Earlier this week Facebook detailed some of the changes it is making to fbFund, its joint venture with Accel Partners and Founders Fund designed to help reward and foster the most encouraging applications on Facebook Platform, which launched 2007. In prior rounds, fbFund’s primary function was to distribute seed funding, with the last round’s 25 finalists taking home $25,000 and the final winners each receiving $225,000 cash grants.
Now the program is expanding to include a new Incubator Program (no doubt inspired by the likes of Y Combinator and TechStars), which will invite a few startups to interact with key Facebook personnel, as well as some of Silicon Valley’s most prominent entrepreneurs. Among the VCs and companies contributing their expertise to the program are First Round Capital, Tapulous, Zynga, Slide, and over a dozen other that can be found on this list. In addition, Facebook is also announcing today that Eric Ries will be taking part in the program.
Facebook will be accepting applications to the program, which is being led by Dave McClure, until April 20th. While it’s still unclear how many startups will be invited to participate in the Incubator program, they will be drawn from a pool of 50 finalists. The program will run from June through August.
Also interesting to note is that for this round winners can receive up to $100,000 in equity investment, while previous rounds have been ‘no strings attached’ – a change that may indicate, as VentureBeat notes, that Facebook and its partners may see the current round as being more lucrative than previous rounds (I also suspect, given the greater time investment involved with the new program, that they would like to see some kind of return).
For more details, check out Facebook’s blog post here.
the truth is last year’s fbfund winners haven’t been exactly a blast. Mousehunt was the (only?) most successful, but it was successful long before it received fbfund. i suppose the whole idea is a good thing though
This story about Spotrunner is much more explosive!
http://www.scri...ues-Spot-Runner
From what I have been told from a few reliable people the problem with fbFund and their limited partner is that they will not likely invest on anything that will compete with the VC’s existing portfolio.
Given many internet sites have gotten syndicate investment there is good chance that what you are doing might compete with one of the fbFund firms portfolio companies.
Just keep this in mind.
Exactly. The fbFund team and VCs are just looking for great ideas to steal, and the reality of it is the program has been a bust. They lost the first round of applications in late 2007 and made everyone re-apply, and during the meetings half of the members of the fbFund board did not show, and the entire program was being run by amateurs in the past.
This incubation model is nice, but is now just a way for FB to get a big piece of the pie since they didn’t quite get that with the tradition fbFund grants.
Where’s the Twitter Fund?
A good way for Zucky to continue his stealing ways.
the application submission process is broken. comes up error and to try again later. there saying they still have some kinks in the system that they need to work out. who knew.
StartupLocator.com – fire it up
fbFund will see consolidation and the process will only get delayed. All the partners involved will get more time to decide about the beneficiaries.
I cant get my passward too work when i sing into face book. what do i do please let me know please thainks sara.
lol