Two Canadian Companies Among 500 Startups’ Latest Batch

500 Startups has launched its first San Francisco accelerator and two Canadian companies beat out 1,300 applicants to be a part of the program’s inaugural batch.

Part of “batch eight,” the two Canadian firms are among 28 companies in the group, which come from around the world, including Spain, France, and Egypt.

FameBit is one of the two. Based in Toronto, the company is “a marketplace that makes it easy for businesses to find, hire, and work with YouTube influencers for product and service endorsements.” The startup was founded by David Kierzkowski and Agnes Kozera.

VenueSpot is the other. Based in Vancouver, the company is “an online marketplace where venues bid to host your events; post your event, receive multiple bids, and choose your venue. The startup was founded by Jerome Ng and Tom Chan. VenueSpot spent eight months incubating in Vancouver’s Launch Academy.