Spark Capital launches Start@Spark

Spark Capital, a Boston venture capital firm, has officially launched Start@Spark, a seed funding program designed to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurs with proposals aligned with Spark Capital’s "media and technology conflux strategy" will be granted up to $250,000 to quickly accelerate company progress and prepare for an initial formal round of venture funding, the firm said in a press release.

The press release included a statement from Todd Dagres, (right) founder and general partner of Spark Capital.

“In this economic environment, continued innovation and entrepreneurship are as important as ever,” Dagres said. “Looking back at previous recessions, some of the greatest technology companies were created and achieved market success during turbulent times. We view Start@Spark as an opportunity to not only buck the trend of investors retreating from new early stage funding but also to capitalize on what may be a perfect storm for the next great technology company to take root.”

Dagres was previously a general partner at Battery Ventures, where he invested in such companies as Akamai Technologies Inc.

The photo of Dagres that appears with this post was taken from the Spark Capital website.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)