fbFund Application Deadline Approaching Monday - New Details on Summer Incubator Program

The application deadline for the latest round of Facebook's fbFund program is quickly approaching on Monday evening. The fbFund is a seed fund created by Facebook, Founders Fund, and Accel Partners to invest in developers building on the Facebook Platform and Facebook Connect. This year, fbFund winners will also be invited to participate in a 10 week summer incubator program in Palo Alto where they will receive advice and mentorship from the newly formed Developer Advisory Council. Process & Investment Structure Here's how the fbFund process works. Developers interested in applying for the program have until 11:59pm PT this Monday, April 20, to do so. Out of those applicants, about 50 finalists will be selected by a jury appointed by Facebook. Then, out of those finalists, winners will be awarded up to $100,000 seed investments. Exact details of the funding structure will be announced in the coming weeks. fbFund representative and Founders Fund investor Dave McClure tells Inside Facebook he expects fbFund winners to be ready to take a larger seed round a few months after the summer. Developers can submit applications for any services running on the Facebook Platform, but Facebook is also encouraging developers to submit applications for services built using Facebook Connect - either on the web, iPhone, or desktop. Applications will be judged based on "originality of concept, market, social/usefulness, expressiveness, intuitiveness, and business potential." New Summer fbFund Incubator Program In addition to the infusion of capital, fbFund winners will also be invited to participate in a new 10 week incubator program in Palo Alto this summer that will run from mid-June to late August 2009. McClure says elements of the incubator program are being modeled after Paul Graham's Y Combinator, as well as the Stanford Facebook class he co-taught with BJ Fogg in the fall of 2007. As such, fbFund is putting together a Developer Advisory Council which will pair fbFund winners with advisors from Facebook, Founders Fund, Accel Partners, Slide, Zynga, Social Media, KISSMetrics, Kontagent, Citizen Sports, Tapulous, and Serious Business to provide mentorship to fbFund winners. In addition, the fbFund incubator program will have weekly guest speakers on topics relevant to participants' businesses. It's a fantastic opportunity for developers to learn from some of the most talented and experienced folks in Silicon Valley. Like last year, winners will be included in Facebook's PR efforts as well. Other Notes The fbFund program is only open to developers willing to incorporate in the US, Canada, or UK, and companies that have already accepted more than $500,000 in funding are not eligible to apply. Last year's winners came from a variety of verticals - like weddings (WedSnap was acquired by TheKnot) and advertiser tools (Wildfire has partnered with many big brands) - but if you asked us, we'd encourage developers to submit applications in spaces where there Facebook has demonstrated strong interest, like games, sports, family/baby/mom, and enterprise applications. The deadline is coming up in a few days, so interested developers should apply here.

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fbFund Application Deadline Approaching Monday - New Details on Summer Incubator Program

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