Facebook to help start-ups with $30,000 of free tools and services, while also running ‘boot-camp’ events
Facebook has unveiled FbStart, a programme which looks to help start-ups by providing developers with free tools and services worth up to $30,000 from Facebook and 11 other companies.
Successful app developers will receive credits for Facebook advertising and Parse, plus free services from companies that deliver product testing, recruiting, customer care, video conferencing and document management – with Adobe, MailChimp and SurveyMonkey amongst companies revealed so far.
The company said: “Any developer around the world with a public iOS or Android app is eligible to apply — the app doesn’t need to be integrated with Facebook.”
Facebook says that the aim of FbStart is to provide developers the essential services needed to either get their business up and running or take it to the next stage of growth. There is a Bootstrap track for companies just getting started, and an Accelerate track for apps that are trying to grow.
As well as this, Facebook has announced that it will be running a series of "boot camp-style events” in America, “designed to help SMBs achieve business success."
According to Mashable, 500 to 700 attendees will be at each of the five boot camp events.
It is believed that the idea came off the back of a meeting of the Facebook's Small Business Council, as it was discovered that it was council members, not Facebook itself, sharing advertising insights with other SMBs.