For startup founders, startup workers and those who aspire to be either
If you have an offering for founders or tech workers please email marcos@bettermousetrap.nyc with the details so I can post it here and in my newsletter.
You’ve arrived! Here’s where you’ll find funding and other opportunities for both founders and tech workers.
COVID-19 Business Assistance Resource – See this page for some resources to help your business.
Making It With Lowes offers a chance for diverse founders to put their products. in front of Lowes’ customers on Lowes.com. This is for small businesses owned by a: member of the LGBTQ+ community, minority, person with a disability, veteran, or woman. Apply by July 30
Lowenstein Sandler VentureCrushFG Accelerator No equity, no charge, not required to do business with anyone, no demo day
Aves Lair is a seed-stage accelerator based in NYC. Every 6 months, we invest $100k in each company that is ready to take on our program. Our 12 week plan of action offers a hyperconnected platform that develops innovative solutions utilizing our network of global industry and academic leaders in AI, Blockchain, Cloud, and Data Analytics (A.B.C.D). Rolling admissions Learn more and apply
Closed Loop Ventures is an early stage impact investor seeking innovative technologies and business models that are accelerating the circular economy. We look to invest in companies across the sectors of plastics & packaging, food & agriculture, apparel & beauty as well as supply chain logistics & technology. Initial checks range from $100k to $1 million at post-money valuations less than $10mm. We lead and co-invest. Apply here
Big Idea Ventures Food Accelerator New York City We invest USD$200K ($125K USD cash and $75K of in-kind value-adds) in the world’s best alternative protein companies twice per year. Learn more & apply (Rolling admissions)
NYC Youth Paid Fellowship opportunity! 2021 Innovation Fellowship Apply to the Cybersecurity Innovation Fellowship, get a monthly stipend, certifications, and a paid internship
Twitch Pitch Competition from Lightship Capital (online) $25k prize. Learn more and enter
VenturecrushFGX is a unique opportunity for VC’s and Angels to see the best companies that applied to VentureCrushFG (some admitted, some not) present in rapid format.
Now in its 7th year, FGX offers a valuable and efficient vehicle for early stage investors to see the startups emerging on the New York venture scene. Each year we have had several investors write checks to companies they saw first at FGX.
ONGOING RESOURCES
GRANTS
Founder Grants – Search >80 Grants for founders
Grants.World Actionable funds, grants, loans, and services for startups.
Kaleidoscope Creative Challenge Grant awards a monthly cash prize to emerging artists for a new work that can be completed within 3 months of receiving the grant. The project must have a budget of less than $5k. All formats, genres, and categories of projects will be considered,
JOBS
Crypto Jobs – Start your Career in Bitcoin and Crypto. Maybe you want to change careers or maybe you’re just joining the job market.
Check out All Tech Is Human’s Responsible Tech Job Board
Research Finance and Other Support
SKILLS
Free Coding Course
Do you have ~10 hours to spare and a desire to learn some coding basics? For free? Consensys Academy is offering free training. You will learn the essentials (Git, Unix/Linux, JavaScript, and more) in ~10 hours, and be in peak form to tackle Bootcamp in the fall! Level up. Upskill. Learn how your devs think. Go here.
Techstars Entrepreneur’s Toolkit is an online educational resource to help you learn the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and accelerate your success.
Y Combinator’s Startup School Aspiring Founders Track Relaunches Get access to 17 videos, essays + 6 self-guided exercises.
Curated Content for Early Stage Entrepreneurs from Techstars
400+ Community-Driven Founder Resources Guide from Lolita Taub (follow her on Twitter) + a team of generous collaborators
Funding
We Venture | NYCEDC is a $30 million public-private partnership to connect New York City-based, women and minority-founded technology startup companies with the venture capital they need to grow and thrive.
OpenVC is an open resource (think Wikipedia) where VCs can claim their investment thesis. By doing so, VCs receive less spam from clueless founders. They also drive highly-qualified deal flow. In return, it makes life easier for founders (yes, it matters).
New Big Idea Ventures Food Accelerator New York City – We invest USD$200K ($125K USD cash and $75K of in-kind value-adds) in the world’s best alternative protein companies twice per year. Learn more & apply
Applications are open for the 2021 MetaProp Accelerator at Columbia University! Apply by July 30
The TechCrunch List a directory of the most active and engaged investors in the VC industry today as recommended by founders.
(Article) Black American Startup Resource List: 742+ Accelerators, Incubators, Investors, and more (2021 Update) Document) Black American Startup Ecosystem Canvas V4
(Article) Black American Startup Resource List: 742+ Accelerators, Incubators, Investors, and more (2021 Update) Document) Black American Startup Ecosystem Canvas V4
All Tech is Human and the NYC Alliance have assembled a great collection, Guide to Responsible Tech
NFX Angel and Scout Matching Tool For founders and Scout, Angel, or Solo-Capitalist (once accepted)
Startup-Investor Matching Tool Enabling access to investors and capital. Made by and for 💜 underestimated founders.
Global Entrepreneurship Experience After School Program
Tech & VC: The Foundation resources for those interested in breaking into Venture Capital.
Trace Cohen’s Active Investor List is a list of almost 300 investors. You’ll find sectors each focuses on, typical check size, LinkedIn link, and contact info. Please be intelligent and considerate by not contacting people when it’s not a match. What’s the harm? You’ll discourage investors from being a part of this type of resource.
(Paused but sign up to learn when restarting) The NYC LMI Storefront Loan is an interest-free loan up to $100,000 to help storefront businesses located in low-to-moderate income (LMI) areas of New York City restart or continue operations after experiencing challenges from COVID-19.
Podfund $25k – $50k to support emerging podcast creators Learn more and apply
Founder Library is an extensive, curated, and organized collection of knowledge and resources for founders of companies. Not aligned with any company, it is community-sourced and evolving. Add this to your browser bookmarks and if you have useful information, be a contributor.
All Raise is a platform for amplifying female voices, accelerating their success and creating a new culture where women are leading, shaping and funding the future. Sections: Founder, Funder, Ally, Events and a great one, Visionary Voices Speakers Bureau.
NYC Early Stage VC Funds New York City-specific. How long will this be a relevant category as so much business is done online? We’re all remote now.
Female Innovators’ Lab Barclays and Anthemis are committed to bringing more women into entrepreneurship in the financial services ecosystem and closing the fundraising gender gap. Rolling admissions
2020 DocSend Startup Index: Active VC List This is a list of VCs actively looking for deals and signing term sheets.
COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, deadline unknown. Subscribe at the site for updates
NYC Relaunches Neighborhood Challenge Initiative to Spur Innovative Solutions for Small Businesses Impacted by the Pandemic Let’s help NYC businesses get back on their feet. Learn more & apply
Paying It Forward – Resources (GDoc)
This sheet is a collection of people who have offered to “…chat with Black individuals about their relevant areas of expertise.” The tabs in this sheet cover: People Offering Their Time, Tips on Reaching Out, Job Listings @Companies Actively Hiring.
Tech & VC: The Foundation is a collection of resources for those interested in breaking into Venture Capital. The range of info here (and it will increase over time) will also be interesting and useful to all founders.
Grasshopper Bank’s A Resource Guide For Founders and Investors During This Uncertain Time Well organized table of contents and list of new content, by week.
Startup School – Library of resources. In short, this is a treasure trove of content. Bookmark this baby!
The Global Support Ecosystem for Women Entrepreneurs and Investors
This is an extraordinary compilation of resources that include:340+ VCs, accelerators, angel networks, conferences, platforms, and communities supporting women innovators and investors
Actors Fund list – for those in the creative fields, restaurant workers, Sole Proprietor businesses, This list is national in scope.
WeWork Consumer Labs Launching the next big consumer product? Building tech to support a more sustainable supply chain? Retail is changing, and WeWork Consumer Labs is building a community of entrepreneurs building the brands of tomorrow. Soho-based WeWork Consumer Labs is for consumer-focused companies to connect with the partners, mentors, investors, clients, and educational resources needed to thrive. Learn more and apply for our equity-free incubator
Office Hours with Sapna Shah, If you are an early-stage entrepreneur in the retail space (B2B, DTC, etc.) and would like to schedule a virtual meeting with me, please use the Calendly link below. Currently, all meetings will be done virtually due to New York’s pause and WFH mandates. Schedule a meeting: calendly.com/sapnaredgiraffe
Laconia Capital open office hours – no warm intro needed – 30 min. We open our doors for founders to ask any and all questions about venture capital, startups, fundraising, sales, hiring, and everything in between. No questions are off-limits. Looking forward to meeting you! Go here
Scholarship for Women in Tech – learn to code. Sabio offers a generous scholarship to support women who are ready to take on a career in tech.
(3/14/21 now offering certificate programs) Looking to brush up on some digital skills or learn something new? Google is offering free workshops via their Grow with Google program. Check out the offerings and then get over to Google’s headquarters!