
Announcing Twilio Fund for 500 Startups - aditya
http://blog.500startups.com/2010/09/23/twilio-fund-for-500-startups/
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adityakothadiya
This sounds great! I just formed a LLC today and will be launching my Twilio
powered business in 2-3 weeks. It's web + iPhone app based app. Will be
announcing soon here as well once my iPhone app gets approved.

$10K is not huge money for me, so that's not something which excites me,
especially when I've revenue making plans from day 1. It's the network effect,
PR effect, building relationships that one can achieve from these kinds of
programs, excite me. I'm guessing this will be a great YC competitor, and in
turn I hope it will return YC like after results.

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johns
I work at Twilio (but was not involved in this fund) but I was working on a
Twilio-based startup before I started here a few months ago. I would have
totally done this (in fact, I'm a little jealous that I can't participate). 1%
for 10K is way better terms than a lot of the friends and family 'rounds' I've
done in the past. If you use Twilio in your product or service and you're
serious about making a business out of it, you should do this. It can't hurt
to have 500 Startups, Dave McClure and Twilio have your back.

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timmaah
This looks great. Great motivation to keep me going. I plan on launching my
Twilio powered startup/app on Sunday.

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dmor
I feel like I should mention, if you don't want to wait until the end of
November to start working on that fundraising for your Twilio-powered startup,
we have a developer contest running through next Monday night. The winner gets
a trip to NYC to have lunch with Fred Wilson (@avc), Albert Wenger, and Brad
Burnham of Union Square Ventures.

Details: <http://contests.twilio.com>

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markkat
We are in. We aren't using Twilio yet, but we sure could be convinced. :)

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martinkallstrom
Looked through the post but couldn't find any information on the price fixing
mechanisms they're using for these deals. Normally it would be secret meetings
in restaurants but I assume the trend as we go ahead will lean more towards
secret skype conversations or secret emails.

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sachinag
It'll be just nine slots if patio11 throws Appointment Reminder into the mix.

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patio11
I'm not planning on taking investment at this time.

I think this is a _really_ good deal, though. The $10,000 is gravy, and not
worth nearly as much as getting to pick Dave McClure's brain regarding
distribution. (Metrics, design, product, too, but if you had to pick one of
them, distribution is a strong choice.)

It just doesn't mesh well with the trajectory I'm shooting for at the moment.
If that changes, I will start working on the first investment pitch delivered
in rAnS0m n0tE.

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sachinag
My experiences with YC and TS companies indicate that the most valuable aspect
of the programs are the introductions and knowledge sharing amongst classes.

Given that the dilution is minimal, I'd strongly encourage you to apply -
you'll get $10K of value by getting accurate quick feedback from the other
members of the batch on the question "is there a better way to do [x]?" I
don't think the $10K obligates you to go out and get any additional funding,
and Twilio will be a net positive in terms of PR and links.

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corin_
I'm probably missing something (fairly tired right now), and will likely end
up looking like a muppet, but...

Where does the '500' come from?

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johns
This fund is a subset of 500 Startups: <http://500startups.com>

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corin_
Ahhh. Thanks :)

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christinetsai
And "500 Startups" is a nod to "500 Hats", Dave's personal angel investor
brand. Which is a nod to a Dr Seuss book ("The 500 Hats of Bartholomew
Cubbins")

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timmaah
The js scripts for the actual twilio fund page are 404. I tried to subscribe
to the newsletter.

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johns
Thanks for the heads up. I'll get someone on it.

