Twenty-plus years ago, I helped launch the $10K Business Plan Competition now known as the MIT $100K Competition. Back then there was very little of formalized entrepreneurship activities at MIT. The $100K gave rise to the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation after Desh Deshpande had served as a $50K judge and noticed that there weren’t … Continue reading “Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: Ideas for Indonesia and Beyond”
Category: Boston
Epizyme Gets $90M in Epigenetics Partnership with Celgene
Cambridge, MA-based Epizyme said today that it has formed a strategic partnership with an international subsidiary of Summit, NJ-based Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]). The two companies will work together to develop targeted cancer therapies based on Epizyme’s work in epigenetics, an emerging field that involves turning genes on and off without altering the underlying DNA. The … Continue reading “Epizyme Gets $90M in Epigenetics Partnership with Celgene”
Sample6 Technologies Garners $750,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9a5e2666-4429-4bb5-bbad-120a0202a690&Preview=1 Date 4/26/2012 Company Name Sample6 Technologies Mailing Address 27 Drydock Avenue 2nd Floor Boston, MA 02210 Company Description Sample6 Technologies is a dynamic startup company at the intersection of breakthroughs in synthetic biology, sensors, and data modeling and visualization. The company’s mission is to improve the health and safety of global … Continue reading “Sample6 Technologies Garners $750,000 New Funding”
Alcyone Lifesciences Receives $750,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fef35cd3-b577-45d8-a804-1a952073165e&Preview=1 Date 4/26/2012 Company Name Alcyone Lifesciences Mailing Address 75 Sandy Pond Road Ayer, MA 01432 Company Description Alcyone Lifesciences is focused on developing products for treatment of difficult neuropathological conditions. Website http://www.alcyonels.com Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount $750,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes The company is currently focused on adding staff … Continue reading “Alcyone Lifesciences Receives $750,000 New Financing Round”
HepatoChem Obtains $330,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1a6ab31b-bda7-43e3-a2a3-4b670c3a626b&Preview=1 Date 4/26/2012 Company Name HepatoChem Mailing Address 185 Alewife Brook Parkway Cambridge, MA 02138 Company Description Since 2008, HepatoChem offers pharmaceutical and biotech companies reliable and efficient access to small molecule metabolites. Our service will accelerate your drug R&D and reduce costs due to a high rate of drugs attrition. Website … Continue reading “HepatoChem Obtains $330,000 New Funding”
Christcot Medical Receives $257,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f278baf7-e71e-493d-a8ca-c2338854c62a&Preview=1 Date 4/26/2012 Company Name Christcot Medical Mailing Address 44 Bent Road Sudbury, MA 01776 Company Description The emerging medical device company focuses on chronic medical conditions that could use rectally delivered medications. Its new device, InsertEase, is a suppository applicator that the company said improves the effectiveness of the medication delivered … Continue reading “Christcot Medical Receives $257,000 New Financing Round”
Illumina Opens Apple-Inspired App Store for DNA Software Developers
San Diego-based Illumina has talked openly about how it is inspired by the way Apple integrates hardware and software, and now it’s taking another cue from the consumer technology colossus. Illumina, the market-leading maker of DNA sequencing instruments, said today it is creating an open platform for genomic software developers to make apps for scientific … Continue reading “Illumina Opens Apple-Inspired App Store for DNA Software Developers”
Innovators Exchange: Wellness Innovation Exposed
Come to this MITX event to hear how local companies are using data, gamification, and social tools to spur people to live healthier lives. Sign up here for the nighttime event.
How CoolChip Got $500K from Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund: A Salsa Story
It’s rare that chips and salsa lead to a startup funding deal. But this isn’t your average startup, and I’m not talking about the usual kind of chips and salsa. CoolChip Technologies, a Boston-area tech startup looking to make data centers more energy-efficient, raised $500,000 in seed funding earlier this month. What the company didn’t … Continue reading “How CoolChip Got $500K from Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund: A Salsa Story”
2012 MITX Innovation Awards
This set of MITX awards recognizes innovations in the area of marketing in Boston, with categories like customer engagement, user experience, gamification, best business model, and more. Register to attend here.
General Assembly Founder Hargreaves, Atlas’ Destin Join XSITE Lineup
It was already a star-studded bevy of speakers convening for XSITE, the full-day Xconomy Summit on Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship slated for June 14 at Babson College. Now, that lineup boasts some additional stars, as Atlas Venture partner Fred Destin and Brad Hargreaves, co-founder of the vaunted New York startup space General Assembly, have just … Continue reading “General Assembly Founder Hargreaves, Atlas’ Destin Join XSITE Lineup”
Boston Deals This Week Themed Around Data: Locu, EMC, & Terascala
Looks like you had to be doing something innovative with data in order to get in on the Boston deals this week. —Media reports have pegged Hopkinton, MA-based EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]) as on the brink of acquiring San Jose, CA- and Israel based XtremIO, a developer of technology for bringing flash memory to enterprise storage … Continue reading “Boston Deals This Week Themed Around Data: Locu, EMC, & Terascala”
CustomMade Receives $4,000,015 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ed6e2d35-c3a6-4996-9276-f29dc3073a82&Preview=1 Date 4/25/2012 Company Name CustomMade Mailing Address 99 First Street Floor 2 Cambridge, MA 02141 Company Description CustomMade is the first online marketplace to focus on connecting buyers of custom made furniture, cabinetry, and other products with the skilled artisans who create them. For consumers and members of the design trade, … Continue reading “CustomMade Receives $4,000,015 New Funding”
The Napa Summit: Keeping America Growing
How do we keep America competitive and growing? To explore this vital question, Xconomy is tapping its national network of Xconomists, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and other leading members of the innovation community for an intimate, invitation-only summit in the heart of California’s wine country. This extraordinary day-and-a-half-long, off-the-record retreat will feature candid chats, entrepreneur and … Continue reading “The Napa Summit: Keeping America Growing”
New Data on Genzyme MS Drug Shows Improvement in Disability
One of the most closely watched developments in the quest for new multiple sclerosis treatments is the experimental drug alemtuzumab (Lemtrada) from Cambridge, MA-based Genzyme, a unit of French drug giant Sanofi (NYSE: [[ticker:SNY]]). Last November, Genzyme revealed that in a late-stage trial, the drug reduced relapse rates and the risk of long-term disability, and today, … Continue reading “New Data on Genzyme MS Drug Shows Improvement in Disability”
The JOBS Act—The “IPO On-Ramp” Makes IPOs Easier
Enacted with great fanfare in early April, the JOBS Act is intended to improve access to the public capital markets for startup companies. The cornerstone of the act is the creation of an “IPO on ramp” which provides “emerging growth companies” up to five years following their IPO to come into full compliance with various … Continue reading “The JOBS Act—The “IPO On-Ramp” Makes IPOs Easier”
The Cure for PowerPoint Pain? Try Slidevana, Says Microsoft Vet
Ravi Mehta, the vice president of product at Boston-area startup Viximo, has an interesting side project. It’s called Slidevana, and it’s aimed at entrepreneurs, academics, lawyers, and anyone else who wants to deliver more effective presentations. Today, Slidevana is releasing its first set of 150-plus slide templates for PowerPoint, available for a one-time download fee. … Continue reading “The Cure for PowerPoint Pain? Try Slidevana, Says Microsoft Vet”
EnerTrac Receives $1,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=960c7de0-e94f-4758-9662-f4d5f31cf469&Preview=1 Date 4/24/2012 Company Name EnerTrac Mailing Address 94 River Road Hudson, NH 03051 Company Description Boston area-based, EnerTrac provides low cost, low bandwidth, remote monitoring for a variety of industries. Our mission is to accelerate the connection of Machine-to-Machine communication, just as cellphone technology has revolutionized the connections among people. Our … Continue reading “EnerTrac Receives $1,000,000 New Funding Round”
Auto-ID & Sensing SIG Event: How To Start an RFID Company
This MIT Enterprise Forum event draws a mix of local RFID players—some seasoned and some up and coming. They’ll talk about just what it looks like to get involved with the radio frequency identification space. Register here.
2012 WEST Leadership Awards Event
The honorees at this fifth annual WEST awards event have resumes that collectively include Tufts Medical Center, Parexel, the Massachusetts Hospital Association, American Tower, Sanofi Aventis, Hyperion Law, and even the Olympics (awardee Leanna Caron is a figure skating judge). Register here to see them honored and hear more about their work in the local science and … Continue reading “2012 WEST Leadership Awards Event”
Google, ITA, and the Future of Travel: It’s All About Data, Not Search
Sitting across the table from me, on the seventh floor of a brick building near Kendall Square, is the head of Google travel. He controls where the big, bad Internet giant (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GOOG]]) will go in the vast competitive landscape of flight and hotel search, airline reservation systems, relationships with online travel agencies, and so … Continue reading “Google, ITA, and the Future of Travel: It’s All About Data, Not Search”
E-Commerce Startup Material Wrld Opens up Fashionistas’ Closets
For Jie Zheng and Rie Yano, the options for selling used clothing were just not cutting it. Consignment stores were picky, thrift shops paid virtually nothing for their wares, and eBay was complicated. Both were working as marketers for big fashion brands, buying a lot of clothes for office days and work events, and trying … Continue reading “E-Commerce Startup Material Wrld Opens up Fashionistas’ Closets”
What Are the Hottest Targets in Biotech Today?
Hardly anybody wants new drugs that act like a sledgehammer, bashing diseased and healthy cells like old-school cancer chemotherapy. Many drugs today are supposed to be smart enough to work like laser-guided missiles that hit the diseased cells and mostly spare the healthy ones. But if your goal is to create one of these amazing … Continue reading “What Are the Hottest Targets in Biotech Today?”
Locu Secures $4,000,000 Series A Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=03633a55-bdfd-44ed-913e-2d430bf36981&Preview=1 Date 4/23/2012 Company Name Locu Mailing Address Undisclosed Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description Founded by MIT graduates and computer science researchers, Locu is creating the world’s largest semantically-annotated repository of real-time small-business data. We are excited to have the support and backing from a group of acclaimed angel investors and early-stage … Continue reading “Locu Secures $4,000,000 Series A Funding”
Cloze Receives $1,199,999 Seed Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f7694d74-a7fc-4da3-a2fd-bce12f593d9c&Preview=1 Date 4/23/2012 Company Name Cloze Mailing Address 33 Pine Ridge Rd. Wellesley, MA 02481 Company Description Robert Louis Stevenson had it right when he said “everyone lives by selling something.” We’re all selling all the time, whether we know it or not – and connections are key. Why not make it … Continue reading “Cloze Receives $1,199,999 Seed Financing Round”
CoffeeTable Aims to Reinvent Catalog Shopping for the iPad Era
When e-commerce startup CoffeeTable was brand new, the company occupied a table at San Francisco’s Dogpatch Labs, right across from another startup called Burbn. The week Burbn launched its iPhone app, CoffeeTable’s lead engineer “started to see that it was going to take off, and decided to switch over and join them,” says Ben Choi, … Continue reading “CoffeeTable Aims to Reinvent Catalog Shopping for the iPad Era”
Convergence Forum East
The Convergence Forum will bring together top-notch life sciences executives and investors to debate topics like corporate partnerships, funding, research, product development, the regulatory process, and more. The East Coast edition will feature organizations like OvaScience, Genzyme, Third Rock Ventures, and Avila Therapeutics. Those interested in attending can request an invite here.
Dyax, Adimab, Mersana, & More Boston Life Sciences Newsmakers
Partnerships and funding news came out of New England biotechs, particularly a few working on antibody technology. —Newton, MA-based Alcresta, a startup developing nutritional supplements from enzymes, nabbed $10 million from Third Rock Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Frazier Healthcare Ventures. Alcresta will share office space and a management team with Allena Pharmaceuticals, an enzyme drug … Continue reading “Dyax, Adimab, Mersana, & More Boston Life Sciences Newsmakers”
OnePIN Receives $1,280,220 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ea0c684d-630d-43fe-b2fb-efe7515c83ad&Preview=1 Date 4/20/2012 Company Name OnePIN Mailing Address 2200 West Park Drive Westborough, MA 01581 Company Description OnePIN delivers innovative communication and collaboration applications via web and wireless services. OnePIN’s permission-based contact management system enables individuals and organizations to keep their personal contact information current. Website http://www.onepin.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction … Continue reading “OnePIN Receives $1,280,220 New Funding Round”
Progress for Pervasis and InVivo: A Boost for Regenerative Efforts?
Last week brought good news for two Cambridge, MA companies pursuing different methods for repairing damaged body parts. Pervasis Therapeutics, which developed a cell-based method for fixing blood vessels, was acquired by Irish drug giant Shire (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SHPGY]]) on April 12. The next day, Cambridge-based InVivo Therapeutics (OTCBB: [[ticker:NVIV]]) said it expected it would soon win … Continue reading “Progress for Pervasis and InVivo: A Boost for Regenerative Efforts?”
Xconomist of the Week: Ramsinghani On Microinvesting in a Company Town
There is a lot of talk these days in post-industrial American cities like Detroit about transforming the “brawn economy” into the brain economy. Detroit Xconomist Mahendra Ramsinghani, who runs Invest Detroit’s First Step Fund, is on the front lines of that battle to economically recalibrate. “As a community, generation after generation got up and went … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Ramsinghani On Microinvesting in a Company Town”
Nexamp Unit Purchase Helps Retroficiency Inflate its Energy Efficiency Footprint
It’s not often that a two-year-old company acquires part of another startup, but it looks like a recent purchase for Boston-based Retroficiency is paying off. Last November the energy auditing software maker closed $3.3 million in a Series A round led by Point Judith Capital, and in the process acquired the energy efficiency division of … Continue reading “Nexamp Unit Purchase Helps Retroficiency Inflate its Energy Efficiency Footprint”
Terascala Garners $10,600,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a0acbf93-9e98-412d-a3c0-b624fb188fb8&Preview=1 Date 4/19/2012 Company Name Terascala Mailing Address 145 Bodwell Street Building 1 Floor 2 Avon, MA 02322 Company Description Terascala is designing new scalable storage appliances that balance the needs of Linux clusters from moderate sizes to the largest clusters being employed. Flexible and scalable configuration options provide the optimal blend … Continue reading “Terascala Garners $10,600,000 New Round”
Mersana Therapeutics Garners $4,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5a2e36ed-4302-42ef-8532-f1eb306df606&Preview=1 Date 4/19/2012 Company Name Mersana Therapeutics Mailing Address 840 Memorial Drive Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description Mersana Therapeutics, Inc. (formerly Nanopharma Corp.) is focused on developing novel oncology agents based on Fleximer, a stealth material that enhances the pharmacokinetics and safety of drugs. Website http://www.mersana.com Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount $4,000,000 … Continue reading “Mersana Therapeutics Garners $4,000,000 New Financing”
PowerInbox CEO Dishes on E-mail as Social Platform vs. Facebook (& Instagram)
At its best, e-mail is a never-ending game of whack-a-mole. At its worst, well, it’s like falling down an infinitely long, dark tunnel with a box of quicksand at the bottom. Can you guess which side of bed I got out of? Fortunately, there are people working on making the e-mail experience better. Matt Thazhmon … Continue reading “PowerInbox CEO Dishes on E-mail as Social Platform vs. Facebook (& Instagram)”
Pipeline Fellowship Grooms Female Angel Investors and Entrepreneurs
On March 30, Brittany Haas stepped before a firing line of 10 investors who were considering funding her New York-based startup, Happily Ever Borrowed, a website that rents veils, jewelry and other accessories to brides. Haas was part of a pitch event that couldn’t have been more different from a TechStars demo day—or any other … Continue reading “Pipeline Fellowship Grooms Female Angel Investors and Entrepreneurs”
CoolChip, Copiun, Wingu Among the Slew of Boston Deals This Week
We saw a number of early stage investments in the past week in New England cleantech, Web, and life sciences startups. —Harvest Power, a Waltham, MA-based developer of technology for converting organic waste to natural gas, soil, and fertilizer, nabbed $110 million in a Series C financing led by True North Venture Partners and American … Continue reading “CoolChip, Copiun, Wingu Among the Slew of Boston Deals This Week”
Small is Beautiful in Q1 Venture Deals as VCs Write Lots of Checks
Venture investors wrote lots of checks during the first three months of 2012, but the amounts were small, according to the venture capital activity report being released today by CB Insights, the New York data services firm. The firm counted 785 venture deals during the quarter that ended March 31, marking the second-highest deal count … Continue reading “Small is Beautiful in Q1 Venture Deals as VCs Write Lots of Checks”
Gridco Lands $8,000,005 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=822e434e-8347-465e-ab9c-6ac374e6055a&Preview=1 Date 4/18/2012 Company Name Gridco Mailing Address 20 University Road 4th Floor Cambridge, MA 02138 Company Description Gridco, a new startup focused on smarter power management technology for utilities and industrial power consumers. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $8,000,005 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not … Continue reading “Gridco Lands $8,000,005 New Funding Round”
Alcresta Lands $10,000,000 Series A Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6bdf7839-bdb8-42f0-a126-9667c98be570&Preview=1 Date 4/18/2012 Company Name Alcresta Mailing Address One Newton Executive Park Newton, MA 02462 Company Description Alcresta is developing and commercializing innovative enzyme-based nutritional products that improve patient health and manage disease for infants, older adults and patients battling acute or chronic conditions. Website http://www.alcresta.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount … Continue reading “Alcresta Lands $10,000,000 Series A Round”
Copiun Obtains Series A Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=936ca20b-eec0-483c-9bfe-a1eece199679&Preview=1 Date 4/18/2012 Company Name Copiun Mailing Address 313 Boston Post Rd. W. Marlborough, MA 01752 Company Description Copiun has set out to provide a solution for User Data Management that is less rather than more – less for end users to do, less for IT administrators to do, and less expensive. … Continue reading “Copiun Obtains Series A Round”
Future Energy—Investor Feedback Forum
The Future Energy events connect investors, researchers, and entrepreneurs all looking to solve major energy challenges. Startups can apply here to pitch at the Boston event, whose panel represents firms like Black Coral Capital, Terawatt Ventures, Shell International, and Clean Energy Venture Group. Those interested in attending the event can sign up here.
Optimism and Innovation
There are many opinions on the essential elements for innovation. One component is particularly crucial, and one of my favorite quotes on the matter is by Intel co-founder Robert Noyce, who said “Optimism is an essential ingredient for innovation. How else can the individual welcome change over security, adventure, over staying in safe places?” Having … Continue reading “Optimism and Innovation”
SiteSpect CEO on Web Marketing and Why Big Data is “Like Sex in High School”
Time to check in on another growing and profitable tech company in Boston. This one has built its business around Web and mobile marketing technologies—basically helping big retailers and banks make their websites and other marketing channels faster and more efficient, and thus more lucrative. (Yes, you’re going to have to read a bit more … Continue reading “SiteSpect CEO on Web Marketing and Why Big Data is “Like Sex in High School””
Driving for a Better Way to Engage Consumers in their Own Health
Attention to health is life’s greatest hindrance—Plato Let’s just say you own a car. You have undoubtedly purchased insurance for the car and if you are diligent and worried about value and performance, you also are diligent about maintenance. You get the oil changed according to schedule, you fill it with the right kind of … Continue reading “Driving for a Better Way to Engage Consumers in their Own Health”
Enzyme Maker Alcresta Nabs $10M from Third Rock, Bessemer, Frazier
The team behind Newton, MA-based Allena Pharmaceuticals, which started up six months ago to develop enzyme-based drugs, is announcing today that they’ve formed a second enzyme company, Alcresta, to turn novel enzymes into nutritional supplements. That team—Third Rock Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Frazier Healthcare Ventures—put $15 million into Allena, and is pouring another $10 … Continue reading “Enzyme Maker Alcresta Nabs $10M from Third Rock, Bessemer, Frazier”
By Invitation Only: A Story of Entrepreneur Passion and Leadership
“Alexis had certainly never waxed on about her shopping habits in front of a room full of middle-aged men clad in blue shirts and khakis. She knew a big part of a VC partner’s job is to assess people’s judgment; they don’t tend to be fond of frivolity. Yet our business would live or die … Continue reading “By Invitation Only: A Story of Entrepreneur Passion and Leadership”
Luminus Devices Lands $2,500,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8951850f-46b7-44de-b6a5-b03b9ece3d19&Preview=1 Date 4/17/2012 Company Name Luminus Devices Mailing Address 1100 Technology Park Drive Billerica, MA 01821 Company Description Luminus Devices develops and manufactures innovative, high-power, solid state lighting solutions for high-definition televisions and other display products. Its patented PhlatLight (Photonic Lattice) technology and manufacturing processes deliver a new level of performance to … Continue reading “Luminus Devices Lands $2,500,000 New Funding”
Wiggio Lands $103,900 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d990d329-2480-4839-8df4-d2256b372487&Preview=1 Date 4/17/2012 Company Name Wiggio Mailing Address 77 Huron Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 Company Description On Wiggio, you can share and edit files, manage a group calendar, poll your group, post links, set up conference calls, chat online and send mass text, voice and email messages to your group members. Each … Continue reading “Wiggio Lands $103,900 New Financing Round”
MTLC Marketing Analytics Summit: Spinning Your Marketing Data into Gold—How to Harness Your Data for Maximum Growth
This half-day event will give marketers on idea of what to do with all the data they’ve amassed on their company thanks to new technology. Speakers come from companies like PTC, Hubspot, Kibits, Constant Contact, and more. Register here.