fbFund, a $10 million seed fund focused on supporting entrepreneurs who are building their business around Facebook.com or with Facebook Connect, is now accepting applications for its third funding round. The fund, which is backed by Facebook, Founders Fund and Accel Partners, is shifting its focus to funding Web and iPhone app developers leveraging Facebook Connect. In the past, fbFund focused on the broad spectrum of successful and promising applications built on the Facebook Platform.
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the fbFund at TechCrunch40 in 2007. Last year’s winners, included GroupCard, Konatgent, MouseHunt, Wildfire and Weddingbook (which was recently acquired by The Knot).
Facebook will choose 50 teams based on app metrics, developer talent and potential to succeed. From those teams, a subset will later be chosen and offered the opportunity to receive up to $100,000 in equity investment and an invitation to participate in an incubator program in Silicon Valley later this year. While there, the teams will be able to meet with Facebook engineers, venture capitalists and other tech executives.
In contrast to last year, 25 teams received $25,000, and five out the 25 were given an additional $250,000 each. The also fund now has an incubator program, which could be helpful for startups that may need more direction.
Startups can apply on this website. Applications will be accepted through April 20, 2009.
If they only had the 50 limit last year, we would have been more than just runner up, but a finalist
Instead of rewarding apps by performance, like easy fb ad revenue support, they want to pick and choose the app. Bloody dictatorship.
Recession does not hinder their appetite to dictate terms…
Best of luck to all the FBFund applicants!
Facebook will watch your app metrics closely to evaluate your app.
So don’t bring a knife to a gun fight. Bring the K-Bomb (Kontagent), and level the playing field. =)
Check out the Kontagent analytics and viral optimization platform — we’ll make it free for all FBFund applicants.
[infomercial mode on:] You’ll get the deepest and most powerful analytics and viral optimization platform for Facebook (and also the only analytics platform that is FBFunded). [off]
Just mention that you’re applying for FBfund in your registration application on our site, and you heard about us from here with the code (TC-Kontagent) and we’ll hook you up.
Good luck,
Albert
founder/ceo
http://www.kontagent.com
Would I really want to base my business on something as fickle as Facebook? Not for me, but for certain types of startups I suppose it would work fine.
… and for what its worth, winning FBFund really did help us a TON. It wasn’t just the money, but everything else that came with it. The marketing, the support, the validation, etc.
For example, it allowed us to work with Facebook to host an upcoming Facebook Developer Garage in SF next week (March 25th-6:30PM @ Hyatt Regency SF): ) — and receive sponsorship money to market/host the event from Intel.
Just some of the many benefits of being FBFunded IMHO. Well worth the effort at getting a shot at not just the money, but all the support/marketing that comes with it.
Good luck!
albert
founder/ceo
http://www.kontagent.com
What about Android?
Well its no longer a non-recourse grant. Now its an equity investment… which puts a whole new spin on things…
I think facebook is going to have to explain this one in a little more detail….
Certainly larger facebook companies can handle all of the yearly ‘corporate filings’, ‘finacial reporting’ ‘voting’… but are they going to let facebook for $100,000 USD? I doubt it.
Are developers going to be able to do all of this backoffice work and still be able to focus on their product? I doubt it.