taken or not),
trademarking, intellectual property
Legal Formation - Legal assistance regarding how to formalize your business, which type of company you should formalize, etc

2. Resouces by Topic Catalog

The Resouces by Topic catalog provides a list of commonly asked questions (filters) related to a topic. This is a great way to learn more if you don't have a specific question or resource needed in mind.