What Seed Network does

Seed Network is a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization founded in 2018 that delivers grants, accelerator programs, and a B2B service-provider network to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) creatives and entrepreneurs in the San Francisco Bay Area and the SOMA Pilipinas Filipino Cultural District. Operated as a project under parent organization Kultivate Labs, Seed Network runs four primary programs: (1) the Partnership Grant (formerly Business Matchmaking Grant), offering up to $4,000 per BIPOC-owned business to subsidize engagements with BIPOC-owned B2B service providers; (2) the SOMA Business Accelerator, a cohort-based program now in its seventh cohort providing free custom consulting across accounting, branding, legal, photography, PR, social media, and web design; (3) the ACE Collective (now in Season 3, 2025), a full-stack program offering $10,000+ unrestricted cash grants plus $5,000-$15,000 in professional services and free commercial real estate tenant representation for entrepreneurs committing to leases in SOMA Pilipinas; and (4) the Vacant to Vibrant program (launched 2024) providing pop-up spaces, funding, and a 10-week bootcamp for brick-and-mortar launches. The organization also operates a CalOSBA Microbusiness Grants partnership that distributed approximately $200,000 (80 grants of $2,500) in COVID-19 relief funding.

The underlying technology stack is entirely off-the-shelf: a Squarespace-hosted website (www.seednetwork.biz), Typeform-based application portals, email/newsletter distribution, and an online B2B Directory cataloging member service providers. No proprietary platform, mobile app, or API has been disclosed. Seed Network's business model is grant-funded rather than revenue-generating — the organization itself charges nothing to participants (membership is free for both B2C business owners and B2B service providers) and redistributes 100% of incoming institutional grant funding as pass-through grants and B2B service payments. Primary funders include Wells Fargo Foundation (Partnership Grant), the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development's SOMA Stabilization Fund (SOMA Business Accelerator), the California Office of the Small Business Advocate/CalOSBA (Microbusiness Grants), and SF's Office of Economic and Workforce Development (ACE Collective). Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, relying on webinars, mixers, pop-up activations, partner referrals from four chambers of commerce, and word-of-mouth within the Bay Area BIPOC business community. The 1-10 person core team is led by Executive Director Desi Dangani (also founder of Kultivate Labs, PLINTH, and SOMA Pilipinas) and Co-Leads Kristen Brillantes, JP Reyes, and James Brillantes from Sarap Shop.

Name

Seed Network

Legal name

Seed Network

Website

https://seednetwork.biz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Seed Network is a San Francisco nonprofit founded in 2018 that delivers grants, cohort-based accelerator programs, and a BIPOC-owned B2B service-provider network to BIPOC creatives and small businesses in the Bay Area and SOMA Pilipinas Filipino Cultural District, funded entirely by institutional grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Small Business Economic Development Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Civic and Social Organizations (8134)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning (MEL) & Reporting for Donor Programs (BPADAOAL), Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA), Small Business & Entrepreneurship Community Education (EDAAAFAK)

Keywords

• Small business grants
• Business accelerator programs
• BIPOC entrepreneur support
• Nonprofit economic development
• Community business consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding (Primary Revenue): SEED Network operates entirely on grant funding from institutional donors. Primary funders include the Wells Fargo Foundation (provides grants distributed through the Partnership/Business Matchmaking Grant program) and the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development's SOMA Stabilization Fund (funding the SOMA Business Accelerator). Additional funding comes from the California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) via partner organizations. The organization distributes these funds as grants to BIPOC businesses and as compensation to B2B service providers. SEED Network membership is free.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Seed Network provides grants, business development programs (accelerator), consulting services, and a B2B directory/network for BIPOC creatives and entrepreneurs in the San Francisco Bay Area and the SOMA Pilipinas Filipino Cultural District. Core programs include the Partnership Grant (up to $4,000), CalOSBA Microbusiness Grants ($2,500 COVID relief), SOMA Business Accelerator (free cohort-based consulting), ACE Collective ($10,000+ cash grants plus commercial real estate support), and a B2B Directory that matches BIPOC-owned businesses with pre-screened professional service providers. Membership and program participation are free to qualifying BIPOC business owners; programs are funded by institutional grants.

Product overview

Seed Network is a business development network offering multiple interconnected programs: the Partnership Grant (up to $4,000 for B2B partnerships), SOMA Business Accelerator (free custom consulting services), ACE Collective (full-stack consulting with cash grants for commercial real estate), and CalOSBA Microbusiness Grants ($2,500 COVID relief). The network also provides a B2B Directory for service matching, community events for networking, and SMB resources for business education. Programs are culturally-informed and target BIPOC creatives and entrepreneurs in the San Francisco Bay Area and SOMA Pilipinas Filipino Cultural District.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Partnership Grant: Formerly the Business Matchmaking Grant; provides up to $4,000 in funding for BIPOC-owned Bay Area businesses to partner with B2B service providers.
• Business Matchmaking Grant
• SEED Partnership Grant
• SOMA Business Accelerator
• ACE Collective
• ACE (Anchor Creatives and Entrepreneurs)
• Vacant to Vibrant

Products and services

• Partnership Grant

Quantifiable outcome

• 8.25x ROI for Victory Hall on a $4,000 grant (generated $33,043 in attributed sales)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 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

Partnerships

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

• Kultivate LabscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKultivate Labs is the parent organization of SEED Network. Led by Executive Director Desi Danganan, Kultivate Labs empowers communities by enriching San Francisco's cultural equity through art and business. SEED Network is explicitly branded as 'A Kultivate Labs Project.' The two organizations share staff (Desi Dangani serves as Executive Director of both) and strategic direction, with SEED Network operating as a flagship economic development program of Kultivate Labs.
• Sarap Shop (Kristen Brillantes, JP Reyes, James Brillantes)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSarap Shop co-leads SEED Network Programming alongside Kultivate Labs. The Sarap Shop team brings expertise in hospitality, innovation, and community building. Founded in 2016, Sarap Shop serves Filipino-American comfort food and has expanded through a food truck, Chase Center stand, and a business design and development studio supporting rising entrepreneurs. Their mission of creating belonging and bringing out the best in people through food extends into the SEED Network's community-building work.
• Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMEDA partnered with SEED Network (alongside SF LGBTQ Center, SF Black Wallstreet, Northeast Community Federal Credit Union, and Asian Inc.) to distribute CalOSBA Microbusiness COVID-19 Relief Grants. MEDA handles the online application process and grant administration for approximately 350 grants of $2,500 each to qualified microbusinesses in San Francisco County.
• SF LGBTQ CentersupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization in the CalOSBA Microbusiness Grants distribution coalition, helping to identify and reach qualified minority entrepreneurs in San Francisco for COVID-19 relief grants.
• SF Black WallstreetsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization in the CalOSBA Microbusiness Grants distribution coalition, helping to identify and reach qualified minority entrepreneurs in San Francisco for COVID-19 relief grants.
• Northeast Community Federal Credit UnionsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization in the CalOSBA Microbusiness Grants distribution coalition, helping to identify and reach qualified minority entrepreneurs in San Francisco for COVID-19 relief grants.
• Asian Inc.supportingGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization in the CalOSBA Microbusiness Grants distribution coalition, helping to identify and reach qualified minority entrepreneurs in San Francisco for COVID-19 relief grants.
• SF African American Chamber of CommercesupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerBoard member organization that participates in voting on grant recipients, ensuring equitable distribution of SEED Network grants. Advisory board includes representation from four different cultural chambers of commerce.
• Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, San FranciscosupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerBoard member organization that participates in voting on grant recipients, ensuring equitable distribution of SEED Network grants. Advisory board includes representation from four different cultural chambers of commerce.
• Japantown Cultural DistrictsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerBoard member organization that participates in voting on grant recipients and cross-cultural collaboration in San Francisco's cultural district ecosystem.
• Commercial Real Estate Brokers (SOMA Landlords)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSEED Network has partnered with long-standing commercial real estate brokers who have strong relationships with SOMA landlords. These brokers provide free tenant representation for ACE Collective participants, supporting real estate searches, property tours, and lease negotiation for spaces in the SOMA Pilipinas corridor and Metreon.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC): Initiative of the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City providing capital access, training, and networking to BIPOC and inner-city business owners nationally. Comparable: serves a closely overlapping BIPOC entrepreneur audience with capital + network programming, but at a national rather than hyperlocal scale.
• Latino Community Foundation: California statewide foundation providing grants, leadership development, and advocacy for Latino communities. Comparable in mission space (BIPOC economic equity via grantmaking) and serves overlapping Bay Area populations, but at a much larger scale and broader advocacy remit.

Direct peers

• Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center: Bay Area nonprofit providing entrepreneurship training, business consulting, and microloans to low-income and immigrant entrepreneurs. Directly comparable: featured in SEED's SMB resource guides and serves a closely overlapping BIPOC small business audience with similar consulting + capital programs.
• Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA): San Francisco-based nonprofit providing business consulting, lending, and capacity-building for Latino and BIPOC small businesses. Directly comparable: SEED partnered with MEDA to administer CalOSBA microgrants, and both serve the Bay Area BIPOC SMB ecosystem with overlapping capital + consulting offerings.
• ICA Group: Nonprofit consulting firm providing business advising, ownership transition, and economic development services to underserved small businesses nationally. Comparable: same nonprofit consulting model for BIPOC and underserved SMBs, with similar grants-plus-services delivery.
• Main Street Launch: Oakland-based CDFI providing lending, advising, and accelerator programs to underrepresented entrepreneurs in the Bay Area. Comparable: operates an entrepreneur accelerator and BIPOC-focused small business support with overlapping service offerings and geographic proximity.
• Pacific Community Ventures: Bay Area nonprofit providing business advising, capital access, and impact investing to under-resourced small businesses. Directly comparable: serves BIPOC-owned SMBs in the Bay Area with a similar mix of consulting, capital, and peer network programming.
• Asian Inc. San Francisco nonprofit providing business development, lending, and training to Asian American and other underserved entrepreneurs. Directly comparable: partner of SEED in the CalOSBA microgrant coalition and addresses the same BIPOC SMB support gap in the Bay Area.
• BRIDGEGOOD: Oakland-based nonprofit providing design, branding, and mentorship to BIPOC creatives and entrepreneurs. Comparable: serves a closely overlapping BIPOC creative economy audience in the Bay Area with consulting, mentorship, and community programming.

Emerging players

• Runway Project: Bay Area nonprofit providing flexible, patient capital and advisory support to BIPOC small businesses, particularly in commercial corridors. Comparable: smaller emerging organization addressing the same BIPOC commercial real estate and SMB capital gap that SEED's ACE Collective targets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/joinseednetwork
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/join-seed-network

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Seed Network