What ChooseWhat.com does

ChooseWhat.com is a content-driven, affiliate-referral platform that provides structured educational resources for aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners. The company's core product is the Entrepreneur's Startup Guide, a three-stage framework (Launch, Build, Grow) covering business formation tasks such as naming a business, registering a domain, forming an LLC, obtaining an EIN, and opening a business bank account, as well as operational and growth tasks including bookkeeping, insurance, credit card processing, marketing, email campaigns, and hiring. The site is built on Squarespace and operates without custom proprietary software or APIs; its functional surface consists of how-to guides, a regularly updated blog (STARTicles), a curated external resources directory, and a suite of eight comparison charts across categories such as 800 numbers, business cards, email marketing, printing, online backup, QuickBooks, virtual PBX, and website builders.

The company monetizes exclusively through affiliate referral fees earned when users click from these comparison resources to partner service providers. It does not sell its own software products, does not disclose pricing for any service, and provides all content free of charge. Customer segments are horizontal across SMBs: aspiring first-time business owners, established small business owners (1–50 employees), and solopreneurs/micro-businesses, with use cases spanning formation, infrastructure setup, marketing, hiring, and financial management. The company operates without disclosed external funding and is owned by Zilker Ventures.

The go-to-market motion is product-led growth via organic search and content marketing; the site does not employ a sales team, reseller channel, or app distribution. Marketing relies on SEO-optimized how-to content, an email newsletter, Twitter and Facebook community presence, and limited local event activity within the Austin startup ecosystem (including Austin Startup Week participation and a recurring student scholarship program). Founded circa 2008 and based in Austin, Texas, the company appears to operate as a lean bootstrapped business with no disclosed revenue.

Name

ChooseWhat.com

Legal name

ChooseWhat.com

Website

https://choosewhat.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ChooseWhat.com is an Austin-based, Squarespace-hosted affiliate content platform founded in 2008 that provides free how-to guides, comparison charts, and a STARTicles blog to help aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners launch, build, and grow their businesses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Small Business Education and Resource Platform

NAICS

Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (519290)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Recommendation & Discovery Engines (content/product) (BPAMAAAG)

Keywords

• Small business guides
• Startup resources
• Business comparison charts
• Entrepreneur education
• How-to guides

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Affiliate/Referral Revenue: The site features comparison charts for business services (800 Numbers, Business Cards, Email Marketing Services, Printing Services, Online Backup, QuickBooks Plans, Virtual PBX, Website Builders) and earns referral fees when users click through to partner service providers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ChooseWhat.com is a free content-driven platform that provides step-by-step how-to guides, curated comparison charts, and an educational blog (STARTicles) to help aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners launch, build, and grow their businesses. The site organizes resources across a three-stage lifecycle framework (Launch, Build, Grow) covering business formation, financial setup, technology tools, marketing, and HR, and earns revenue through affiliate referral fees when users click through to partner service providers.

Product overview

ChooseWhat.com is a small business guidance platform offering an integrated suite of resources for entrepreneurs across the business lifecycle. The core offering centers on the Entrepreneur's Startup Guide—a structured three-stage framework (Launch, Build, Grow)—supplemented by curated Comparison Charts for evaluating service providers, comprehensive How-To Guides for business setup tasks, the STARTicles blog with ongoing business insights, a curated Small Business Resources directory, and the ChooseWhat Scholarship program supporting student entrepreneurs. The platform functions as a content and advisory resource rather than a transactional software product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Comparison Charts Curated comparison charts helping small businesses evaluate and select service providers across categories including 800 numbers, business cards, email marketing, printing, online backup, QuickBooks plans, virtual PBX, and website builders.
• Entrepreneur's Startup Guide A structured three-stage guide (Launch, Build, Grow) providing step-by-step guidance for starting and growing a small business, covering essential tasks from naming the business to hiring employees.
• How-To Guides Comprehensive instructional content covering business setup topics including naming a business, registering domain names, building websites, setting up business email accounts, phone numbers, fax numbers, mailing addresses, forming LLCs, obtaining EINs, and opening business bank accounts.
• STARTicles (Blog) A regularly updated blog featuring articles on small business management, technology tools, marketing strategies, tax tips, HR and hiring guidance, and entrepreneurial insights for startups and small business owners.
• Small Business Resources A curated directory of external resources and tools for small businesses, linking to government agencies, business publications, SCORE mentorship, SBA information, tax resources, and educational coding platforms.
• ChooseWhat Scholarship A recurring scholarship program awarding financial support to students with self-employment experience, with periodic announcements of winners from spring, fall, and other semesters.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Fundera: Fundera is an online marketplace that helps small business owners compare financing options and business services. It uses a closely aligned affiliate-driven comparison and recommendation model targeting the same SMB audience as ChooseWhat.com.
• Fit Small Business: Fit Small Business publishes reviews, comparison content, and how-to guides for small business software and services. It directly competes with ChooseWhat.com across comparison charts and step-by-step SMB startup guidance.
• Bplans: Bplans provides business plan templates, guides, and small business resources for entrepreneurs. It operates a similar content + tools + premium offerings model targeting aspiring business owners.
• Merchant Maverick: Merchant Maverick publishes reviews and comparison content for small business services including payment processing, POS systems, and business software, monetizing via affiliate referrals to the same SMB buyer personas.
• StartupNation: StartupNation is a community and content platform for entrepreneurs and small business owners offering guides, forums, and resources, closely aligned with ChooseWhat's audience and content positioning.
• Nav: Nav helps small business owners monitor business credit, compare financing, and find relevant business services. It runs a comparable comparison-driven SMB advisory model with monetization across financial product referrals.

Broad incumbents

• NerdWallet: NerdWallet is a large consumer finance comparison platform with a growing SMB vertical. While broader in scope (credit cards, banking, insurance), it shares the affiliate-driven comparison and recommendation business model.
• Bankrate: Bankrate is a broad financial comparison publisher with content spanning consumer and small business banking, lending, and credit products. It overlaps with ChooseWhat on SMB financial product recommendations and SEO-driven affiliate revenue.

Others

• SCORE: SCORE is a nonprofit network providing free mentoring, templates, and educational resources for small businesses. It targets the same entrepreneur audience as ChooseWhat.com but operates on a volunteer-driven, non-commercial model.
• U.S. Small Business Administration: The SBA is a US government agency providing official resources, funding programs, and guidance for small business formation. It reaches the same entrepreneur audience via free authoritative content that competes with ChooseWhat's how-to guides.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ChooseWhat
• Facebookfacebook.com/HelpingSmallBusinessesMakeBigChoices
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/choosewhat-com

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 ChooseWhat.com