Portland Community College Small Business Development Center

What Portland Community College Small Business Development Center does

Portland Community College Small Business Development Center (Portland SBDC) is a regional center within the Oregon Small Business Development Center Network, a statewide nonprofit program hosted at community colleges and operating under a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. Founded in 1983, it provides no-cost, confidential business advising by appointment to small business owners across all stages — idea, launch, expansion, renewal, and exit — serving the Portland metropolitan area as one of 20 regional centers. The center serves a broad SMB base spanning auto body, food service, hospitality, construction, HVAC, wellness, retail, food manufacturing, restaurants, salons, pest control, and distillery sectors, plus specialized segments including Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs and childcare providers.

The core technology stack is conventional SaaS: LivePlan for business plan development, GrowthWheel for advising sessions, QuickBooks for training, Google Analytics for web, and Constant Contact for email marketing. Differentiated program layers include the Capital Access Team (retired career bankers; ~75% funding success rate; $280M+ accessed since 2011), the Global Trade Center (Certified Global Business Professionals; 449 clients since 2017), Disaster Response Assistance, Business Resiliency Planning, Government Contracting Assistance, and Market Research services. The Small Business Management Program delivers cohort-based classes plus one-to-one coaching.

The business model is government-grant funded, not commercial. The Oregon SBDC Network disclosed total project cost of $7,163,444 in combined funding from the SBA ($1,651,337 federal) and Oregon Business Development Department and host institutions ($5,512,107 non-federal). All services to clients are free. Distribution occurs through community-college-hosted regional centers, online class registration, partner referrals from banks, chambers of commerce, and economic development offices, and a ZIP-code-based center locator. Lane Community College serves as the network's lead host institution.

Name

Portland Community College Small Business Development Center

Legal name

Oregon Small Business Development Center Network

Website

https://oregonsbdc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Portland Community College Small Business Development Center is one of 20 regional centers in the Oregon SBDC Network, providing free, confidential business advising, classes, and capital access support to small business owners across the Portland metropolitan area, funded by the SBA and Oregon Business Development Department.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Small Business Development Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Small Business & Entrepreneurship Community Education (EDAAAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Entrepreneurship & Small Business Workforce Programs (EDAAAOAM), Economic Development & Business Licensing (Local) (BPAIACAN), Small Business & Self-Employment Personal Finance (Income, Expenses, Cash Reserves) (EDAAAJAL)

Keywords

• Small business advising
• Business consulting
• Capital access services
• Export assistance
• Entrepreneur training

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: The Oregon SBDC Network is funded through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, with additional funding from the Oregon Business Development Department (Business Oregon), and host institutions across the state. Total project cost is $7,163,444 with federal funding of $1,651,337 and non-federal funding of $5,512,107.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Portland Community College Small Business Development Center is one of 20 regional centers in the Oregon SBDC Network, providing no-cost, confidential business advising by appointment to small business owners across the Portland metropolitan area. Services span every stage of the business lifecycle (idea, launch, expansion, renewal, exit) and include business plan writing, cash flow analysis, marketing, hiring, intellectual property guidance, capital access support through the Capital Access Team, international trade advising through the Global Trade Center, and cohort-based training via the Small Business Management Program.

Product overview

The Portland Community College Small Business Development Center (part of the Oregon SBDC Network) operates as a statewide network of 17 regional centers offering a comprehensive suite of business support services. The core offering is no-cost, confidential business advising by appointment, supplemented by the Small Business Management Program (cohort-based classes with one-to-one coaching), the Capital Access Team (specialized funding advisory with approximately 75% client success rate), and the Global Trade Center (international trade assistance). Additional services include Disaster Response Assistance, Business Resiliency Planning, Market Research, Government Contracting Assistance, QuickBooks Training, Spanish-language services (Servicios En Español), and Construction Contractor Test Preparation. All services are backed by the statewide network of support helping small businesses access assistance at any stage from startup through exit.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• No-Cost Business Advising
• Small Business Management Program
• Capital Access Team (CAT)
• Global Trade Center
• Disaster Response Assistance
• Business Resiliency Planning
• Classes and Training
• Market Research Services
• Government Contracting Assistance
• Servicios En Español
• Construction Contractor Test Preparation
• QuickBooks Training

Quantifiable outcome

• 75% of clients who complete the CAT process achieve successful funding
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Lane Community CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLane Community College serves as the Network's lead host institution for the Oregon SBDC Network, providing administrative infrastructure and coordination across all 20 regional centers.
• Portland Community CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPortland Community College hosts the Portland SBDC as one of the 20 regional centers in the Oregon SBDC Network.
• Oregon Community Colleges (Various)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner16 community colleges across Oregon host regional SBDC centers including Blue Mountain CC, Central Oregon CC, Chemeketa CC, Clackamas CC, Clatsop CC, Columbia Gorge CC, Klamath CC, Linn & Benton CC, Mt. Hood CC, Oregon Coast CC, Rogue CC, Southwestern OR CC, Tillamook Bay CC, Treasure Valley CC, and Umpqua CC.
• U.S. Export Assistance CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal export assistance partner supporting the Global Trade Center's international trade services.
• U.S. Commercial ServiceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal trade agency partner providing expertise and resources for the Global Trade Center network.
• Port of PortlandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOregon port authority partner in the Global Trade Center's network of trade support resources.
• Capital Access Team (CAT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecialized team of advisers (many retired career bankers) within the Oregon SBDC Network providing expert capital access guidance across the state. Since 2011, CAT has helped nearly 3,100 small businesses access more than $280 million in funding.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs): TiE is a global nonprofit supporting entrepreneurship through mentoring, education, and networking events. It mirrors the SBDC's cohort and advising model but is volunteer-led and focused on tech/startup founders rather than Main Street SMBs.
• Small Business Majority: Small Business Majority is a small business advocacy and education organization that runs advisory programs and policy research for SMBs. It complements SBDC services but is primarily an advocacy body rather than a regional direct-service provider.
• BizHack (formerly DreamSpring Academy): BizHack delivers business training and AI-powered advising tools to small businesses and is part of the broader trend of digital-first SMB advisory entrants that could compete with traditional SBDC advising models over time.
• Kauffman Foundation FastTrac: FastTrac, run by the Kauffman Foundation, offers entrepreneur education curricula and programs comparable to SBDC advising and the Small Business Management Program. Both serve aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs with structured learning, though Kauffman focuses more on content/research and less on 1:1 capital access advising.

Direct peers

• America's SBDC: America's SBDC is the national association representing all 63 SBDC networks, including Oregon. It is the parent/umbrella organization that channels SBA funding and sets program standards, making it both a peer and an oversight body for the Oregon SBDC Network.
• Women's Business Centers (SBA): WBCs are SBA-funded resource partners delivering free business advising and training specifically to women entrepreneurs. They operate on a similar no-cost, federally-subsidized model to SBDCs, often overlapping geographically and competing for the same pool of SBA program funding.
• Veterans Business Outreach Centers (SBA): VBOCs are SBA-funded centers that provide business training, consulting, and resources to veteran-owned small businesses. They share the SBDC's free, cohort-based training model and operate as sibling SBA resource partners serving overlapping small business demographics.
• SCORE Association: SCORE is the closest direct peer to the Oregon SBDC: a national, SBA-funded nonprofit network providing free, confidential business mentoring, workshops, and resources to U.S. small business owners. SCORE mentors are largely retired executives, mirroring the SBDC's banker-heavy adviser model, and both compete for the same SBA appropriations.

Regional players

• Portland Metro Chamber: The Portland Metro Chamber offers business education, networking, and advocacy to local SMBs in the same Portland metro area as Portland SBDC. It overlaps in audience but is member-funded and lacks SBDC's direct SBA capital access mission.
• Business Impact NW: Business Impact NW is a Pacific Northwest CDFI and SBA lender that provides advising, training, and capital access to small businesses, particularly underserved entrepreneurs. It directly competes with the SBDC's Capital Access Team for SMB funding advisory engagements.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/portland-community-college-small-business-development-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries19 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 Portland Community College Small Business Development Center