14 DAY TRIAL // Google rolled out a new program, codenamed Gadget Ventures, that is meant to offer free investments to the gadget developers and help them reach their goals. The campaign is split in two parts, grants and seed investments, the main differences being represented by the amount of money offered by the parent company. The grants include $5.000 that are offered to the interested developers who plan to build their own gadget and improve it to draw the consumers' attention. However, you must record at least 250.000 pageviews per week for your gadget and you must create a one-page plan description to convince the Mountain View company that your deserve the money.
"We're excited about the opportunity this will give developers to build even richer, more useful gadgets and get recognized for doing it. This is a no-strings-attached grant; we won't ask for repayment of any kind. We simply ask that you work on your project in good faith," Tom Stocky, Google Developer Programs, said today.
The second version of the program, the seed investments, are offering $100.000 to the companies that are looking to build an entire business around a gadget and improve it until they manage to capture the market. "Only Google Gadget Venture grant recipients are eligible for this type of funding. Submitting a business plan detailing how you plan to build a viable business around the gadgets platform is a required part of the seed investment application process," it is mentioned in the description.
If you want to register for this program, you must create a one-page proposal and email it to Google. However, please keep in mind that you must achieve all the requirements imposed by Google and make your gadget one of the most popular utilities in its category. For more information, check out this page.