Sproutbox Startup Incubator Launches
By Anna Johnson on May 13th, 2009Sproutbox, a new startup ‘incubator’ based in Bloomington, Indiana, has launched. It is now inviting startups to apply to be part of the first group of companies it will help fund, mentor and grow.
Over the last few years a number of seed stage equity providers emulating the model pioneered by Y Combinator have emerged. Such groups tend to run programs where they invite startups to receive around $20,000 in funding and participate in several weeks of mentoring and assistance in return for giving up a portion of equity.
Sproutbox appears to be more of a cross between a Y Combinator and the kind of ‘incubators’ we saw during the late 1990s.
Similar to Y Combinator, TechStars and their ilk, Sproutbox will provide the startups in its program $10,000 to $20,000 in funding and run a program extending for a number of months.
However, Sproutbox appears to offer a longer program and more hands-on, high value services than the other seed investment programs.
During the 8 month program, Sproutbox will aim to take a company from an idea to earning revenue, and provide $200,000 to $250,000 worth of services including a workspace, legal services, business services, mentoring, and so on.
In return, Sproutbox will also take a bigger slice of equity – around 20-40 percent – than the 5-10 percent typically taken by Y Combinator and similar seed stage funding and mentoring groups.
Applications for Sproutbox’s first round of investments close on August 8, 2009. For more information visit Sproutbox.com
