VC Firm Launches Seed Funding Program to Find Next Twitter, Tumblr

WIRED By Chris Snyder, March 26, 2009

Spark Capital, the venture capital firm behind startups like Twitter, Tumblr and Boxee, has launched a new early-stage investment program called Start@Spark as part of its larger initiative to spur tech innovation in the Northeast.

Boston and New York based entrepreneurs with companies in media, technology, and entertainment are eligible for the program and can receive up to $250,000 in jump start money.

But this is just one part of a wider initiative that involves connecting entrepreneurs with VCs through weekly meetups and pushing for non-compete agreements in Massachusetts and New York.

“Our feeling is that with the downturn in the economy, a lot of angel and seed investors that were typically very active over the last few years aren’t as active anymore,“ said Bijan Sabet, general partner with Spark. “As an important part of the ecosystem and value chain when it comes to startups, this piece needs to happen.“

Spark has been involved in many early stage investments, like funding a second round for Twitter and gaming site OMGPOP (seeded partially by Digg’s Kevin Rose) and some of their own seed funding like $300,000 in Tumblr.