Sky’s the Limit offers monthly funding opportunities in the form of our Friends & Family Fund. Each month, we award a $2,500 / GBP2,000 startup grant to help young underrepresented entrepreneurs get closer to their business dreams. 

Many entrepreneurs get their start by borrowing money from those around them. This kind of “friends and family” support works well for some, but at Sky’s the Limit, we know that plan doesn’t work for everyone, so we are pleased to help fill that gap.

Once an entrepreneur is eligible for funding and uploads their pitch, members of the community can boost their favorites! At the end of the month, the entrepreneur with the most boosts wins the grant.You can learn more by visiting the Friends & Family grant page.

Throughout the year, we also make available a range of funding opportunities for qualifying entrepreneurs based on different programs and initiatives. Entrepreneurs will be automatically entered for any rounds they qualify for, and we'll also message about any special or unique opportunities.

Note: Timelines to determine the grant winner can vary. Sometimes entrepreneurs win in their first month, sometimes it can take several months to win.

STL offers a range of funding opportunities that are apply at different stages of the business journey.

Our core monthly grant program, the Friends & Family Fund grant, is available one time to all members who meet the following criteria: you must be based in the United States, Canada, or the United Kingdom and have a completed profile on Sky’s the Limit. Next, you must complete a Funding Pitch to let other members know how a grant would help fuel your business. The full guidelines for the Friends & Family process can be found here.

Other Funding Rounds typically have additional eligibility criteria which will be outlined in their descriptions. Here are some tips:

• Location (Typically!) Matters: Typically, you must base your business in the United States, Canada or the United Kingdom.
• Complete Your Profile: Ensure your Sky’s the Limit profile is thorough and up to date.
• Craft a Winning Pitch: Develop and post a Friends and Family Pitch showcasing how a grant can turbocharge your business.
• Participate: Active participation within our vibrant community dramatically heightens your chances of securing funding. Dive in and boost your eligibility today!

Boosts are a way to help raise the visibility of an entrepreneur’s funding pitch.

Entrepreneurs can not Boost themselves. At Sky’s the Limit, one core belief is that we rise together. We encourage you to visit the app daily, work on your business (or, if you are strictly a mentor-supporter, help entrepreneurs work on theirs!) and offer support to entrepreneurs in the form of Orbits, Assists, and Boosts.

Each member can Boost an entrepreneur’s pitch 1x a day. You can Boost as many pitches as you like 1x in that day.

Duration varies, but typically funding rounds are approximately one month long. You can always check back on our site to see how many days are left in the current funding round(s) by visiting Pitches > Grants.

It typically takes 2 to 4 days, assuming you completed each section of your pitch following our guidelines.

You will win the Funding Round that finishes first on the platform. If you are also participating in an off-platform Round, you are still eligible to win both.

We serve underrepresented entrepreneurs from groups traditionally underrepresented in entrepreneurship, including those who identify as: 

• From a low-income background

• Women

• BIPOC (Black, Indigenous or other entrepreneurs of color) 

• LGBTQ+

• Formerly incarcerated

• Formerly in foster care

• Experienced housing instability

• Entrepreneurs with disabilities

• Combat Veterans 

• Refugees & Immigrants
  
  

Yes! 100% free! We are a certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the US and a certified charity in the UK, which allows us to partner with our sponsors to bring you a premium entrepreneurship program at no cost to you.

How strongly do you believe that with the right mindset and support, you can transform yourself into the entrepreneur you want to be? If you feel strongly or very strongly this is the case, chances are you are in the right place!

Over 80% of our entrepreneurs embark on their journey in the earliest idea stage, seeking core guidance and assistance. The remaining 20% are in the growth stage, seeking to keep moving forward and believe they will benefit from collaboration and advice.

If you're ready to roll up your sleeves and work on your business, that's one half of the equation -- the other is to be prepared to receive and embrace the support necessary to become the entrepreneur you envision.

With STL, you'll not only discover guidance, but also a positive and empowering support system from our community to help you thrive.

Sky’s the Limit is a mutually beneficial community of Supporters and Entrepreneurs, all focused on creating the next generation of thriving businesses. 

Supporters may be highly skilled professionals at Fortune 1000 companies who volunteer their time to mentor, advise and teach others; or they may be fellow entrepreneurs who range from highly seasoned to just starting out but eager to help others by sharing their own experiences in overcoming challenges.  

Entrepreneurs are often very early idea-stage, building their first business venture, or could be on their second or third business and looking to benefit from peer support, expert mentorship and access to capital to help them move forward.

Once you are accepted as a full member, you can begin building out your network and initiating the messaging and meeting process by sending requests to “Orbit” other members. Once the other member accepts your request, you two will be “in Orbit.” This unlocks the Intercom function which allows you to schedule meetings and get to know each other. You can work on your most urgent business challenges and work together on tasks like your business plan, getting new customers, and more. 

STL’s app helps connect you to mentors, resources, and funding opportunities; however, you must bring the right mindset and level of commitment to this community. It’s important that you believe that with the right mindset and support, you can transform yourself into the entrepreneur or supporter you want to be. 

Successful STL members succeed in this community by taking a mindset that includes: 

• willing to learn from your mistakes or failures
• honoring your commitments
• open to working with and learning from and alongside others

1. → Click on “Orbits” send requests to get connected:

• View your recommended matches and start sending Orbit requests to other entrepreneurs and supporters you’d like to meet. 

2. → Post an Assist:

• Tell other members what you need help to receive rapid responses and fast feedback 

3. → Meet People:

• Messages are fun, but the real magic happens in meetings! And it’s easy to meet other members using voice or video chat. Once in orbit, you can schedule meetings through Intercom 

4. → Update your Business Tracker:

• Track your progress, find new goals, and share your success! You can also acknowledge how other Sky’s the Limit members have helped you. 

5. → Get Funding:

• Have you set up your Friends & Family campaign yet? You could be eligible for a startup grant of up to $2,500.

Once you are a member, you can login and click on “Orbits'' to view profiles of the members we think you might like to meet first. 

If you see someone you’d like to connect with, send them an Orbit request. In your request, you can introduce yourself and explain what areas you need help with. 

Once they accept, you can easily exchange messages, schedule meetings and meet through the Intercom function.

If you’d like to meet, you will see options for creating in-app meetings, providing a link to an external meeting platform like Zoom or Microsoft Teams, or even phone or video options. After your intro meeting, you can determine how often you would like to meet and what you will work on together. 

We don’t put a limit on how many members you can work with, and encourage you to explore a diverse variety of support!

By joining our community, you’re making the following commitments:

• As an Entrepreneur, you’ll request support when you’re ready to actively work with Supporters – in other words, you’re getting in contact when you’re ready to accept the help of advisors, peers, and mentors and take action to move forward
• If you’re playing a Supporter role, you’ll respond to messages timely and be clear about the commitments you can make – think under-promise, over-deliver!
• Once you’ve messaged with someone and agreed to meet, you should be ready to take action together and conduct that meeting within the next two weeks
• You’ll attend scheduled meetings on time and provide advance notice if you will be late or need to reschedule. 
• You’ll rate your experience and provide feedback when asked by our Member Experience team.

Sky’s the Limit offers monthly funding opportunities in the form of our Friends & Family Fund. Each month, we award a $2,500 / GBP2,000 startup grant to help young underrepresented entrepreneurs get closer to their business dreams. 

Many entrepreneurs get their start by borrowing money from those around them. This kind of “friends and family” support works well for some, but at Sky’s the Limit, we know that plan doesn’t work for everyone, so we are pleased to help fill that gap.

Once an entrepreneur is eligible for funding and uploads their pitch, members of the community can boost their favorites! At the end of the month, the entrepreneur with the most boosts wins the grant.You can learn more by visiting the Friends & Family grant page.

Throughout the year, we also make available a range of funding opportunities for qualifying entrepreneurs based on different programs and initiatives. Entrepreneurs will be automatically entered for any rounds they qualify for, and we'll also message about any special or unique opportunities.

Note: Timelines to determine the grant winner can vary. Sometimes entrepreneurs win in their first month, sometimes it can take several months to win.

Basic eligibility for a Friends & Family grant is relatively straightforward: at this time, you must be based in the United States or United Kingdom and have a completed profile on Sky’s the Limit. Make sure you also have an active Friends & Family Pitch up on the platform.

Yes! We encourage entrepreneurs to work with each other and meet one another. Many entrepreneurs have complementary skills or might be further along in their business and may be able to offer valuable feedback or advice.

It’s not unusual for an entrepreneur to need to take a break from their business to focus on other priorities. The community will be here when you’re ready to start working again. We’d appreciate it if you would let anyone who you’re currently working with know that you’ll be unavailable for a while.

We always recommend that entrepreneurs focus on a single business at a time. If an entrepreneur successfully builds one business, then they can apply what they’ve learned more easily in the future. It’s also a good idea to primarily focus on one project or challenge at a time.

Anyone who has a desire to help underrepresented entrepreneurs achieve their goals can volunteer their time to be a mentor and supporter.

We have supporters at Sky's the Limit. Many entrepreneurs work to build out their Orbits the way they would an Advisory Board: seeking a diverse range of experiences and perspectives to help them move as efficiently as possible.

Supporters you'll encounter include:

• Volunteer Mentors from a wide variety of Fortune 500 companies who are eager to put their skills to use. Many times they’ve worked at or with a wide varieties of companies all over the world. Many have startup experience of their own and have created their own companies. These are typically people who are skilled business professionals with expertise in areas relevant to starting a business like: 

• • Sales

  • Project/Product Management

  • Design

  • Marketing & Social Media 

  • Human Resources

  • Finance & Bookkeeping

  • Legal & Regulatory 

• Peer Supporters are fellow entrepreneurs who are building their own business. Some are very seasoned, and some are just starting out, but all are eager and able to help fellow entrepreneurs leapfrog challenges they're facing by offering advice based on their own "been there, done that" experiences. 

Your time is your most valuable resource and we want you to use it in the way that works best for you. Typically, we recommend following the 40/40/20 rule when deciding how much time you should spend working with a mentor and for time management in general – 40% of an entrepreneur's time should be spent selling their product or service; 40% of their time improving their product or service, based on customer feedback; and finally 20% of their time meeting or getting feedback from mentors or advisors.

Conversations occur through the “Orbit” and “Intercom” features. First, you must send an orbit request to a user. Once he/she/they accept, you can use “Intercom” to send a message.

 First, you must be “in orbit” (mutually following) the other user. Once in orbit, you can schedule meetings through the “Intercom” function.

Simply follow the prompts in your app to help guide you in uploading your pitch. You will need to be prepared with a short video, cover photo and title.

The pitch with the most “boosts” at the end of the voting period will be the winner!

 Any member can only boost the same pitch once a day. Members can boost as many different pitches from different entrepreneurs on the same day as they wish.

Assists are a feature that allow entrepreneurs to create and post a card for other members to view, enabling them to receive rapid responses and fast feedback from supporters for a short period of time.

When creating a request, focus on the specific challenge you’re facing. For example, you may receive more responses and support when you ask for “How can I improve the business financials section of my Pitch?” vs. “Can someone review my pitch?

If you see opportunities to deepen your  engagement, Orbit the member and then Intercom them to ask for additional support.

To begin your journey, try visiting Missions and take your Get Started Mission – this will help orient you to the way the app works and help you get the most value out of your experience. 

If you prefer to be more hands-on right away, try this::

• Click on “Orbits” to send requests to get connected to other members: View your recommended matches and start sending Orbit requests to other entrepreneurs and supporters you’d like to meet. 
• Post Your 1st Pitch: Have you set up your Friends & Family campaign yet? You could be eligible for a startup grant of up to $2,500/GBP2000! 
• Post an Assist: Ask other members for help on your Pitch, or let them know what else you need help with start getting rapid responses and fast feedback 
• Turn Orbits into Meetings: Messages are vital, but the real magic happens in meetings! And it’s easy to meet other members using voice or video chat. Once in Orbit, you can start to message and schedule meetings through Intercom

1. Go to “Orbits” to see a list of recommended entrepreneur profiles to get connected with. Each profile will have a “score match” that uses logic based on skills and industry to show a user how good of a match the other user is. > 80: Great Match, 50 - 80: Good Match, less than 50 is Some Match.
2. When you find an entrepreneur profile that you are interested in, send a request to Orbit. Once that entrepreneur accepts, you two will be “In Orbit.” 
3. Being “In Orbit” unlocks the Intercom function, which allows you to send and receive messages from an entrepreneur. You can also set up meetings through Intercom.