skysthelimit.org is the digital platform of

Youth Business USA, a 501c3 nonprofit based in Oakland, CA

Welcome!

To start with, we know how hard it is to build a business, and

that it takes lots of time. We also know that sometimes other

things get in the way, and you can’t always focus on your

business goals. We are flexible. Our goal is to provide you

with the right support, when you need it.

We thank you for making our communities stronger by

building businesses that serve the people around you.

Overview

1. About Us

2. Entrepreneurial Mindset 3. Pathway to Business Ownership

4. Guide for Entrepreneurs

5. Community Guidelines

We hope this orientation helps you better understand who we are, what

we do, and how you can succeed on our platform!

About Us

skysthelimit.org connects entrepreneurs with

experienced business advisors & mentors to help

them build their business.

Our vision is that underserved young entrepreneurs

nationwide will have the support they need to

achieve their business dreams.

The Vision

Our mission is to empower underserved young adult

entrepreneurs nationwide by providing them with

the right support, from the right people, at the right

time in their journey.

The Mission

The youth unemployment crisis in United States…

• Nearly 45% of young adults aren’t employed full-time.

• 18 to 29 year olds have the highest underemployment rate since World War II.

• As a result, roughly 19 million are low-income. -AP, US Census

The Problem

…takes a devastating toll on society.

“America’s unemployed youth will cost an estimated $4.7

trillion over their lifetimes in lost revenue, welfare, crime and

health care expenditures.” - White House Council

And it’s getting worse.

The Opportunity…

Over young adults in the United States want

to start a business, but lack the support and resources to do so.

1

11 million

1. Kauffman/Young Invincibles report, US Census.

of professionals want to volunteer their time

and skills to help others succeed.

Millions

…to connect.

Young entrepreneurs create a profile on our

web app at skysthelimit.org. They have access to training,

business loans and ongoing support from

our team.

We use our digital platform to connect our young entrepreneurs to the right support,

from the right people, at the right time.

Our experienced, volunteer business advisors & mentors help our entrepreneurs learn,

build and achieve their business dreams.

How it works

JOINYou can request support from experts through the platform. We then match

you with the right business advisors & mentors.

Schedule your first meeting and get started!

MATCHWhether you want to

prepare, launch or grow your business, we’re there of you. You get the right support,

from the right people, at the right time in your

entrepreneurial journey. Build new products and services, create jobs, get

skills and chase your dreams!

BUILD

www.skysthelimit.org

PREPARING TO LAUNCH THE BUSINESS

GROWING THE BUSINESS

Business Modeling Customer Development Branding

STARTING THE BUSINESS

Product/Service Development

Website Development & Technology Funding

Marketing & Sales Bookkeeping, Accounting & Financials Legal & Regulatory

SUSTAINING THE BUSINESS

Building the Team Business Soft Skills Operations & Strategy

Pathway to Business OwnershipOur entrepreneurs receive support from our advisors & mentors in the following areas:

Impact from Pilot Program

young entrepreneurs trained700+

businesses created or grown40+

jobs created60+

Since launch of Youth Business USA in summer of 2014

completed actionable business plans400+

• Ages 18 to 29

• Passionate, motivated

• Small businesses (e.g. many different

kinds of services, food, clothing, etc.)

• Mostly in “Prepare” and “Launch”

stages of business

• Low or moderate income (HUD)

• 80%+ are people of color

• Nearly 2/3 female

• Also immigrants, formerly

incarcerated or in foster care, LGBTQ,

& other underrepresented groups

Our Young Entrepreneurs

Our Advisors & Mentors

• Professionals & subject-matter

experts who work at both local firms

and global corporations (Accenture,

Bank of America, Google, Blockchain,

Intuit, Lyft, etc.)

• Small business owners, tech, encore

careers

• Motivated by having a meaningful

experience & giving back

• Volunteer their time and talents on an

as-available, as-needed basis to

support young entrepreneurs

Profiles of our Members

Tyrone and Tiffany, Co-Founders of Circle Up Education At a young age, Tyrone Botelho was placed in Oakland’s foster care system. He was rotated through 13 different group homes before he aged out of the system. In high school, he was exposed to the principles of Restorative Justice, a conflict resolution and community-building practice. Tyrone went on to work his way through college in low-wage jobs. Years later, he decided to launch a business to help other people experience the transformative effects of Restorative Justice.

Tyrone and his co-founder Tiffany Hoang, approached Youth Business USA to support them in building Circle Up Education, an educational consultancy that helps organizations implement Restorative Justice practices.

Through YBUSA, they received coaching in business modeling and planning to help them launch their business. Then they were connected with a YBUSA mentor, Robin Nasatir, who is the former CEO of a management consulting firm and a lifelong community volunteer. Robin has provided expert, invaluable guidance to Tyrone and Tiffany as they have built their company over the past 18 months.

Circle Up Education has secured over $250,000 in contracts and now employs 5 people. Their clients include the City of Oakland and the Hayward Unified School District.

“Youth Business USA helped make our business dreams become a profitable reality. We don’t know where we would be without them.” -Tyrone, Co-Founder

CircleUp EducationY O U T H B U S I N E S S U S A S U C C E S S S T O R Y

Nicolas Cary: Co-Founder and Chairman Nicolas leads the strategy of Youth Business USA’s platform development at

skysthelimit.org, our Board of Directors, and strategic partnerships. He is

also the co-founder of Blockchain, a financial technology company with over

10 million users of its digital platform. As CEO of Blockchain, he raised $30.5

million in Series A funding, and was named “European Digital Leader of the

Year” in 2015. The World Economic Forum recognized Blockchain as a 2016 Technology Pioneer - previous awardees include Google & AirBnB.

Bo Ghirardelli: Co-Founder and CEO Bo knows that talent is everywhere, but opportunity isn’t. He leads

operations, partnerships, outreach, program design, and fundraising for

Youth Business USA. His focus is to meet the needs of our young

entrepreneurs. Bo also founded and built a successful business accelerator

for low-income young adults in Morocco during the Arab Spring, serving

over 1,500 entrepreneurs nationally.

Our Founders

Other Initiatives

Our Funders

In partnership with the City of Oakland Mayor’s Office, we began a multi-sector collaboration in 2016 to prepare, launch, and grow 100 underrepresented young adult

entrepreneurs in Oakland each year.

*plus over 200 individual donors

THE OAKLAND

FUND

Our Entrepreneurial

Mindset

Our Approach to EntrepreneurshipEntrepreneurship is chaotic, messy and uncertain - we’ve found the following

mindset to be effective in building a business.

We know that people’s most basic abilities - and their businesses -

can be developed through dedication, learning, and hard work. Advisors, mentors and

young entrepreneurs should share this mindset.

We believe that the best way to launch a business is to test the

business idea quickly, reliably and repeatedly, using resources you

already have or can easily get. You can’t buy success in

entrepreneurship. Check out the Lean Startup and Bootstrapping

concepts for more info.

Growth Mindset Lean and Scrappy

Time is precious. We encourage early-stage entrepreneurs to

spend 40% of their time making their product or service better, 40% of their time trying to sell

their product or service, and 20% of their time learning, “building

the business,” and dreaming! This is a corollary to the 80/20 Rule.

40/40/20 RuleFocus, focus, focus. Disciplined focus on their business greatly

helps entrepreneurs achieve their goals. You can’t do everything.

The challenge is to be doing what matters most when working on

your business and avoiding distractions. Finding product-market fit is a vital early step!

Focus

Pathway to

Business Ownership

PREPARING TO LAUNCH THE BUSINESS

GROWING THE BUSINESS

Business Modeling Customer Development Branding

STARTING THE BUSINESS

Product/Service Development

Website Development & Technology Funding

Marketing & Sales Bookkeeping, Accounting & Financials Legal & Regulatory

SUSTAINING THE BUSINESS

Building the Team Business Soft Skills Operations & Strategy

Pathway to Business OwnershipOur entrepreneurs receive support from our advisors & mentors in the following areas:

BUSINESS PLANNING

I need guidance on where to start with my business idea. I need to create a basic design and plan for how my business works and

how it can make money.

-Simone, Partner at Mamacitas Cafe

CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT

I need to better understand my customers: their problems & desires, the differences between my types of customers, how to

reach them, what they think is valuable, etc.

-Tyrone and Tiffany, Co-founders of Circle Up Education

BRANDING

I need to name my business, create a logo, design how the business looks (i.e. colors, style, designs, etc.), and figure out how

to talk about my business to other people.

-Afiba, Founder of Twisted Roots Project

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

I need to design my products to fit my customers’ needs, and figure out what materials & equipment I need for them, which manufacturer I should choose, how best to get my products

delivered, what price I should charge, etc.

-Victor, Founder of Run The World Clothing

SERVICE DEVELOPMENT

I need to design my services to fit my customers’ needs, and figure out what services I offer (and what I don’t offer…), how

much I charge, how I deliver my services, etc.

-Daisy, Founder of Resilient Wellness

WEBSITE & TECHNOLOGY

I need to design and build a website for my business, and grow my online presence. I need to create and use social media and the

right apps for my business.

-Morgan, Founder of Cakes by Morgan

MARKETING & SALES

I need to get the word out about my business and promote it. I need to get paying customers, and figure out the best ways to sell

and market my products and services.

-Yodassa, Founder of Yoda Will Styling

ACCOUNTING & FINANCIALS

I need to figure out how to manage my business’ money. I need to figure out which taxes I need to pay for my business. I need to

create a budget and financials for my business.

-Brittini, Owner of Prodigious Soles

FUNDING

I need to figure out the best ways to get funding for my business - whether it is loans, grants, investors, crowdfunding, pre-selling my products or services, or just starting my business with what I have

saved.

-Andrew, Founder of Helping

LEGAL & REGULATORY

I want to figure out the legal stuff, like licenses, permits, getting insurance, etc. I want to create the right business structure,

whether it is a sole proprietorship, LLC, cooperative, etc. I want to know what regulations I have to follow for my business.

-Acacia, Founder of Ethnic Ties

BUILDING A TEAM

I need to build a team for my business, and figure out how to handle recruiting and hiring (or getting volunteers), creating roles

for each job position, motivating people, creating incentives, training and managing employees.

-Bri, Owner of Wyred Up Bartending

OPERATIONS

I need to create business processes & systems to help me get organized. I want to be more efficient and grow the business. I

want to find new ways to manage the business, cut business costs, etc.

-Lindsay, Founder of Brown Sugar Baking

STRATEGY

I need to create a strategy for my business so that I can accomplish my goals. I need a more detailed & organized plan that describes what I do and how I grow my business. I want to

identify what the risks and opportunities are for my business over the next few years.

-Brianna, Owner of Catrina’s Popcorn

BUSINESS SOFT SKILLS

I need someone who can be there for me along the way as I build my business, someone who can make introductions, help me learn and grow my skills, avoid mistakes, push past obstacles, and get

to my goals.

-Ajmal, Founder of MyRise

Quick Guide to

Advisors & Mentors

Provide short-term support for a young entrepreneur in a specific

area of their business.

Young entrepreneurs can request support from both Advisors and Mentors. Read below to figure out which type

of support best fits what you’re looking for!

Advisors MentorsVolunteer Role

Background

Minimum

Commitment

Intended

Commitment

Location of

Meetings

Impact

Matching

Have subject matter expertise (e.g. sales, legal, branding,

finance, marketing, etc.) and are aligned with our social mission.

One meeting (approx. 1 hour)

Two to four meetings over approx. one month, with an

option to continue ad hoc as you have time/availability.

Provide long-term, “generalist” support for a young entrepreneur

across their business and life.

1st meeting: Phone call Other meetings: Virtual or in-

person, if possible

Advisors teach, guide, counsel and work one-on-one with young

entrepreneurs.

Ideally have entrepreneurship and/or business management

experience, and are aligned with our social mission.

One meeting (approx. 1 hour)

4 hours a month for 12 months, with an option to continue

1st meeting: Phone call Other meetings: Preferably in-

person, or virtual

Mentors teach, guide, counsel, make connections, and work one-on-one with young entrepreneurs.

Advisors can match with many different young entrepreneurs, and young entrepreneurs can

work with many advisors.

Mentors work with one young entrepreneur at a time, and young

entrepreneurs work with one mentor at a time.

Quick Tips for

Getting Started

PREP FOR THE FIRST MEETING

AT THE FIRST MEETING

WITH ONGOING MEETINGS

• REVIEW the volunteer’s profile.

• THINK especially about your motivations for starting the business, your goals and what

success looks like for you - this is important information for your advisor or mentor to know!

• BUILD TRUST: Just like with meeting anyone new for the first time, trust is earned. Focus on just

getting to know your advisor or mentor - it’s the most important part of your first meeting. A few tips:

• Let them know you care and appreciate them as an individual and for their support.

• Ask questions!

• Learn their story - what is their current life situation, their background?

• Be open - no one has all the answers, don’t be afraid to ask advisors and mentors for

clarification.

• Let them get to know you and practice mutuality in your relationship.

• You’re both talking to each other voluntarily - don’t forget that!

• COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR ADVISORS AND MENTOR: Your advisors and mentor are there

for you - but they are usually going to wait for you to reach out to them! Staying in touch is

important, and don’t feel like you need to have everything figured out.

• If you had a great meeting, send them a message to meet again!

• FOCUS ON BUILDING SKILLS: Not everything is about getting things done, learning new skills

will pay off big for you in the long run!

General Guide for

Entrepreneurs

We get that it’s hard!Building a business isn’t easy - that’s why we built skysthelimit.org to get you

the right kind of support, when you need it.

Gaining confidence in yourself and your

business idea

We know that you are trying to do a lot all at once:

Building business skills and

“professionalism”

Building a roadmap and plan for achieving

your business goals

Trying to be financially stable and

pay the bills

Trustworthy, knowledgeable,

reliable, culturally competent, and

emotionally intelligent support

Getting the right connections to people in your

industry

Get access to potential customers for your products or

services

Working other jobs and/or going to

school on the side

Healing from trauma and discrimination

What advising & mentoring isAdvisors and mentors provide some combination of these four kinds of support

based on what a young entrepreneur needs.

TEACH GUIDE COUNSEL DO

Advisors & mentors are

confidants, partners in

problem-solving,

encouraging, curious,

inspiring, and challenging

while supportive.

TEACH: Teach entrepreneurs skills (both soft skills and Pathway-related

skills), habits, and mindsets.

GUIDE: Ask probing questions, instill focus, and hold

problem-solving discussions with entrepreneurs

supporting them through their journey.

COUNSEL: Provide specific advice

on different areas of business, such as how to create a budget, a

brand strategy, or develop a proposal.

DO: Helping entrepreneurs actually build parts of their business, making relevant introductions in your own network,

etc.

What advising & mentoring is NOT

Direct “sponsorship”Focused on the

advisor’s or mentor’s business interests

Doing everything for the young

entrepreneur

Too task-focused A conflict of interest Getting stuck in the details

Potential challenges

Inadequate definition of roles and expectations

Conflicting values or a mismatch in personality

compatibility

Meetings are repeatedly

re-scheduled (or missed)

Relationship difficulties (broken

promises, prejudices, etc.) and a lack of

commitment

Wanting to give upUnreasonable

demands for help and support

Relationships are complicated. Being aware of potential challenges can help

you prevent or prepare for inevitable obstacles.

• Respect: Advisors & mentors and young entrepreneurs are considerate of one another and treat people in the manner in which they themselves expect to be treated.

• Trust and “Fit”: Advisors & mentors and entrepreneurs recognize the importance of first building trust with each other and making sure they are a good “fit” before committing to an extended mentoring relationship.

• Motivations: The primary purpose of participating is to support young entrepreneurs in achieving their business goals.

• Mutuality and Equality: Young entrepreneurs and advisors & mentors are equals, and it is the responsibility of both sides to make sure that they are collaborating in a way that works for all.

• Commitment and Follow Through: Doing what you say you’ll do is the best way to demonstrate your commitment.

• Curiosity and Openness to Feedback: Be curious, not judgmental. Ask lots of questions to understand the full picture before you jump to conclusions.

• Use Time Effectively: Respect one another’s time by being prepared and on-time to meetings. Focus on progress, not perfection.

• Active Participation: Maintain communication and openness to collaborating together. • High Expectations: Have - and maintain - high expectations for yourself and the advisors &

mentors you’re working with. Just remember that no one is perfect. • Use Available Resources: Make use of all resources available - from our Pathway to Business

Ownership to information available on the internet, from our shared community, and from your own network.

• Speak Up: If you have any problems or concerns, be open and honest with each other - if needed, contact our Program Managers!

General Tips for Success

Other Resources

JOIN OUR FACEBOOK GROUP FOR ENTREPRENEURS https://www.facebook.com/groups/YBUSAentrepreneurs/

ONLINE MARKETPLACES If you need help getting customers (or a side job!), check out peers.org

Also, if your business sells services (like styling, or catering, or DJ’ing) then you might want to check out thumbtack.com to get customers - here is a Quick Guide to see if you think it’s something you want to use.

Additional info:

Community

Guidelines

RESPECT PURPOSE FOLLOW THROUGH

CONFIDENTIALITY NON-SOLICITATION

NO CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

NOTIFICATION

Community GuidelinesAll members of our community agree to the following:

RESPECTI agree to treat all members of this community with respect, and that I will build and maintain

the trust placed in me by other members of this community.

PURPOSEEntrepreneurs agree that their purpose in joining

this community is generally to build their business, make new connections and learn new skills. Advisors & Mentors agree that one of the

key purposes of their interactions with entrepreneurs in this program will be to support

them in achieving their own business goals.

FOLLOW THROUGHIf I commit to a match, I agree to follow through on my commitments to that person. I understand

that if I schedule a meeting and miss that meeting (without re-scheduling in advance), I can

have my membership suspended.

CONFIDENTIALITYI agree to treat the private information disclosed to me through this program as confidential. If you

have a question about what is confidential, just ask the person who told you the information.

NON-SOLICITATIONI do not intend to use this program just to

promote my own products or services to other members of our community.

NO CONFLICTS OF INTERESTI do not intend to use this program to find a

business to invest in, an idea to market myself, or to create any other conflicts of interest with

members of this community.

NOTIFICATIONI agree that I will keep this community’s Program

Managers informed of any change that could materially affect my participation in this program. This includes

but is not limited to: 1.) if you no longer have the available time to meet regularly with your mentoring

partner, or; 2.) if your mentoring partner becomes unresponsive. I also agree to provide periodic updates

to improve the quality of the program.

Email: info@ybusa.org

Websites: ybusa.org | skysthelimit.org

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Thank you!

Youth Business USA, a 501c3 public charity EIN # 27-4333255