The TechFellows Award – Investing in Startups

Many of our readers may be aware that Reid Hoffman, one of the co-founders at LinkedIn, is also known for his angel investment in tech startups. Reid has also been one of many entrepreneurial voices who continue to reiterate the importance of encouraging entrepreneurship and it's impact on bailing us out of the dire economic straits we find ourselves in today.

TechCrunch, a leading technology blog, and Founders Fund, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm, just announced an annual program honoring technology innovators for achievement and excellence in high-tech entrepreneurship, the TechFellow Awards.

For those of you who are interested, here's a brief description of the awards. (Read more at TechCrunch)

The TechFellow Awards program will grant at least twelve fellows $25,000 each to invest in an early stage startup of their choice. Founders Fund will invest an additional $25,000 alongside those investments and request an additional right to invest another $250,000 when the company raises its next round of financing. In all, Founders Fund expects to devote around $3.6 million to the program.

We're glad to announce the participation of both Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner in helping pick the winners. You should also check out Reid's earlier Washington Post op-ed on spurring innovation and investments to help bail us out this economy. You can also check out Reid's interview (see below) on Charlie Rose where he discusses similar topics.