The first cohort to join 500 Startups accelerator has just been announced. Included is a Canadian team led by George Favvas who is working on a project called Rewardli. Not many details on the startup yet, but the focus is “helping small business owners leverage their social graph in interesting ways.”
George had this to say: “We are incredibly excited to be a part of the first batch of startups to go through the program. Dave McClure is obviously a very visible leader but there is an entire team behind him, not to mention a network of over 100 mentors who actively help and hold office hours in the accelerator. Unlike YCombinator, all 500 Startups accelerator companies share physical office space in Mountain View, which I think is a good idea as you can sense the energy just by walking into the room. There are events, talks, and workshops which often focus on the core themes of design, data and distribution. At the end of the program, we expect to have iterated enough to have a minimum viable product that addresses a real pain point, and raise a round of follow on financing.”
Update: Real Ventures is participating in the seed round as well.