Introduction to Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the centralized labeling and categorization framework within AcceleratorApp. It allows your team to organize, structure, and filter platform users and startups, including applicants, portfolio startups, mentors, users, events, resources, tasks, forms, and community content, without altering their operational status or moving them through funnel stages.
By establishing a structured taxonomy, your team creates a standardized operational language. This enables platform managers to segment complex data sets instantly, match mentors with startups, send targeted communication, assign tasks to specific user groups, restrict course and resource visibility, and streamline overall ecosystem administration.
Note: Access to manage central Taxonomy settings is restricted to platform Administrators.
Where to Find Taxonomy
To access central Taxonomy settings, click the Menu icon in the top-left corner of the sidebar navigation, select Taxonomy
Inside the Taxonomy management hub, you will find categorized sub-menus for each platform entity type:
- Application Tags: For segmenting leads, applicants, and pipeline data.
- Startup Tags: For managing active portfolio companies, cohorts, and alumni.
- Mentor Tags: For tracking mentor skills, seniority, and domain expertise.
- User Tags: For labeling general community members, staff, or guest access.
- Event Tags: For categorizing webinars, workshops, and program sessions.
- Form Tags: For organizing your library of application and survey forms.
- Community Tags: For structuring internal community and social feed posts.
- Evaluation Criteria: For defining criteria used in applicant evaluations, coaching topics, and event themes.
- User Skills: For listing technical and industry expertise on user profiles, searchable across the community.
- Industries: For categorizing startups and users by primary sector.
To know more about how to create your Taxonomy click here
Step-by-Step
1. Use Tags in the Application Process
Organize applicants during recruitment and intake using Application Tags:
Navigate to the Applications module from the top navigation menu and select Overview.
Open a specific application file to update it individually.
Locate the Tags field in the left side panel.
Select one or more pre-defined Application Tags from the dropdown menu.
Alternatively, select multiple applications using the checkboxes in the Application Overview to apply tags in bulk.
Use the Application Overview filter bar to narrow down applicants by specific tag combinations.
2. Use Tags in Your Startup Portfolio
Organize active portfolio companies using Startup Tags:
Navigate to the Startups module from the top navigation menu.
Select a specific startup file to update it individually, locating the Tags field in the right side panel.
Alternatively, navigate to Startup Management, select multiple startups via the checkboxes, and apply tags in bulk.
Select one or more pre-defined Startup Tags from the dropdown menu.
Filter your Startup Portfolio list to view startups by specific tag categories.
3. Use Tags with Users
Group team members, founders, and community members for targeted profile management:
Navigate to User Management from the navigation menu.
Click the Edit icon on the user management.
Locate the User Tags dropdown menu.
Assign the appropriate tag (e.g., Cohort 2026, VIP Guest, Incubator Staff).
Save your changes to update the user's metadata across the platform.
4. Use Tags with Events
a. Categorize events for seamless filtering and participant navigation:
Navigate to Events from the top navigation menu.
Click Create Event (or edit an existing event).
In the Presentation Details tab, locate the Topics and Tags section.
Select the relevant Event Topics and Tags to categorize the session.
Save the event to display these tags on the community event calendar.
b. Restric access to events based on your Taxonomy
- Navigate to Events from the top navigation menu.
- Click Create Event (or edit an existing event).
- In the Visibility Settings setup the access based on your community taxonomy
5. Use Tags for Resources
Control content organization and access in the Resource Library:
Navigate to Resources in your side navigation menu.
Click Add Resource or select an existing item to edit.
Locate the Visibility Restriction section under resource settings.
Set access permissions based on user or entity tags to restrict resource visibility to authorized groups.
6. Use Evaluation Criteria in Coaching Sessions
Standardize coaching topics using central Evaluation Criteria:
Navigate to Startups > Evaluation Parameters from the navigation menu.
Configure your Evaluation Parameters for coaching sessions (to learn more, see How to Configure Evaluation Parameters).
Navigate to a specific Startup File and select Start a Coaching Session.
Select the relevant topics, which automatically populate from your central Evaluation Criteria.
Save the session to track coaching activity by theme across your portfolio.
7. Use Tags to Send Emails to Specific Groups
Execute targeted communications using tag-based audience filters:
Navigate to Startup Portfolio (or User Management).
Click the Send Email button.
Click the To dropdown menu and select your tag criteria (e.g., Startup Tag = Investor Ready).
Select the filtered entities.
Compose and send your targeted broadcast.
8. Use Tags in Tasks and Assign Tasks to Specific Users
Filter task lists and assign operational deliverables efficiently:
Navigate to Tasks from the top navigation menu.
Click Create Task.
To assign tasks by audience, navigate to User Management and filter your list by tag (e.g., User Tag = Cohort 2026 Founder).
Select the filtered users using the checkboxes and use bulk options to assign the task.
9. Use Tags to Grant Course Access
Restrict or grant access to educational content based on user or startup tags:
Navigate to Courses and select the course you wish to configure.
Open Course Settings and locate the Cohorts permissions tab.
Set the visibility conditions to require specific tags (e.g., Cohort 2026, Incubation Stage).
Save your changes so only users matching designated tags can view and enroll in the course.
10. Use Form Tags
Assign tags to forms so you can filter and locate them easily when managing multiple forms:
- Navigate to Forms from the navigation menu and open the form you want to tag.
- In the Form Builder, go to Settings and locate the Tags field.
- Select one or more pre-defined Form Tags from the dropdown menu and save your changes.
- Go back to Form Management and use the filter bar to quickly find forms by tag.
11. Use User Skills
Create a list of skills your users can select from when completing their profile:
- Make sure the Skills setting is turned on in your General Settings.
- Navigate to Taxonomy > User Skills from the sidebar menu.
- Add the skills you want available (e.g., Product Management, UX Design, Fundraising).
- Once added, these skills appear as selectable options for users when completing their profile, and are searchable across the community.
12. Use Industries
Assign Industries to applicants, startups, and users the same way you'd apply any other tag, then use them to grant access, send emails, or assign tasks:
- Navigate to the Startups Management or User Management module, depending on which entity you're tagging.
- Open the specific record (or select multiple via checkboxes to apply in bulk).
- Locate the Industry field and select one or more pre-defined Industries from the dropdown menu.
- Use Industries the same way as other tags, filter lists, restrict resource or course visibility filtered by Industry.
Best Practices
- Scope matters: Tags are strictly scoped by entity type. An Application Tag will not automatically appear in Startup Tags. When an applicant transitions into an active portfolio startup, ensure a corresponding Startup Tag exists to maintain continuity.
- Leverage Evaluation Criteria for cross-module consistency: Use Evaluation Criteria to define consistent learning themes across applications, coaching sessions, and program events for unified reporting.
- Use tags for internal workflow signals: Labels like Investor Ready, Needs Follow-up, or Legal Review serve as clear team signals without modifying a startup's official funnel stage.
- Perform routine taxonomy audits: Revisit your Taxonomy menu quarterly to merge duplicate entries (e.g., Fin-tech and Fintech) and delete unused tags to keep dropdown lists clean.