Cupertino, Calif. - HP today launched HP Startup Central, a web portal designed to help technology startups get to market quickly through single-point access to HP tools, programs and resources.

HP Startup Central unifies HP's startup initiatives across all product groups, including servers, storage and networking, imaging and printing, and personal computers and mobile devices. The initial phase of the portal offers access to powerful features, such as intellectual property licensing and HP's application development platforms, including Palm Developer Program, Snapfish Publisher Beta Program and the HP AllianceONE partner program. HP's partner network is planned to be represented in the next phase.

"Launched in a small garage in Palo Alto, HP has entrepreneurship and innovation at the core of its DNA," said Stephen DeWitt, senior vice president and general manager, Personal Systems Group, HP. "This new resource will act as a gateway for entrepreneurs to quickly realize their business objectives, enabling them to seize high-value business opportunities as well as offering them an exchange with tech experts inside of HP."

Startups also gain access to discounts on HP products and relevant news and events. Additional benefits include:

- co-branding and co-marketing programs, including go-to-market toolkits and joint go-to-market planning;
- access to valuable HP services such as marketing collateral printing from LogoWorks by HP and HP Virtual Rooms web collaboration; and
- third-party tools that help entrepreneurs connect with investors, create term sheets, find employees and learn best practices.

"We at Pandora know the many challenges facing startups today," said Joe Kennedy, president and chief executive officer at Pandora, the leading online and mobile music service. "We believe that HP Startup Central will be a great resource for all types and across all industries."

HP also announced the formation of the HP Startup Central Advisory Board, which helped develop the HP Startup Central resource infrastructure under the leadership of Meaghan Kelly, vice president, Channel Strategy and SMB, Solution Partners Organization, HP. Chaired by legendary Silicon Valley angel investor Ron Conway, the 20-member board was formed to better connect entrepreneurs with high-value opportunities from HP.

"By launching HP Startup Central, HP has created a single place that emerging startups from around the world can go to fast-track their development and realize their goals for market success," said Conway. "Entrepreneurs are always looking for the next wave and on HP Startup Central they are likely to find it."

Today's announcement was revealed at Incubate 2.0, an entrepreneur-focused event organized by Startup Cause and sponsored by HP, which showcases cutting-edge programs to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses.

Startup success stories

In addition to Pandora, a number of startup businesses – including myYearbook, a service dedicated to making meeting new people fun on the web and mobile devices, and Crospon, a medical device company – have tapped HP Startup Central resources to achieve success within their markets.

"As one of the top 25 most engaging web sites in the US, we have seen extraordinary growth since our inception -- with more than 20 million users and hundreds of servers -- and HP has been with us from the beginning," said Geoff Cook, chief executive officer and co-founder, myYearbook. "When starting out, your early decisions are critical to long-term success. By partnering with HP as a datacenter technology provider, we've been able to keep our focus where it should be, on building out new products and attracting users."

"By licensing HP intellectual property around thermal inkjet technology, we have developed a superior drug delivery system that enables the painless, controlled release of drugs in a single patch applied to the skin," said John O'Dea, chief executive officer, Crospon. "Early access to this HP technology was a foundational event for our company, and we look forward to working with our pharmaceutical customers to get this breakthrough solution into the hands of those who need it."