Building on my earlier coverage of how API providers are investing in their API community like Amazon and Slack, I wanted to document the incubator over at Box. Acknowledging that "the enterprise applications of the future will be cloud-based and massively scalable", and to "support the development of these applications, Box Platform and Amazon Web Services are teaming up to provide you with everything you need to build and scale your business." Providing yet with another (AWS-powered) partnership and API community investment blueprint to put on the shelf.
Examples like this are why I kicked off my API partner research but also reflects why I expanded to keep an eye on investment that is occurring in the space. I don't want API investment to simply mean VC-led investment when there are such a diverse number of other approaches available for how API providers can invest in their platforms, and API communities. The Box incubator offers up free and promotional credits, marketing, and training opportunities as part of the program that opens October 1st, 2016--something I'll work to expand on once they go live.
Eventually, I'd like to have an assortment of blueprints to show how API providers are investing in partners, developers, and the potential businesses that are being built on top of platform APIs. I refuse to accept that VC investment of public APIs is the only way forward, and the dominant narrative for what API investment looks like. Hopefully by sharing other examples from successful API providers will help diversify perspectives and narratives around API investment, incubation, and partnering.
