We're super excited to launch the New Platforms Fund, which will be making bite sized investments of $1-3,000 in up to 10 ideas/concepts in 2009. While we know that this investment size is not large enough for everyone, there are a lot of @home developers and hackers out there that are looking to build something that requires small capital expenditures. We want to celebrate innovation and thinking by helping with those expenses and dig our hands deep with new applications of technologies in market.
The fund is not for everyone and we have some great friends that we can turn to if there is an investment opportunity that is larger than what we'd normally invest in.
Some ideas that excite us but not guaranteed to be invested in:
- Advertising agency app/widget that displays campaign performance (sits on top of Atlas or DART)
- Bringing back a PointCast like system but for 2009 (did we just date ourselves?)
- An Obama tracker app (for those obsessed with Politics)
Please note that we cannot fund every single idea that comes into our inbox. Because of the limited scope of the New Platforms Fund and the demand in the market, we expect to fund less than 2% of all submitted ideas. Don't let this deter you if you believe your idea/concept is amazing.
Based on the first 50 ideas submitted to Hb, here are some of the reasons why we did not move forward with them:
- We do not have any existing domain knowledge in the particular market of which these ideas/concepts were submitted. The power of Hb is more than just money; it's our network and experience. If we fund certain ideas, we want to ensure that they have the best opportunity to succeed.
- Not a big idea. Some of the ideas we've seen are just not big enough in terms of opportunity.
- Competitive environment. The market which the ideas/concept fall into are crowded and we'd rather place our bets in a less crowded space.
- Market opportunity is limited. If we need to approach the market with only a 3 month window to generate revenue, we are most likely to pass.
- Idea doesn't sit ontop of a platform. Our fund is all about being part of an ecosystem and platforms such as Boxee, Appnexus, Twitter, etc. Your idea should sit on top of a platform.
- Explanation of idea was not clear from the description.
- While we are investing in ideas and concepts, we couldn't figure out the business application for it.
- As much as we love video games, film, and music, we don't invest in specific projects such as a new game, movie, or band. We will however invest in services around an industry. We try to stay away from very hit driven businesses.
- No barriers to entry into the market.
- Who is the team leader? Should have experience relevant to the idea.
- Lastly, not within the funds scope.
Contact us to learn more, we're excited to meet folks who reach out.