Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Spark Capital launches seed funding program Start@Spark

By Mass High Tech staff

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Boston-based venture capital firm Spark Capital reports it has launched a seed funding program called Start@Spark, intended to boost innovation and entrepreneurship in the media, entertainment and technology sectors.

According to Spark officials, startups based in Boston or New York will get up to $250,000 to get the company on its feet quickly and prepare for a first formal round of venture funding. The initial focus on the Boston and New York areas is based on the belief at Start@Spark “in the talent in these areas and our desire to foster collaborative startup communities,” according to a blog post by general partner Santo Politi on Spark’s website.
 
Spark describes Start@Spark as a formalization of their existing strategy of early-stage investing, as they have done with such companies as AdMeld, OneRiot and Tumblr Inc. “This is something that we do regularly and that we take very seriously,” said Politi in an interview.

In addition to the overall focus on media and entertainment tech, the program will on occasion focus on specific sectors that Spark finds interesting, which could include open platforms, education and financial services.

“We have been watching the activity in New England decay in the last few years, and we don’t think it is because of the lack of entrepreneurs — it is because of a lack of funding,” Politi said. “We are hoping that others will join us and help us make this market a lot more vibrant and get it back to what it was before.”

Chosen entrepreneurs will be provided access to Spark’s partners and legal counsel focused on entrepreneurs and early-stage technology companies, in addition to the seed funding, officials said.

In addition to early stage investing, Spark funds companies in all stages and was recently a participant in the $35 million fourth round of funding for Twitter Inc. Earlier this month, Spark participated in the $12 million funding of San Francisco mobile media platform developer Send Me Inc.