Last year, a friend asked me to serve as mentor for Hub Ventures (note: now called Better Ventures), a new accelerator program focused on startups with impact, and they’re back, accepting applications  for its 2012 class (see below or click here - Link is now defunct).   Hub Ventures represents, in my view, a top tier combination of startup resources and collaborative passion amongst accelerator programs.  Their investor demo day was packed, and I’m honored to be a mentor again this year — the quality of talent and ideas emanating from this program are second to none.   In fact, I invested with one of their graduates, Mobileworks.

A member of the 2011 class, Anand Kulkarni is founder and CEO of Mobileworks.  Mobileworks offers cloud-based crowdsourcing, essentially businesses can tap into the enormous power of many human brains to solve tasks otherwise difficult or expensive for software.  What really resonated with me about Mobileworks was their dedication to deliver living wages to its global work force while at the same time delivering superior results to its enterprise customers.  I’m so proud to be an investor alongside Anand and his deep founding team.  I encourage you to have them help you solve any complex tasks — they’re working on one for Bee Partners!

ABOUT HUB (BETTER) VENTURES
Hub Ventures, a startup accelerator for entrepreneurs building a better world, is now taking applications for its upcoming Spring 2012 cohort.  The program is looking for startups that have potential for scale, profitability, and significant measurable impact on the world.  Entrepreneurs can apply at www.hub-ventures.com/apply (link is now defunct), and the deadline is March 5th.

Hub Ventures helps high caliber entrepreneurs build their world-changing startups better and faster.  The 12-week program provides startups with seed funding, mentorship, collaborative sessions with program peers, workshops on topics relevant to impact-oriented startups, and investor connections.  Hub Ventures is based at the Hub Bay Area, a purpose-driven collaborative workspace with over 1,000 members in San Francisco and Berkeley that is connected to 30 other locations through the global Hub network.  For more information, please visit www.hub-ventures.com (link is now defunct).