Today, we’re announcing FbStart, a program that provides developers with free tools and services worth up to $30,000 from Facebook and 11 other companies to help startups take off.
App developers can apply to participate in FbStart, and if selected, 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. Participating companies include Adobe, Appurify, Asana, BlueJeans, Desk.com, MailChimp, Proto.io, Quip, SurveyMonkey, UserTesting, and Workable.
FbStart aims 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 are two tracks in FbStart: the Bootstrap track for companies just getting started, and the Accelerate track for apps that demonstrated initial traction and are trying to grow.
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. Developers attending f8 today can apply immediately. The program will be opened to all developers in the coming weeks.
Find out more here: fb.me/start
Update as of 5/14/14: The application process for FbStart is now open to any iOS or Android developer with an app that’s been live for at least 30 days – it’s no longer limited to developers who attended f8. Selected developers will receive credits for Facebook and Parse, plus free tools and credits from our partners to help with product testing, recruiting, customer care, video conferencing, document management and more.
Since f8, we’ve also added a couple new partners to the program, including Transifex and HootSuite. Learn more here.