Snapchat may not be the best player on the web, and far from the biggest, but it has its own way of thriving.
When Snapchat rebranded as Snap, Inc. in late 2016, it started calling itself as a camera company. Besides its two versions of Spectacles, most of Snap's releases over the years come from its app. From Snap Map to the controversial redesign.
In an attempt to go beyond all that, Snap in unveiling another initiative. Called 'Yellow', it's aimed to cultivating creative projects.
According to Snap, Yellow is a startup accelerator for "entrepreneurs who are looking to build the next generation of great media companies." Lucky winners can get a $150,000 investment from Snap.
To apply, people need to first fulfill several requirements.
First of all, anyone can apply as long as they consider themselves as a "creative with a strong vision." Then through an online application, they need to explain their long-term vision, target audience, and, if they've already started, they need to lay out where their work stands so far.
The next is the team. People can apply as an individual or a team of up to 4 people.
Snap has lots of media partnerships that bring professional content into Snapchat’s Discover section. Snap's CEO Evan Spiegel himself, has always been passionate about the media industry.
On the Yellow website, Snap explains three areas of interest that are in line with how most tech companies are betting their money on: from augmented reality (AR), interactive experience on mobile, and narrative storytelling.
But things aren't limited to that as Snap said that it welcomes any ideas, spanning from beauty and style to travel.
So here, Snap wants Yellow to be its accelerator program. By funding the lucky winners, Snap will have a stake on the winner's project. However, the company said that it is also promising mentorship from executives (including from Spiegel), networking events, as well as providing "creative office space."
"The terms ... are in line with other similar incubators and accelerators that are created with founders in mind," said Snap's VP of Content Nick Bell.
Snap hopes that Yellow can give birth to a new wave of media projects. Founders who build them may work with Snap once their project gets off the ground, although Snap won't as them exclusively.