StartUp PHL, the city’s new initiative to “increase the availability of seed-stage capital for startups and accelerate the development of a supportive environment for entrepreneurs already in the city, as well as establishing Philadelphia as a city of choice for new startups and entrepreneurs,” began today. It is a partnership between the City of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), and it is comprised of two initiatives: The Seed Fund and the Call for Ideas.

The Seed Fund is a joint public/private venture fund, “which will make seed-stage investments in Philadelphia-based tech startups.” The PIDC will begin by seeding the fund with $3 million, to be “matched and managed by a private investment firm that will make investments on behalf of the fund.” The Call for Ideas is a $500,000 fund to “support innovative, exciting proposals for ideas and programs that support startups and entrepreneurs of all stripes in Philadelphia.” According to the city, the fund’s goal is to make grants for proposals that enhance collaboration and innovation in the community of startups, while bringing jobs, business, and new entrepeneurs to the city.

Alan Greenberger, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, said in a press release, “We want to establish Philadelphia as a city where entrepreneurs can conceive of new ideas, grow their companies, hire people and, ultimately, stay.” You can find out more information or offer your idea to the Call for Ideas on the StartUp PHL website. Let’s do some cool stuff.

So there you have it: The world is not totally made of shit. Have you got some good news? If so, send it to tips[at]philebrity[dot]com with “GOOD MOTHERFUCKING NEWS!” in the subject header — we’d love to hear about it.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 26th, 2012 at 10:50 am.