Funding

Ever heard the saying “It takes money to make money”? Well thats not true but in some cases you are going to need that extra capital to get your idea off the ground. Unless you have a proven team, lots of venture capital connections, or a personal track record of making investors money you are going to need to do some work before anyone will give you their hard earned money. As a newcomer it is very unlikely you will just walk into a VC firm, tell them your idea, and get a million dollar check made out in your name on the spot.
The good news is there are many different types of organizations that can help you get closer to a piece of that VC gold. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list; just a quick intro to what’s available.

Fellowships
Kauffman Fellowship
Thiel Fellowship
Ashoka Fellowship
UnCollege Gap Year
E[nstitute]

Startup Accelerators
Y Combinator
TechStars
Founders Institute
Excelerate Labs
Imagine K12

Angel Investor Networks
Angel List
200+ Angel Meetup Groups

Pitch Events
Founders Showcase
Ultralight Startups
TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield
Under the Radar
Women 2.0 PITCH Conference & Competition
Ignite Meetup

Venture Capital Firms and Funds
Andreessen Horowitz
Sequoia Capital
Accel
Benchmark Capital
Union Square Ventures
General Catalyst Partners
Kleiner Perkins
Greylock
Khosla Ventures
NEA
Google Ventures