What UpStart does

UpStart is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit accelerator and fiscal sponsor headquartered at 1111 Broadway, Oakland, California, founded in 2005 by Toby Rubin and Maya Bernstein to support innovation within the Jewish community. It operates a three-stage accelerator funnel — UpSpark (idea-stage ideation), UpLift (early-stage sprint), and UpSpring (growth-stage scaling) — alongside two fiscal sponsorship models (Model A shared services and Model C grant-based) that provide 501(c)(3) infrastructure, payroll, benefits, HR, compliance, and accounting to ventures without independent legal status. The organization also operates the UpStarter Network, a community of 150+ currently-supported ventures and 3,000+ leaders across 33 communities, and convenes the annual Collaboratory gathering.

The organization's core intellectual asset is the Jewish Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship (JSIE) Methodology, a proprietary, values-rooted innovation framework described as teachable, measurable, and engaging. UpStart delivers this methodology through staged programming, training (14K+ cumulative training hours delivered), mentorship, and coaching, with self-reported outcomes including 94% participant skill growth, 100% reporting stronger peer-community connection, and 71% of UpSpring leaders reporting increased capacity to sustain their ventures. The organization supports 1,500+ organizations cumulatively across its nearly two decades of operation.

UpStart's revenue model is philanthropic: it is funded primarily by foundation grants (Jim Joseph Foundation, Charles and Lynn Schusterman, Crown Family Philanthropies, Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, and others) and individual donations, supplemented by fiscal sponsorship fees (a percentage pass-through of project income) and revenue from UpStart Solutions — a newer offering that helps funders and institutions provide stage-based capacity-building to their grantees. Distribution is direct-to-entrepreneur through application-based program enrollment, supplemented by institutional partnerships with Hillel International, 92nd Street Y, UJA-Federation of New York, Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, JPro Network, Leading Edge, and Slingshot. The 2017 merger with Joshua Venture Group and Bikkurim, and integration of PresenTense North American Programs, consolidated the field under UpStart.

Name

UpStart

Legal name

UpStart Bay Area

Website

https://upstartlab.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

UpStart is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit accelerator and fiscal sponsor that runs staged programs (UpSpark, UpLift, UpSpring) and the UpStarter Network to grow Jewish social-impact ventures, serving impact-driven entrepreneurs and the foundations and institutions that fund them.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Accelerator Services

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Accelerator / Incubator-Backed ETA Programs (FSANALAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC), Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

Keywords

• Jewish social innovation
• Nonprofit accelerator programs
• Fiscal sponsorship services
• Venture development training
• Philanthropic capacity building

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic/Funder Support: UpStart is funded through national and family foundation supporters including Charles and Lynn Schusterman, Crown Family Philanthropies, Jim Joseph Foundation, and others who provide grants and donations to support programs and operations.
2. Fiscal Sponsorship Fees: UpStart receives a percentage of all Project income through its Shared Services model (Model A) and charitable Project income through its Grant-based Model (Model C) to facilitate administrative and compliance oversight.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

UpStart is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit accelerator that supports Jewish social entrepreneurs through three staged programs (UpSpark for idea generation, UpLift for early-stage ventures, and UpSpring for growth-stage scaling), plus a Fiscal Sponsorship Program offering shared operational infrastructure and grant-based fundraising administration for emerging Jewish ventures.

Product overview

Upstart operates an AI-driven lending marketplace that uses machine learning for credit underwriting and loan decisioning. The core platform processes consumer loan applications through proprietary AI algorithms. The product portfolio includes personal loans, auto loans (Upstart Auto), and a new revolving credit product (Cash Line) launched for the earned wage access market. The company generates revenue by facilitating loans between borrowers and institutional investors, earning fees on originated loans.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• UpSpark: Idea stage program bringing imagination to life, igniting the spark of imagination that produces ideas becoming innovations.
• UpLift
• UpSpring

Products and services

• UpSpark
• UpLift
• UpSpring
• Fiscal Sponsorship Program
• UpStarter Network
• Collaboratory
• JSIE Methodology Training
• UpStart Solutions

Quantifiable outcome

• 94% of 2025 participants reported significant growth in skills and knowledge
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Hillel InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor Jewish campus organization collaborating on programming and initiatives for Jewish student leaders.
• 92nd Street YmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading Jewish community center in New York partnering on Jewish innovation and engagement initiatives.
• UJA-Federation of New YorkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor Jewish federation in New York collaborating on Jewish community innovation and programming.
• Jewish Federation of Greater Los AngelescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor Jewish federation in Los Angeles partnering on regional Jewish innovation initiatives.
• JPro NetworkmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork supporting Jewish professionals, collaborating on professional development and leadership initiatives.
• Leading EdgemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization focused on Jewish organizational excellence, partnering on governance and leadership development.
• SlingshotmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJewish innovation organization collaborating on field-building and resource sharing initiatives.
• SOCAP GlobalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocial capital conference and community organization, partnering on impact investing and social finance connections.
• Joshua Venture GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMerger partner in 2017, bringing fellowship program for Jewish social entrepreneurs and expanding innovation resources.
• BikkurimcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMerger partner in 2017, bringing residential incubator for nonprofit startups and expanding geographic reach.
• PresenTensemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorth American programs integrated into UpStart in 2017, bringing training ground for social entrepreneurs and hackathon model.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Birthright Israel Foundation: Funded by philanthropy to send young Jewish adults on trips to Israel. UpStart's Deputy CEO previously served as COO here, and both organizations share funders (e.g., Jewish Federations) and a focus on Jewish identity formation in younger cohorts.
• Hillel International: The largest Jewish campus organization in the world. UpStart is a listed strategic partner; both organizations invest in Jewish leadership development and engagement, with overlapping leadership alumni networks (notably BBYO pathways).
• BBYO (B'nai B'rith Youth Organization): Global pluralistic Jewish teen movement. Multiple UpStart senior leaders (CEO, COO, staff) came from BBYO, and both organizations invest in developing the next generation of Jewish leaders, creating strong talent and participant-pool overlap.
• Slingshot Fund: A Jewish innovation funder identifying and supporting creative projects in the Jewish community. Listed as an UpStart partner and operates in overlapping target entrepreneur and venture pools across the same communal ecosystem.
• Moishe House: Resident-led Jewish community for young adults. Operates as an incubator-like platform for Jewish communal innovation and shares staff alumni with UpStart (e.g., Operations Manager Megan Bernard), competing for similar funder dollars.
• Bikkurim (now part of UpStart): Historic residential nonprofit incubator that merged into UpStart in 2017. Closest direct comparable in pre-merger form, operating the same accelerator model for Jewish nonprofit startups.
• Joshua Venture Group (now part of UpStart): Historic peer organization that merged into UpStart in 2017. Previously a comparable fellowship-style accelerator for Jewish social entrepreneurs, making this an exact pre-merger comparable.

Broad incumbents

• New Profit: National nonprofit venture philanthropy fund and accelerator. Comparable in accelerator-plus-fiscal-sponsorship-plus-network model, but operates in broader social sector rather than Jewish-specific niche.
• UJA-Federation of New York: One of the largest Jewish federations in North America and an UpStart core strategic partner. Comparable in mission alignment (Jewish communal vitality) and a key funder/distribution channel for UpStart-style innovation work.
• William Davidson Foundation: Major Jewish-focused foundation funding education and Jewish life. Directly comparable to UpStart's funder base and is itself an innovator in venture-style grantmaking (e.g., the Jewish Life Venture Fellowship held by UpStart's Deputy CEO).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/upstartlab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UpStart