Podcast
Startup Stories
The UC Davis Student Startup Center’s Startup Stories Podcast features leading entrepreneurs, from startup CEOs to investors!
Startup Resources
Local Tools for Entrepreneurs
Are you a student at UC Davis? Take advantage of all the resources at your disposal!
On Campus @ UC Davis
Student Startup Center Makerspace
Entrepreneurship Certificate Program
TEAM Prototyping Labs: for molecular/biological and advanced mechanical/electrical prototyping
Mike & Renee Child Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship:
- Little Bang Poster Competition – entry-level competition, no business experience necessary
- Big Bang Business Competition – annual business plan competition
- Entrepreneurship Academies – can you carve 3 full days out of your schedule? Join a premier academic program for commercializing innovations.
Venture Catalyst @ Office of Research:
- START Program – programs & tools facilitating UC Davis entrepreneurs
- DRIVE Network – on- and off-campus incubators (especially, Inventopia – see equipment list below)
In Sacramento
StartupSac (so much going on, a few favorites listed here):
- 1 Million Cups – Sacramento
- Every Wednesday 9 – 10 am
- Startup Grind
- Educating, inspiring and connecting Sacramento-area entrepreneurs
- Startup Digest
- Sign up to get all Sacramento startup news in your inbox
Digital Tools for Entrepreneurs
There’s a lot of information online. Avoid information overload and start with our curated list of online resources!
Startup Resources
The Ultimate Startup Resource List
- Steve Blank’s Startup Tools, there’s a tool to tackle every problem here
Other Resource Lists
Software & Online Tools
CAD Software
- Onshape (non-commercial use, no download necessary)
- SolidWorks (non-commercial use, powerful, harder to learn)
- Autodesk Fusion 360, 3D CAM/CAD design software (can use for commercial use under $100k in revenue)
Design (thanks for updates Lynn Miyashita)
- Adobe XD, free download Mac & Windows
- Sketch, design toolkit built to help you create your best work — from your earliest ideas, through to final artwork. Mac only. Start with a trial – if you need it longer, talk to the Student Startup Center.
- Canva, online
- Figma, online
- Invision, online design collaboration (free year by telling them you are a student)
Other Software Free/Discounted for Students
- Github Student Developer Pack, the best developer tools, free for students.
- AWS Educate, Amazon’s global initiative to provide students with the resources needed to accelerate cloud-related learning endeavors
- Asana Premium, task management
- Strikingly, web builder – 3 months Pro free if you tell them you are a college student <-- Thanks for the recommendation, Russell!
- Adobe Creative Cloud – $20/month for all apps
Other Essential Online Tools
- Slack, messaging, calls & files
- CircleCI, continuous integration testing <--thanks for the rec Jacob!
- Wave, accounting, invoicing, payments, payroll
- FreshBooks, invoice templates & accounting services
- Gusto, HR services for small businesses
- SlideBean, professional presentations
- Bubble, visual, non-technical programming for web apps
- Proto.io, high-fidelity prototypes the feel real
- NameCheap, domain names
Like these kinds of tools? Check out Product Hunt for a large-community curated list of the best products!
Additional Tools & Resources
Reference Materials
- Slide Deck Examples by Attach.io
- Business and Legal Advice – Launch To Thrive & Startup Financial Model (<--the SSC can get you a discount on this software if you need it $11.25/mo)
- Dorm Room Fund
Readings
- Y Combinator Startup Library
- Andreessen-Horowitz Library, compliments of Zack Canter’s high-res photos
- First Round Review Blog
- The Twenty Minute VC
- Venture Deals
- Nnamdi Okike’s list of books and resources for Venture Capitalists
Videos
How to Start a Startup, a video series produced by Y Combinator president Sam Altman for Stanford University
Entrepreneur Podcasts
- How I Built This with Guy Raz
- Startup, by Gimlet Media
- Entrepreneur On Fire, an award-winning podcast where host John Lee Dumas interviews the most inspiring entrepreneurs seven days a week
- The Tim Ferriss Show
- GaryVee Show
These lists are a constantly evolving species, please send any valid edits or additions to Dawn (dmstrickland@ucdavis.edu).