Spark's New Early-Stage Funding Initiative, Start@Spark

Cool news this morning from Spark Capital... they're launching a new seed funding program called Start@Spark that will offer fledgling companies up to $250,000. It's focused specifically on companies in the New York and Boston areas.

"Yes, we are in a global economic recession and yes the new media markets are being impacted," Spark partner Santo Politi writes in a blog post." The current environment has made it difficult for entrepreneurs seeking capital to start companies. Investors, including VCs, Angels and Strategic Investors are distracted from early stage investments due to a combination of portfolio triage, concern about capital availability, and downright confusion over where to invest. The options for starting new companies have evaporated along with financial markets and market caps.

"So, this must be a terrible time to fund a start-up company. Correct? Au contraire. This may be the best time in the last 8 years to start a company. While capital is scarce, the tectonic plates continue to shift creating major rifts. The walls are coming down and the barriers to entering new markets are falling along-side."

The NY Times Bits blog has a little more.