TechCrunch.com just covered The Founders Institute which uses the domain name Fi.co, is an incubator, and just hit a big milestone, more than 1,000 companies have graduated from the program.
“Instead of targeting twenty something programmers who have already started working on new companies, the companies founder Adeo Ress said his team created “a structured process” that would allow people who were working at big companies and “daydreaming” about their own startups to learn about the business and to figure out whether it really made sense to pursue their ideas.”
“Another distinguishing feature is the Founder Institute’s approach to geographic expansion — Ressi said it has chapters in 55 cities across 30 countries and six continents, with more to come.
He added that in order to launch in a new city, the Founder Institute needs to be satisfied with both the local mentors who have volunteered/been recruited, and with the level of entrepreneurial interest.”
“But the real measure of an incubator’s success may have less to do with how many startups it launches, and instead how many have successful exits of some sort.
“Ressi estimated that the total portfolio has an estimated value of $5 billion, which may seem a little hard to swallow since there have only been six “liquidity events” (including the acquisitions of Shopalize and Grindblaze). But he noted, “Our best companies are far from selling.” He also said that 89 percent of companies are still operating, and 74 percent of companies are operating at or ahead of their growth plans.”
More great coverage on a company build around a .Co domain.
Earlier this week VentureBeat.com covered 500.Co which is another company which funds startups.
sometimes, use a .CO is the right choice