# History Overview **HeadStarter Lifecycle Recap** **Summary** The founders of HeadStarter have been active in the Hedera Ecosystem since 2019, developing early Hedera AppNets and dApps. Networking with fellow builders who were enthusiastic about the potential of Hashgraph technology, each with their unique use-cases across various industries, it became clear that most early Hedera enthusiasts were either bootstrapped with little to no institutional backing or viewed their work as passion projects. Recognizing the potential and passion in the community, HeadStarter aimed to offer a collective platform for Hedera projects to grow. To enable builders in the Hedera community to reach their potential in the expansive Web3 economy, pioneers needed access to funding and a broader user base to realize their disruptive visions. The objective was to create an open, equitable, and secure platform for on-chain fundraising, along with a robust project evaluation system for future projects. **Key Milestones:** * **Initial Fundraising**: Raised over $600,000 from angel investors and the community in Q2 2022. * **$HST Token Launch**: Launched at $0.01 USD during the IDO in July 2022. * [Hashgraph DeFi Alliance](https://hashgraphdefialliance.com): co-founded the alliance with [SaucerSwap](https://saucerswap.finance) & [Stader](https://www.staderlabs.com/hedera/stake/) in 2022 to streamline DeFi growth on Hedera and support the development of upcoming Hedera DeFi projects and resources. * [Project Sentinel](https://sentinel.headstarter.org): Introduced the Hedera Project & Token Rating System with an open methodology to serve the community as a key research resource. * [Spacewalk Acceleration Program](/products/accelerator.md) & [Zero Gravity Incubation Program](/products/zero-gravity-incubation-program.md): the extra mile of financial & soft skills services support for upcoming projects to ensure their success. * **Key Partnerships**: Announced a partnership with the HBAR Foundation in Q2 2022 and have since been working and growing the number of collaborations with ecosystem stakeholders. * **Fundraising Achievements**: Raised \~ 30 million HBAR from 2022 to H1 2024. * **Continued Development**: Ongoing enhancements to platform features, crowdfunding products, real yield aggregation and services. * **Community Engagement**: The HeadStarter team has continuously facilitated interactions with communities, involving them in online and in-real-life (IRL) events, distributing tickets to participants at HeadStarter-sponsored events, and conducting airdrops and activation campaigns. * **Early Success Stories**: Helped go to market blue-chip Hedera projects such as Earthlings and [HLiquity](https://hliquity.finance/). Earthlings.land raised approximately 1 million USD on HeadStarter. * **Initiating the Success Loop**: HeadStarter is recognized as a trusted pillar in the Hedera ecosystem. Upcoming projects can rely on HeadStarter to access key services, awareness, visibility, and funding. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.headstarter.org/what-is-headstarter/history-overview.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.