7 ms·

Google Startup Launch

273 points by ishener 12y ago

Killah911 12y ago
Not quite clear on this program. It it more of a biz spark type thing from google? Are they planning to fund some early stage startups?
- mvd366 12y ago
  It would seem that they are attempting to promote the use of their platforms for new startups in exchange for personalized feedback, networking, and free promotion. I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up funding some of the resultant projects down the road but currently it appears that they're just testing a new method of connecting their developer relations teams with promising startups.
lifeisstillgood 12y ago
This looks like a simple case of Google follows BizSpark. Next up, Larry Page dances across the stage shouting "Developers, developers, developers, developers" I am (slightly) serious though. Google seems to slowly be following Steve Yegges advice to become a platform - and this is the best way to give that platform a workout. Without developers building on GAE / ApIs it's never going to break out of the current hole of being a few great API Islands in a sea of otherwise invisible underwater services.
jqueryin 12y ago
It's tough to say what their intent is regarding this program. My initial inclination is that they have multiple possible motives for providing this service: 1. To bring more awareness to their developer services and offerings in the small business sector. They've recently stated that SMBs are of huge interest to them. For example, check out "Google My Business", a recent play of theirs: http://www.google.com/business/ http://www.google.com/business/ 2. To potentially fuel early stage acquisitions and/or funding opportunities via Google Ventures. What a wise play to see how startups are using your offerings to vet them before acqui-hiring or offering funding. What are everyone else's feelings on this play?
- cookiecaper 12y ago
  I just found out about Polymer by clicking through the site, so I'd say the first point is pretty realistic.
- neemsio 12y ago
  Pretty similar to yours. They seem to be offering incentive for very early startups with spotlighting and ways of improving UX through design/consulting. Not sure how applicable this would be to a startup that knows how to market its target audience, though.
  - jqueryin 12y ago
    I think the additional value add they're promoting is simply exposure. It's one of the few things that every startup wishes they had more off. I would anticipate signups to be fairly high just for the off chance of increasing eyeballs. I do know that Google's marketing team has a budget they can utilize for successful partners/resellers to increase exposure. The reasoning behind the budget is that if Google partners succeed, Google ultimately making more money.
- jfoster 12y ago
  I just wonder whether they might be more successful with this if they explained what they hope to get out of it.
- thomasd 12y ago
  It's probably more than creating awareness for their dev services. From what I can see, they're rapidly increasing partnership efforts for their ad-based products (e.g. AdX integration). Could be a trojan-horse type of move to get in front of developers who will someday be serving ads to generate revenue.
- rwhitman 12y ago
  I think the basic idea is that if Google helps high growth companies launch, using entirely their infrastructure, that will pay dividends down the road, in many areas across the company. Startups built and scaled on Google products will stay loyal and have vendor lock in. Also the emphasis on UX assistance and Play store priority sounds like they really want to improve the Android ecosystem.
bfwi 12y ago
How much of Google's cloud stack are you required to use to apply for this program? If they require you to use GAE for your backend for example, I think it's going to be a dealbreaker for a lot of startups.
- skj 12y ago
  GCE is a more generic/flexible backend service. Run whatever you want on there.
  - rlpb 12y ago
    > Run whatever you want on there. "Supported distros include Debian and CentOS." Apparently not. This seems quite limited.
    - icebraining 12y ago
      "Include" is not "limited to": https://developers.google.com/compute/docs/operating-systems https://developers.google.com/compute/docs/operating-systems
- rbanffy 12y ago
  You can run your GAE workloads on AppScale on your own infrastructure (or on GCE, AWS or whatever IaaS you choose).
  - bduerst 12y ago
    GAE works really well for massive scaling without needing to worry about infrastructure, though it has some pretty weird limitations at times. For everything that GAE can't do, we have a GCE instance running to handle it.
    - rbanffy 12y ago
      One thing I like about GAE is that it encourages good practices. Many people cut their high-scalability teeth on it.
pskittle 12y ago
Anyone know what the eligibility criteria for this is? is this open to people from all over the world or restricted to a particular demographic?
- Shizka 12y ago
  From what I can see in the application form it looks like you can apply from every country. I also can't find any other information that conflicts with this. It looks like the eligibility criteria are pretty lax, but they are probably going to receive tons of applications and do some heavy filtering. It wouldn't be unthinkable that the country plays a role in that filtering, but that is only speculation.
  - pskittle 12y ago
    yeah i saw that, but they also mentioned this is a beta program and they're giving preferential treatment to teams nominated by their own developers. Might make sense to just wait it out.
waitingkuo 12y ago
Got no idea about the eligibility criteria for applying this. I'm curious about whether people currently using Google Compute Engine and applying material design get the higher priority or not
webmaven 12y ago
Does anyone know if there is a deadline or time limit to apply?
ctb_mg 12y ago
I would also see this as an opportunity for Google to increase the quality of apps entering the Android ecosystem.
lauradhamilton 12y ago
Too bad "get your new website out of our organic search sandbox with manual approval" is not one of the features provided.
frik 12y ago
Google icons: we will release these icons later this summer through our design guidelines available for use on Android and web: -- http://youtu.be/isYZXwaP3Q4?t=12m21s http://youtu.be/isYZXwaP3Q4?t=12m21s presumably soon there: https://www.google.com/design/spec/style/icons.html https://www.google.com/design/spec/style/icons.html
MeoMix420 12y ago
Exciting! :D I submitted my project. Hopefully the response is promising and not just a marketing scheme.
mkbrody 12y ago
Does this package include priority SEO placement? That would be a real value add ;)
inglor 12y ago
Is this BizSpark for Google products?
avighnay 12y ago
We had applied to this initiative a few days back. Not sure what is going to come of it. We use Google Cloud for our public cloud (mowbly.com), but we have kept the product deployable across any other J2EE capable environment like EC2, Azure etc.
mey 12y ago
The https://developers.google.com/startups/develop https://developers.google.com/startups/develop section reminds me of http://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/ http://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/ This may also be a way for Google to get eyes on early promising individuals or companies for acquisition or funding (think http://www.intelcapital.com/ http://www.intelcapital.com/ maybe) Edit: Clicking the apply button has a survey that includes how you will be working w/ Google Tech
youssifa 12y ago
This could be a good content marketing play as well for qualified lead gen outreach on other platforms -- offer clear value to developers in exchange for their e-mail addresses and accompanying data points about those developers.
FundingSMEs 12y ago
Very interesting! great Luca FundingSMEs.com
aagha 12y ago
My prototype is deployed on AWS. Would I be ruled out? Also, having not use their stack, how hard would it be for me to move over to their stack which, I'm guessing, would be a requirement.

273 points by ishener 12y ago

Not quite clear on this program. It it more of a biz spark type thing from google? Are they planning to fund some early stage startups?

mvd366 12y ago
It would seem that they are attempting to promote the use of their platforms for new startups in exchange for personalized feedback, networking, and free promotion. I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up funding some of the resultant projects down the road but currently it appears that they're just testing a new method of connecting their developer relations teams with promising startups.

lifeisstillgood 12y ago

This looks like a simple case of Google follows BizSpark. Next up, Larry Page dances across the stage shouting "Developers, developers, developers, developers" I am (slightly) serious though. Google seems to slowly be following Steve Yegges advice to become a platform - and this is the best way to give that platform a workout. Without developers building on GAE / ApIs it's never going to break out of the current hole of being a few great API Islands in a sea of otherwise invisible underwater services.

jqueryin 12y ago

It's tough to say what their intent is regarding this program. My initial inclination is that they have multiple possible motives for providing this service: 1. To bring more awareness to their developer services and offerings in the small business sector. They've recently stated that SMBs are of huge interest to them. For example, check out "Google My Business", a recent play of theirs: http://www.google.com/business/ http://www.google.com/business/ 2. To potentially fuel early stage acquisitions and/or funding opportunities via Google Ventures. What a wise play to see how startups are using your offerings to vet them before acqui-hiring or offering funding. What are everyone else's feelings on this play?

cookiecaper 12y ago
I just found out about Polymer by clicking through the site, so I'd say the first point is pretty realistic.
neemsio 12y ago
Pretty similar to yours. They seem to be offering incentive for very early startups with spotlighting and ways of improving UX through design/consulting. Not sure how applicable this would be to a startup that knows how to market its target audience, though.
- jqueryin 12y ago
  I think the additional value add they're promoting is simply exposure. It's one of the few things that every startup wishes they had more off. I would anticipate signups to be fairly high just for the off chance of increasing eyeballs. I do know that Google's marketing team has a budget they can utilize for successful partners/resellers to increase exposure. The reasoning behind the budget is that if Google partners succeed, Google ultimately making more money.
jfoster 12y ago
I just wonder whether they might be more successful with this if they explained what they hope to get out of it.
thomasd 12y ago
It's probably more than creating awareness for their dev services. From what I can see, they're rapidly increasing partnership efforts for their ad-based products (e.g. AdX integration). Could be a trojan-horse type of move to get in front of developers who will someday be serving ads to generate revenue.
rwhitman 12y ago
I think the basic idea is that if Google helps high growth companies launch, using entirely their infrastructure, that will pay dividends down the road, in many areas across the company. Startups built and scaled on Google products will stay loyal and have vendor lock in. Also the emphasis on UX assistance and Play store priority sounds like they really want to improve the Android ecosystem.

bfwi 12y ago

How much of Google's cloud stack are you required to use to apply for this program? If they require you to use GAE for your backend for example, I think it's going to be a dealbreaker for a lot of startups.

skj 12y ago
GCE is a more generic/flexible backend service. Run whatever you want on there.
- rlpb 12y ago
  > Run whatever you want on there. "Supported distros include Debian and CentOS." Apparently not. This seems quite limited.
  - icebraining 12y ago
    "Include" is not "limited to": https://developers.google.com/compute/docs/operating-systems https://developers.google.com/compute/docs/operating-systems
rbanffy 12y ago
You can run your GAE workloads on AppScale on your own infrastructure (or on GCE, AWS or whatever IaaS you choose).
- bduerst 12y ago
  GAE works really well for massive scaling without needing to worry about infrastructure, though it has some pretty weird limitations at times. For everything that GAE can't do, we have a GCE instance running to handle it.
  - rbanffy 12y ago
    One thing I like about GAE is that it encourages good practices. Many people cut their high-scalability teeth on it.

pskittle 12y ago

Anyone know what the eligibility criteria for this is? is this open to people from all over the world or restricted to a particular demographic?

Shizka 12y ago
From what I can see in the application form it looks like you can apply from every country. I also can't find any other information that conflicts with this. It looks like the eligibility criteria are pretty lax, but they are probably going to receive tons of applications and do some heavy filtering. It wouldn't be unthinkable that the country plays a role in that filtering, but that is only speculation.
- pskittle 12y ago
  yeah i saw that, but they also mentioned this is a beta program and they're giving preferential treatment to teams nominated by their own developers. Might make sense to just wait it out.

waitingkuo 12y ago

Got no idea about the eligibility criteria for applying this. I'm curious about whether people currently using Google Compute Engine and applying material design get the higher priority or not

webmaven 12y ago

Does anyone know if there is a deadline or time limit to apply?

ctb_mg 12y ago

I would also see this as an opportunity for Google to increase the quality of apps entering the Android ecosystem.

lauradhamilton 12y ago

Too bad "get your new website out of our organic search sandbox with manual approval" is not one of the features provided.

frik 12y ago

Google icons: we will release these icons later this summer through our design guidelines available for use on Android and web: -- http://youtu.be/isYZXwaP3Q4?t=12m21s http://youtu.be/isYZXwaP3Q4?t=12m21s presumably soon there: https://www.google.com/design/spec/style/icons.html https://www.google.com/design/spec/style/icons.html

MeoMix420 12y ago

Exciting! :D I submitted my project. Hopefully the response is promising and not just a marketing scheme.

mkbrody 12y ago

Does this package include priority SEO placement? That would be a real value add ;)

inglor 12y ago

Is this BizSpark for Google products?

avighnay 12y ago

We had applied to this initiative a few days back. Not sure what is going to come of it. We use Google Cloud for our public cloud (mowbly.com), but we have kept the product deployable across any other J2EE capable environment like EC2, Azure etc.

mey 12y ago

The https://developers.google.com/startups/develop https://developers.google.com/startups/develop section reminds me of http://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/ http://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/ This may also be a way for Google to get eyes on early promising individuals or companies for acquisition or funding (think http://www.intelcapital.com/ http://www.intelcapital.com/ maybe) Edit: Clicking the apply button has a survey that includes how you will be working w/ Google Tech

youssifa 12y ago

This could be a good content marketing play as well for qualified lead gen outreach on other platforms -- offer clear value to developers in exchange for their e-mail addresses and accompanying data points about those developers.

FundingSMEs 12y ago

Very interesting! great Luca FundingSMEs.com

aagha 12y ago

My prototype is deployed on AWS. Would I be ruled out? Also, having not use their stack, how hard would it be for me to move over to their stack which, I'm guessing, would be a requirement.