In the nearly 15 years I’ve been involved in supporting our region’s startup community, there has never been more opportunity for early stage entrepreneurs to gain the skills they need to advance their businesses.

The last couple of months I’ve shared opportunities to apply for the Growth Factory, the Lean Innovator, MAKEHERS, and FourthWave. Programs that started earlier in the year like the UCD Big Bang!, UCD PLASMA, the Sacramento Entrepreneurship Academy, and the Alchemist Microenterprise Academy are holding or have held their showcase or graduation events this month. And programs like 1 Million Cups Sacrameto meet every week, giving entrepreneurs an opportunity to share their businesses with an audience of their peers for advice and feedback.

If you’re an early stage entrepreneur and you’re feeling alone in your journey, all you need to do is reach out to connect with resources shared weekly in the Startup Digest. There is so much going on to support you!

Speaking of support, Hacker Lab has opened applications for its 2022 Pathways program. Pathways was created by Hacker Lab with the intention of making their unique space, equipment, training, and community accessible to those who would not otherwise be able to afford membership. Pathways can be your path to gaining new skills, creating or furthering your small business, or supporting your continuing educational endeavors! Those accepted into the program get 8 months free access to Hacker Lab as well as other benefits. Apply by May 22 for consideration. Learn More.

Applications

There’s a lot going on in the next few weeks for entrepreneurs in our region! Check out this week’s Startup Digest for a full listing (plus you can sign up to get the digest weekly in your inbox while you’re there!).

This Week’s Best Bets

1 Million Cups Sacramento, May 18, 8:45 AM. Two founders present their companies in 6-min presentations and get feedback and advice from an audience of their peers. Presenters: Tesuji Games is launching Vrumble, a group video chat and live streaming esports game show platform for NFTS. Elven’s first product is a flameproof firefighter suit that provides phenomenal life saving protection in emergency situations. Online

Startup Grind: The Crazy World of NFTs, May 18, 5 PM. Startup Grind Sacramento is hosting a free virtual workshop featuring Nifty Nanners Founder, Kevin Su. Kevin will go discuss what NFTs (non-fungible token) are and why they are the current rage. Online.

Your Business Model is Garbage, May 19, 6 PM. Josh David Miller, aka JDM aka “the shredder of business models,” will help you level up your business model using design thinking. He’ll show you the tools he uses to find the weakest part of your business model and develop a path to fix it. In person at InnoGrove in Elk Grove.

Plan Ahead

UC Davis Big Bang! Awards Ceremony, May 26, 5 PM. This competition provides a forum for innovators across California to collaborate, develop and test business ideas. Join us as we celebrate this year’s finalists and announce our winners. $90,000 in prizes! In person at UC Davis Alumni Center.

Connect

Looking to connect with other entrepreneurs? Join the StartupSac Community Facebook Group! Startup founders and those who support the growth of our startup community connect and exchange ideas in this private moderated group.