From the Advocate

By Tara Lynn Gray 

August 2025

Part Two of Breaking Down Barriers: How California’s SCALE Network is Transforming Small Business Support

This month we have part two of the Breaking Down Barriers Podcast.  In this episode we celebrate the successes of the innovative “mesh network” we’ve built to support our small business community. I share my vision behind the network, which aims to meet businesses where they are and connect them to trusted resources. We also explore the critical importance of a unified data model for tracking success, ensuring accountability, and advocating for long-term funding to support California’s small businesses. Listen to the Podcast Here

For those that enjoy a good read as well, we did another blog posting that shares the continued progress we’re making which has been reproduced below.

From Barriers to Bridges: California’s Innovation Blueprint for Small Business Success

California is the fourth largest economy in the world, home to more than 4.3 million small businesses. Most are owned by women and people of color. These businesses power communities, create jobs, and drive innovation. Yet for too long, they have faced systemic barriers to capital, resources, and the trusted relationships that fuel growth. That reality is shifting.

In the latest episode of Breaking Down Barriers, I joined David Ponraj, CEO of Economic Impact Catalyst, to reveal how the SCALE Network is transforming access to opportunity across the state.

“Over the last four years we’ve run 14 programs with $5.3 billion in appropriations, building on seven years of impact that have supported 845,185 businesses… this has resulted in more than 84,400 jobs and $6.5 billion in loans and equity capital. In the first year of SSBCI, 93 percent of referrals went to CDFIs. This foundation positions us to scale capital access and strengthen business growth and job creation across California; and that’s the point of it all.”

From Competition to True Collaboration

For years, resource providers like SBDCs, WBCs, Chambers, and CDFIs operated in parallel, often competing instead of collaborating. This left business owners navigating a maze of disconnected programs.

The SCALE Network changes that. Instead of sending entrepreneurs from one door to the next, SCALE puts the business owner in the center of a connected, statewide mesh network. Within 48 hours of raising their hand, whether at a chamber event, place of worship, or community gathering, they are matched with the provider best positioned to help.

“We knocked down the walls between organizations to create a cooperative spirit that says, ‘We are a unified ecosystem supporting these businesses.’”

The Twin Engines of Trust and Data

Two elements drive the SCALE Network’s impact: trust and data.

Trust: The network meets entrepreneurs where they are. “Relationships mean so much when you’re running a business. If someone in your trusted circle knows somebody, that connection matters.”

Data: For the first time, California’s technical assistance network operates on a unified data model. “I am a firm believer that you cannot change what you do not measure. Data collection is how we make that measurement.”

These two forces work in tandem. Trust ensures that entrepreneurs feel confident enough to step forward and share their needs, while data ensures that every one of those interactions is tracked, measured, and used to improve outcomes. Trust opens the door; data builds the bridge. When a business owner is connected through a trusted messenger and their journey is recorded in a unified, auditable system, it creates accountability, accelerates service delivery, and provides proof of impact that can secure future funding. In California’s SCALE Network, trust fuels the relationship and data fuels the results: Together, they make the system unstoppable.

Measurable Results in Year One

The impact is undeniable. Over the past seven years, 845,185 businesses have been supported, more than 84,400 jobs created, and $6.5 billion in loans and equity capital deployed. Ninety-three percent of SSBCI referrals have gone to CDFIs.

In just the first year of SCALE we have successfully served 3,876 clients through our dedicated efforts. Our network has delivered 789 workshops, fostering growth and learning within the community. In addition to group sessions, we have provided 14,624 hours of one-on-one technical assistance, ensuring personalized support for each individual. Overall, our initiatives have reached over 17,000 attendees, highlighting our extensive impact and commitment to making a difference.

“Every million dollars invested in training and counseling has led to 88 new businesses and five jobs for every $10,000 invested.”

In its first year, the SCALE Network delivered measurable impact, serving thousands of entrepreneurs through targeted technical assistance and collaborative referrals. The program’s reach and efficiency demonstrate how a connected ecosystem can rapidly turn strategic investment into tangible business growth and job creation.

A Model for the Nation

This is more than a state success story. It is a blueprint for the country. Scale proves that when providers unite, trust is prioritized, and data drives decisions, small businesses have the power to transform economies.

California’s small businesses face challenges from AI disruption, global market shifts, and political uncertainty. The SCALE Network is ready to respond.

“We are beyond the creation stage. Our providers have dug in, and now it’s time to hit the gas and go.”

The focus for the next 12 to 18 months includes accelerating growth for women-owned businesses, expanding export opportunities, strengthening public-private partnerships, and deepening connections to underserved communities through trusted messengers.

“California is on the world economic stage. The activities of small businesses here are on a global scale.”

Through SCALE, we are not just supporting individual businesses—we are building a more resilient, inclusive, and innovative economy for all Californians. By continuing to break down barriers and build bridges, California’s small businesses will remain the driving force behind our state’s continued prosperity and growth.

Republished courtesy of EIC

Tara Lynn Gray was sworn in on April 26, 2021 as the fifth Director of the California Office of the Small Business Advocate. She serves in the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development as the voice for California’s 4.3 million small businesses. Closing opportunity gaps, the role of women and diverse business leaders, and expanding procurement opportunities are recurrent themes in her advocacy work.