Story by
Emil Protalinski
Emil was a reporter for The Next Web between 2012 and 2014. Over the years, he has covered the tech industry for multiple publications, incl Emil was a reporter for The Next Web between 2012 and 2014. Over the years, he has covered the tech industry for multiple publications, including Ars Technica, Neowin, TechSpot, ZDNet, and CNET. Stay in touch via Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
Facebook today opened up registration for FbStart, a program that helps app developers by providing free tools and services “to get your app up and running fast.” The only requirement for applying is that you have an Android or iOS app that’s been available for at least 30 days.
You can be located anywhere in the world; all you have to do is fill out a simple form to tell Facebook about your app and the company says it will “respond within a few weeks.” Best of all, your app doesn’t even need to be integrated with Facebook to participate.
Facebook announced FbStart at its f8 conference last month, but only allowed developers attending the event to apply. The company promised the program would be opened to all developers “in the coming weeks,” and 13 days later, it has delivered.
If selected, developers will receive credits for Facebook advertising as well as Parse, plus free services from companies that deliver product testing, recruiting, customer care, video conferencing and document management. Fbstart includes two tracks: Bootstrap (up to $5,000 in free tools and services) for apps that are just starting out, and Accelerate (up to $30,000 in free tools and services) for apps that are trying to grow and scale.
Since f8, Facebook has added two new partners to the program: Hootsuite and Transifex. The full list of current FbStart partners is as follows:
- Adobe – Creative services.
- Appurify – Mobile app testing.
- Asana – Project management.
- Blue Jeans – Cloud-based video collaboration service.
- Desk.com – Customer support app.
- HootSuite – Social media monitoring.
- MailChimp – Email marketing.
- Proto.io – Mobile app prototyping.
- Quip – Mobile productivity suite.
- SurveyMonkey – Online survey platform.
- Transifex – Localization.
- UserTesting – Usability testing.
- Workable – Recruitment.
Facebook says it plans to continue expanding the number of partners in the program. We’ll keep you posted how the company’s first foray into the world of boosting startups turns out.
Top Image Credit: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.