This guide helps you select the sector that best describes your company’s primary business activity.

• Choose the category that best reflects the core product, service, or market your company is built around.

• If your company operates across more than one area, select the sector that represents the largest share of its current business or is most central to its strategic direction. You will also have an opportunity in the application to explain what your company sells and who it serves.

1/ Agriculture, Food Systems & Agribusiness

• Best for: Businesses that grow, raise, produce, process, supply, or support agricultural and food-system activity.

• Examples include: Farming, livestock, fisheries, aquaculture, food production, food processing, agricultural inputs, crop services, agri-services, farm management, food supply chains, and agricultural technology.

• Choose Hospitality, Food Service & Tourism instead if: Your core business is preparing and serving food directly to customers through restaurants, catering, or hospitality venues.

• Choose Consumer Goods, Retail & E-commerce instead if: You primarily sell a branded, packaged food or beverage product to consumers, even if you manufacture or source the product yourself.

2/ Energy, Natural Resources & Utilities

• Best for: Businesses engaged in energy, natural-resource extraction, power, water, waste, or utility-related products and services.

• Examples include: Renewable energy, solar, wind, oil and gas, mining, water, waste management, recycling, power generation, energy storage, energy infrastructure, utility services, and environmental-resource services.

• Choose Construction, Infrastructure & Built Environment instead if: Your main activity is designing, building, or maintaining physical structures or infrastructure rather than providing energy or utility services.

3/ Construction, Infrastructure & Built Environment

• Best for: Businesses that design, build, engineer, supply, maintain, or develop physical infrastructure and the built environment.

• Examples include: Construction, engineering, architecture, building materials, infrastructure development, civil works, contracting, facilities services, building systems, urban development, and built-environment technology.

• Choose Real Estate, Property & Housing instead if: Your business primarily owns, brokers, manages, finances, rents, leases, or develops property as an asset class.

4/ Manufacturing & Industrial Products

• Best for: Businesses that make, assemble, engineer, or distribute physical industrial products, equipment, materials, or components.

• Examples include: Physical-goods manufacturing, industrial equipment, machinery, chemicals, electronics, textiles, packaging, industrial supplies, fabrication, production systems, and specialized components.

• Choose Consumer Goods, Retail & E-commerce instead if: Your primary product is a consumer-facing brand or finished consumer product rather than an industrial or commercial product.

5/ Consumer Goods, Retail & E-commerce

• Best for: Businesses that create, own, distribute, or sell physical consumer products, retail products, or product marketplaces.

• Examples include: Consumer brands, direct-to-consumer products, apparel, beauty, skincare, personal care, household goods, furniture, consumer electronics, retail stores, physical-product marketplaces, e-commerce, wholesale consumer goods, and consumer-product distribution.

• Choose Technology, Software & Data Infrastructure instead if: Your company provides the underlying marketplace, e-commerce platform, retail software, or digital infrastructure rather than principally selling physical goods.

6/ Transportation, Logistics & Mobility

• Best for: Businesses that move goods or people, manage logistics and supply chains, operate transportation assets, or provide mobility-related products and services.

• Examples include: Freight, delivery, warehousing, supply-chain services, fleet management, shipping, fulfillment, trucking, logistics technology, travel operations, mobility platforms, passenger transport, ride-hailing, aviation services, maritime services, and transport infrastructure.

• Choose Hospitality, Food Service & Tourism instead if: Your principal business is selling travel or leisure experiences rather than transportation or mobility services.

7/ Technology, Software & Data Infrastructure

• Best for: Businesses whose principal product is software, technology infrastructure, data, digital platforms, IT services, or technology-enabled systems not primarily tied to another sector.

• Examples include: SaaS, enterprise software, developer tools, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, data platforms, AI applications, software infrastructure, IT services, digital platforms, general-purpose marketplaces, APIs, communications software, and technology consulting.

• Choose a sector-specific category instead if: The company’s primary value is solving a specific industry’s problem—for example, healthcare, financial services, education, property, energy, or logistics—even when the product is software.

8/ Financial Services & Fintech

• Best for: Businesses providing financial products, payment systems, financial infrastructure, financial-management tools, or financial advisory and investment services.

• Examples include: Banking, lending, payments, insurance, wealth management, investment services, financial planning, credit products, remittances, accounting technology, payroll, invoicing, tax technology, investment platforms, and financial data services.

• Choose Professional Services & B2B Advisory instead if: The company primarily offers accounting, tax, compliance, or advisory expertise as a service rather than a financial product or technology platform.

9/ Real Estate, Property & Housing

• Best for: Businesses that buy, sell, develop, manage, rent, lease, service, or provide technology for real estate, property, and housing.

• Examples include: Real-estate brokerage, property development, rental or leasing, property management, housing services, real-estate investment, proptech, home services, commercial property, residential property, tenant services, and property marketplaces.

• Choose Construction, Infrastructure & Built Environment instead if: The business primarily constructs, engineers, or supplies materials for buildings and infrastructure.

10/ Professional Services & B2B Advisory

• Best for: Expertise-led businesses that provide professional judgment, specialized advisory, creative services, or business support to organizational clients.

• Examples include: Consulting, legal services, accounting, recruitment, marketing agencies, design agencies, research, specialist advisory, audit, tax, compliance, executive search, strategy consulting, public relations, branding, and B2B creative services.

• Important: Businesses whose primary offer is founder coaching, mastermind groups, peer-advisory memberships, founder communities, entrepreneur education, leadership development for founders, or business-growth programs may overlap with PanVanguard’s core offering. These applications are reviewed individually for potential conflicts of interest and may not be eligible for member-board placement.

11/ Education, Training & Workforce Development

• Best for: Businesses that provide education, learning, training, credentials, skills development, or workforce services.

• Examples include: Schools, professional education, corporate training, tutoring, learning platforms, education technology, skills development, workforce-development programs, career platforms, credentialing, apprenticeships, and vocational training.

• Choose Professional Services & B2B Advisory instead if: The core offer is consulting or advisory delivered to clients, rather than an education, training, or workforce-development product.

• Important: Businesses whose primary offer is founder coaching, mastermind groups, peer-advisory memberships, founder communities, entrepreneur education, leadership development for founders, or business-growth programs may overlap with PanVanguard’s core offering. These applications are reviewed individually for potential conflicts of interest and may not be eligible for member-board placement.

12/ Health Care, Wellness & Life Sciences

• Best for: Businesses whose primary value involves health, clinical care, wellness, life sciences, care delivery, medical products, or health-related services.

• Examples include: Clinical care, mental health, wellness, medical devices, biotech, pharmaceuticals, care services, telehealth, diagnostics, healthcare software, health-data platforms, elder care, home care, disability services, clinical research, and healthcare staffing.

• Choose Technology, Software & Data Infrastructure instead if: The product is general-purpose software with healthcare companies as one customer segment, rather than a health-specific product or service.

13/ Media, Entertainment, Sports & Creator Economy

• Best for: Businesses that create, produce, distribute, manage, or monetize media, entertainment, sports, cultural activity, or creator-led content.

• Examples include: Media, publishing, film, music, gaming, events, sports, creator businesses, arts, photography, content production, talent management, cultural platforms, podcasts, streaming, and entertainment services.

• Choose Professional Services & B2B Advisory instead if: Your company mainly provides marketing, creative, design, or communications services to clients rather than producing or monetizing content, events, or entertainment directly.

14/ Hospitality, Food Service & Tourism

• Best for: Businesses providing accommodation, food service, travel, tourism, leisure, or hospitality experiences.

• Examples include: Restaurants, catering, hotels, short-term accommodation, travel experiences, tourism, food service, hospitality technology, event venues, travel agencies, tour operators, leisure businesses, bars, cafés, resorts, and experience-based services.

• Choose Agriculture, Food Systems & Agribusiness instead if: Your core activity is farming, agricultural production, livestock, fisheries, agricultural inputs, crop services, or business-to-business food-system infrastructure rather than selling a consumer brand or retail product.

• Choose Consumer Goods, Retail & E-commerce instead if: You primarily sell a branded, packaged food or beverage product to consumers, even if you manufacture or source the product yourself.

15/ Government Contracting & Public-Sector Services

• Best for: For-profit businesses whose primary customers are government agencies, public institutions, municipalities, school systems, or other public-sector bodies.

• Examples include: Government contractors, public-sector software providers, civic-technology companies, public-infrastructure service providers, government procurement suppliers, public-safety technology firms, defense and security suppliers, regulatory technology providers, public-health contractors, municipal-service providers, and businesses serving schools or government-funded institutions.

• Choose another sector if: Your business primarily sells the same product or service to commercial customers and government is only one customer segment. In that case, select the sector that best describes the core product or service.

• Not for this category: Government agencies, public-administration bodies, nonprofits, foundations, charities, advocacy organizations, and grant- or donation-funded organizations are not currently within the standard PanVanguard membership profile.

16/ Other

• Best for: Businesses that do not reasonably fit any of the 16 categories above.

• What to do: Select Other and provide a concise description of your primary product or service, the customers you serve, and the market in which you operate.

• Before choosing Other: If your business operates in multiple sectors, select the sector most central to your core product, primary revenue stream, or strategic direction rather than selecting Other.

Final note

Your sector selection is one input into PanVanguard’s matching and conflict-review process. It will be reviewed alongside your business description, customer type, revenue stage, sales motion, time zone, strategic ambition, and any direct-conflict disclosures before any potential cohort placement is considered.