It may seem like a long way off, but the Web 2 Summit is in less than six weeks – right after the general election. And this year’s Launch Pad, where we honor six of the best companies in the space, will close its application process this Friday. (The original deadline was Weds, but it makes sense to give folks till the end of the week.)
Launch Pad is a bit different this year, and I’ve heard anecdotally that folks are not sure if they should be submitting their companies because A/ They think they have to be looking for funding or B/ their companies don’t match what we’re looking for in terms of industry. So to clarify:
A/ Launch Pad companies are reviewed and judged by leadings VCs (Khosla Ventures, Mohr Davidow Ventures, NEA, Omidyar Network, Panorama Capital, and Sequoia Capital), but there is no requirement of a “funding need.” The goal is to honor six great private companies, not six great private companies who need funding.
B/ We are indeed looking for companies in a particular sector, one we call “Web Meets World.” It’s a pretty broad category, but it falls into two rough buckets:
1. Companies working in alternative energies, social entreprenuerialism, microfinance, developing economies, political action, renewable technologies, and the like (we’ll be particularly interested in where these companies display significant cross over with the web, of course, but this will not be required.)
2. Companies addressing where the Web literally meets the world: cloud computing-enabled mobility, mapping and geolocation, sensor networks – anything where the Web and the real world intersect.
We’ve already got a pretty big group of companies who have applied, but I’m eager to have as many as possible join the process. There is no fee to enter, the Launch Pad is sponsored by VCs involved in the program. So if you’re at a company working at the intersection of the Web and the World, please apply! The link to do so is right here. I look forward to seeing you at the conference, it’s really shaping up to be the best in our five year history (more on the program and speakers here).