Tozerboy

Three Emerson College alumni were recently declared winners in round one of Facebook’s fbFund competition. Jeremiah Cohick (’07), Arthur Nicholls (’06) and Mark Fish (’07) formed Digital Dandelion, Inc. early this year to create web applications for Facebook and mobile phones. Competing against over 600 teams, Digital Dandelion was awarded a $25,000 grant to develop Bottle Rocket, a wine rating application.

Bottle Rocket helps users pick the perfect bottle of wine. Wine enthusiasts of all levels will be able to rate wines through the Facebook and iPhone applications. Bottle Rocket then analyzes the wines users have liked with ratings from their friends to make informed recommendations. As users rate wines the recommendations become smarter.

From now through November 30th, Facebook Platform users will have the chance to try Bottle Rocket and the other winners of round one, Users will be able to test the applications, watch demonstration videos and vote for their favorites. The online voting site can be found at http://apps.facebook.com/fbfundvote/contests/109/entries/3358 Final judging of round two will factor in user voting, as well as input from Facebook, Accel Partners and Founders Fund. Once round two closes in December, Facebook will announce five winners who will receive up to $225,000 in non-recourse grants.

fbFund recipients represent a diverse array of start-ups innovating in areas ranging from e-commerce, religion and productivity to gaming, education, weddings, wine, sports and travel. Other founders include former CEOs and seasoned entrepreneurs, as well as a supercomputer engineer and a kiteboarder who develops in Python.

fbFund was founded in 2007 as a $10 Million seed fund focused on identifying talent and enabling entrepreneurs to build innovative and meaningful applications on Facebook Platform or on any third party website, desktop application or device with Facebook Connect. Round one of the fbFund competition was announced in late July at Facebook’s annual f8 developer conference and, in less than a month, more than 600 applications were received. An investment committee comprised of members from Facebook, Accel Partners and Founders Fund carefully reviewed each submission.

About Digital Dandelion
Digital Dandelion creates web applications that encourage user engagement within their social framework. At its core is a team of Los Angeles based developers, entrepreneurs, and social media specialists. Its members’ successes include marketing awards, profitable startups, successful mobile games, and projects for Fox, Nick, and MTV

About fbFund
fbFund is a seed fund focused on supporting entrepreneurs who are building their business on Facebook.com or with Facebook Connect by $25,000-$225,000 non-recourse grants. This fund was formed to provide resources to the Facebook developer ecosystem and eliminate some of the challenges of starting a company by supporting the development of businesses that provide users with a social and engaging experience. To learn more about fbFund and the recipients, visit: http://developers.facebook.com/fbFund.php.

About Facebook
Founded in February 2004, Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected. Anyone can sign up for Facebook and interact with the people they know in a trusted environment. Facebook is a privately-held company and is headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif.