Category: Boston

Zoora Aims to Marry Indie Designers with Shoppers Hungry for Options

She started her career as a management consultant, but Aubrie Pagano says she always knew she wanted to be an entrepreneur. And she was particularly energized by fashion. So Pagano spent her free hours assisting local Boston designer Emily Muller in launching her collection, in exchange for the opportunity to get some firsthand experience in … Continue reading “Zoora Aims to Marry Indie Designers with Shoppers Hungry for Options”

Detroit-Born Serial Entrepreneur Quits Boston for Pro Hoops Contract

Yo, is there a ballplayer in the house? Well, there is a House playing ball—professional basketball, that is. At the age of 33, Adam House, a serial entrepreneur (and shooting guard) who has successfully built and sold three companies—his most recent startup, Velocitude, was acquired by Akamai in 2010—has at least temporarily put aside the … Continue reading “Detroit-Born Serial Entrepreneur Quits Boston for Pro Hoops Contract”

Brightcove, Radius, Synchroneuron, & More Boston-Area Dealmakers

Plans for IPOs and venture funding dominated the New England deals news this week. —A new seed fund, backed by venture firm New Enterprise Associates and hosted by Harvard, came out of the woodwork last week. The Experiment Fund will invest up to $250,000 in seed funding in selected startups, with a focus on technologies … Continue reading “Brightcove, Radius, Synchroneuron, & More Boston-Area Dealmakers”

Life Sciences VC Investing Up in Dollar Value, Down in Deal Volume

At first glance, a report released last week by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association seems to portend rich times for life sciences startups. Biotech companies raised $4.7 billion in 2011—more than any other sector except for software and enough to help make last year one of the top three years for venture fundraising … Continue reading “Life Sciences VC Investing Up in Dollar Value, Down in Deal Volume”

Radius Health Seeks $86M IPO

Cambridge, MA-based Radius Health, which is on a quest to enter the multibillion-dollar market for osteoporosis treatments, said today it has filed to go public. The company hopes to raise $86 million in the proposed offering. The IPO will be underwritten by UBS Investment Bank and Leerink Swann, and co-managed by Cowen and Company and … Continue reading “Radius Health Seeks $86M IPO”

EMC’s Comeback in Server-Side Memory: Q&A with Pat Gelsinger

In enterprise data centers, servers and storage go together like hot dogs and buns. One isn’t much good without the other. But if your specialty is baking buns, you probably don’t spend a lot of time thinking about how to improve the dogs. And that, in essence, is one of the limitations that Hopkinton, MA-based … Continue reading “EMC’s Comeback in Server-Side Memory: Q&A with Pat Gelsinger”

Applied Proteomics, Co-Founded by Danny Hillis, Gets New CEO, $22.5M

Applied Proteomics hasn’t exactly been operating in stealth mode since it was founded five years ago. Co-founders David Agus, a cancer specialist at USC, and Danny Hillis, the MIT-trained computer scientist, gave TedMed talks about the startup’s technology, which provides a 40-gigabyte snapshot of all the proteins circulating in a drop of blood. By pure … Continue reading “Applied Proteomics, Co-Founded by Danny Hillis, Gets New CEO, $22.5M”

Synchroneuron Receives $6,000,000 Series A Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f438e6c8-f3fb-47f6-9e6b-e034ebbd6db1&Preview=1 Date 2/7/2012 Company Name Synchroneuron Mailing Address Undisclosed Waltham, MA 02451 Company Description Synchroneuron Inc., a Waltham, Mass.-based biopharmaceutical company that develops new therapies for tardive dyskinesia (TD) and other related movement disorders. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $6,000,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes The company did … Continue reading “Synchroneuron Receives $6,000,000 Series A Round”

Rapid7’s Mike Tuchen on Cyber Espionage and Startup Lessons

How are companies spying on each other these days? One of the surprising ways I’ve heard about recently is through the webcam in boardrooms. That’s right, apparently it’s easy to hack into some companies’ video conference systems, because they lie outside typical security measures. Companies sometimes set up video conferences so they can be accessed … Continue reading “Rapid7’s Mike Tuchen on Cyber Espionage and Startup Lessons”

FDA vs. Drug Ads: Cut the Kids and Dogs, Spell Out Side Effects

If you’ve turned on your TV anytime in the last, oh, decade or so, you’ve no doubt been bombarded by ads imploring you to “ask your doctor” about Drug X. And you’re well familiar with the routine: You get treated to happy images of folks dancing, perhaps, or walking their dogs in pretty green meadows, … Continue reading “FDA vs. Drug Ads: Cut the Kids and Dogs, Spell Out Side Effects”

Calling All Boston-Area Marketing Mavens…

…or really just one great one: Xconomy needs your help. We’re busy cranking out terrific tech and life sciences journalism and putting on stellar events across the six cities in our network, and we’re looking for a kick-ass marketing coordinator to help us get the word out about all of it. Full details are here, … Continue reading “Calling All Boston-Area Marketing Mavens…”

Startup Scramble University Open

The Startup Scramble University Open is an event catered toward entrepreneurially-minded students interested in taking a startup “crash-course.” Listen to founder stories and learn skills in the business, legal, and tech sides of the startup world. Register here.

10 Apps & Sites That Bring Back the Joy of Reading

You wouldn’t throw a fancy dinner party in a 7-Eleven. You wouldn’t hold a symphony concert in a subway station, or teach a meditation class on a tilt-a-whirl ride. So why does anyone expect readers to read long articles on the Web? Call me a traitor to my kind, but I think the World Wide … Continue reading “10 Apps & Sites That Bring Back the Joy of Reading”

Boston Startups: Get Aggressive in Working with Big Companies

Boston startups should be focusing more on creating strategic partnerships with big companies. An “if we build it, they will come” mindset appears to dominate the Boston startup scene. Too many startups also rely mostly on a pricing and plans revenue model combined with implementing the latest inside sales and marketing 2.0 tools to “get … Continue reading “Boston Startups: Get Aggressive in Working with Big Companies”

7 Lessons from TechStars’ David Cohen on Building a Startup Culture

When it comes to tech startups—especially in Internet software and app development—San Diego has been adrift in the horse latitudes. That’s the term Spanish mariners had for the waters where the trade winds died out for days and even weeks at a time. Becalmed sailors desperate to gain some headway would heave their horses overboard … Continue reading “7 Lessons from TechStars’ David Cohen on Building a Startup Culture”

FDA Approvals for Alkermes & Vertex Among the NE Life Sciences News

News of FDA drug approvals shone the spotlight on some New England biotechs this week. —Waltham, MA-based Alkermes (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALKS]]) and San Diego-based Amylin Pharmaceuticals(NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMLN]]) won FDA approval for their injectable diabetes drug exenatide once-weekly (Bydureon). This was their third time seeking clearance for the drug, which uses technology from Alkermes to last long … Continue reading “FDA Approvals for Alkermes & Vertex Among the NE Life Sciences News”

MyCare Receives $1,000,000 Seed Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e0d3c5ff-f25d-4188-a3be-55e96d4947af&Preview=1 Date 2/3/2012 Company Name MyCare Mailing Address 979 Post Road East Westport, CT 06880 Company Description MyCare Inc. is A Connecticut healthcare information technology company. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,000,000 Transaction Round Seed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor Connecticut Innovations Venture … Continue reading “MyCare Receives $1,000,000 Seed Funding”

Wing Power Energy Lands $600,059 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=34257a53-7412-4e32-bdb0-a9ac6accf0c8&Preview=1 Date 2/3/2012 Company Name Wing Power Energy Mailing Address 142 Canal Street Salem, MA 01970 Company Description Wing Power Energy’s new patented blade design is at the core of our industry changing performance, capturing the imagination of customers and investors alike. Our product innovations go beyond performance to encompass our customers’ … Continue reading “Wing Power Energy Lands $600,059 New Funding”

Fred Wilson, Todd Dagres, and More Cheer NY’s Growth in the VC Game

Much like the New York Giants charging onto the football field, companies such as bitly, BarkBox, and Gilt Groupe—along with their backers—have upped the caliber of innovation expected from startups in New York. In response to this upswell of activity, Xconomy brought some 250 members of the local investor and entrepreneurial community together Wednesday to … Continue reading “Fred Wilson, Todd Dagres, and More Cheer NY’s Growth in the VC Game”

Founders of Harvard Experiment Fund Talk Goals, Strategy, & Zip Codes

Don’t know about you, but I’m less interested in Facebook’s IPO than I am in the efforts of people trying to find the next Facebook out of Boston/Cambridge. One such effort is the new Experiment Fund, based at Harvard University, which I wrote about earlier this week. Turns out there’s more to the latest seed-stage … Continue reading “Founders of Harvard Experiment Fund Talk Goals, Strategy, & Zip Codes”

Xconomist of the Week: Gilt Founders Say Friends Can Work Together

At Xconomy’s event yesterday, New York’s Venture Emergence, members of Gilt Groupe’s founding team fascinated a standing-room-only audience with the tale of how, in just four years, they grew from a scrappy startup to one of the most successful e-commerce sites on the Web. Co-founders Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, who is one of our Xconomists, and … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Gilt Founders Say Friends Can Work Together”

Social Shopping App Snapette’s “Unexpected” Journey Takes It To NY

Snapette was supposed to be an unusual way for Sarah Paiji to spend the summer between her two years at Harvard Business School. It was a mobile app idea she started working on last winter with Harvard alum Jinhee Ahn Kim, aimed at enabling women to better share and find fashion products in brick-and-mortar stores. … Continue reading “Social Shopping App Snapette’s “Unexpected” Journey Takes It To NY”

Polatis Secures $2,700,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e4e90227-9fef-4932-a660-212c968a5bdf&Preview=1 Date 2/2/2012 Company Name Polatis Mailing Address One Tech Drive Andover, MA 01810 Company Description Polatis has set the benchmark in ultra-low loss optical switching. Its patented direct optical beam steering technology is powering the creation of highly reliable and compact photonic switching solutions. Website http://www.polatis.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction … Continue reading “Polatis Secures $2,700,000 New Round”

Flagship Ventures Plans to Open Michigan Office

Cambridge, MA-based Flagship Ventures, a $900 million fund known for its successes with companies such as Accuri Cytometers and Acceleron Pharma, is planning to open an office in Michigan in the next six months, says Sean O’Donnell, VP at Credit Suisse’s Michigan office. The move comes after Venture Michigan Fund II (VMF II), a fund-of-fund which is … Continue reading “Flagship Ventures Plans to Open Michigan Office”

Apperian, Fiksu, Mobiquity, & Paydiant Join Mobile Madness Lineup

Here’s a quick update on the agenda for Mobile Madness 2012: Total Mobility, the annual half-day mobile conference we are organizing here at Xconomy Boston. The event is taking place on the afternoon of March 14 at Microsoft NERD in Cambridge, MA. We are looking forward to a packed house and some outstanding talks, discussions, … Continue reading “Apperian, Fiksu, Mobiquity, & Paydiant Join Mobile Madness Lineup”

Vertex’s Big Day Felt Like Moon Landing, Seattle Researcher Says

Bonnie Ramsey said three years ago that a cystic fibrosis drug from Vertex Pharmaceuticals was a huge medical advance in the making, and would end up being an achievement on par with putting a man on the moon, at least for her patients. Yesterday, she says, was the day it truly felt like she was … Continue reading “Vertex’s Big Day Felt Like Moon Landing, Seattle Researcher Says”

Avila, iRobot, Verastem, Illume, & More Boston Deal News

This week’s deal news covered a breadth of sectors: biotech, medical devices, mobile applications, software, and robotics. Not to mention a major venture capital fund raise. —Waltham, MA-based drugmaker Avila Therapeutics was bought by New Jersey-based Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]) for $350 million, with as much as another $575 million available in milestones. Avila is a … Continue reading “Avila, iRobot, Verastem, Illume, & More Boston Deal News”

Stemgent Obtains $6,297,998 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fdad1ba9-cbad-435a-84d0-92d69df828de&Preview=1 Date 2/1/2012 Company Name Stemgent Mailing Address One Kendall Square B6201 Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description Stemgent advances stem cell science by providing proprietary reagents and tools developed and proven for reproducibility by some of the world’s leading stem cell scientists. Website http://www.stemgent.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $6,297,998 Transaction … Continue reading “Stemgent Obtains $6,297,998 New Round”

Options Media Group Acquires Illume Software for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=855d4ee5-3919-4f39-8b46-2458ae6f1d4f&Preview=1 Date 2/1/2012 Company Name Illume Software Mailing Address 75 Second Avenue Needham, MA 02494 Company Description Illume Software develops solutions that leverage location to power high-value applications and services. Our first product, iZUP, offers a responsible solution to cell phone-related distracted driving. iZUP harnesses the power of GPS, the pervasiveness of … Continue reading “Options Media Group Acquires Illume Software for Undisclosed Sum”

Harvard Experiment Fund, Backed by NEA, Joins Crowded Investor Field

There’s a new player in the seed-stage investment game in Boston. As of this week, the Experiment Fund is open for business at Harvard University, backed by the Silicon Valley venture firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA). The startup investment fund is being hosted by Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences in Cambridge, MA. The … Continue reading “Harvard Experiment Fund, Backed by NEA, Joins Crowded Investor Field”

Vertex Gets FDA Go-Ahead To Sell New Cystic Fibrosis Drug

[Updated: 1:25 pm] Vertex Pharmaceuticals is now officially more than just a one-hit wonder. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRTX]]), best known for its hepatitis C drug, has won clearance from the FDA to start selling a new twice-daily pill called ivacaftor (Kalydeco) for a rare form of cystic fibrosis. The FDA said today … Continue reading “Vertex Gets FDA Go-Ahead To Sell New Cystic Fibrosis Drug”

Vsnap Building Business on Vision of “Ubiquitous” Video Messaging

The blow from getting a higher-than-expected bill from someone like your lawyer could be softened it if came attached to a 60-second video message explaining the special things he or she actually did in detail. At least, that’s what Dave McLaughlin thinks—and he’s building his new startup Vsnap around the idea. McLaughlin has been around … Continue reading “Vsnap Building Business on Vision of “Ubiquitous” Video Messaging”

Co3 Systems Lands Series A Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=59eba762-3f2c-4011-b32e-36eccd932c18&Preview=1 Date 1/31/2012 Company Name Co3 Systems Mailing Address 1 Alewife Center Cambridge, MA 02140 Company Description Founded in early 2010, Co3 Systems is led by a team of privacy experts, security professionals, and proven software entrepreneurs. We are proud to have built products currently used by thousands of organizations in some … Continue reading “Co3 Systems Lands Series A Financing Round”

ConforMIS Lands $89,000,000 Series E Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d73b835a-2ed2-47ea-a664-8ddb7d4568f8&Preview=1 Date 1/31/2012 Company Name ConforMIS Mailing Address 11 North Avenue Burlington, MA 01803 Company Description Our mission is to provide best-in-class, patient-specific, minimally invasive medical implants for orthopedics and sports medicine. This is achieved through use of our unique and highly differentiating imaging analysis tools that render precision 3-D implant sizing … Continue reading “ConforMIS Lands $89,000,000 Series E Funding”

Silverlink Communications Obtains $1,999,996 Series D Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d5cef6df-8a65-43f3-8568-8e648c9d3490&Preview=1 Date 1/31/2012 Company Name Silverlink Communications Mailing Address 67 South Bedford Street Burlington, MA 01803 Company Description Silverlink Communications is revolutionizing outbound voice technology for the healthcare industry. Website http://www.silverlink.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,999,996 Transaction Round Series D Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. SEC regulatory filing. … Continue reading “Silverlink Communications Obtains $1,999,996 Series D Round”

Four Themes to Watch in Personalized Medicine

Good morning from Mountain View, CA, and from the close of the 2012 Personalized Medicine World Conference, which brought together thought leaders of business, government, healthcare-delivery, research and technology. Four themes that emerged from this year’s program: • Greater optimism, triggered by the 2011 approvals of two major oncologic agents paired with companion diagnostics: vemurafenib … Continue reading “Four Themes to Watch in Personalized Medicine”

FDA Gives Thumbs-Up to Skin Cancer Drug from Genentech and Curis

South San Francisco-based Genentech said today that a cancer drug it developed with Curis (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CRIS]]), which is based in Lexington, MA, was approved by the FDA to treat basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer. The drug, called vismodegib (Erivedge), will be prescribed to patients with carcinomas that have spread to other … Continue reading “FDA Gives Thumbs-Up to Skin Cancer Drug from Genentech and Curis”

Vision Without Execution is Hallucination

Last week Steve Case wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post called “Give Entrepreneurs Room and They Will Grow the Economy.” For those not familiar with him, Case was the founding CEO of AOL and has been an active healthcare investor, among other things, for the past seven years. My firm, Psilos Group, has co-invested … Continue reading “Vision Without Execution is Hallucination”

Akamai to Zipcar: A Snapshot of 10 Public Tech Companies in Boston

As we wind down the first month of 2012, I thought I’d take the pulse of some of the bigger technology companies around town. In addition to tracking startups and entrepreneurship, this is an important measure of the health and well-being of the Boston tech community. So here’s a list of 10 well-known public companies, … Continue reading “Akamai to Zipcar: A Snapshot of 10 Public Tech Companies in Boston”

Some “Q’s” for SecondMarket Founder at Our Feb. 1 Venture Forum

“It is the ‘silver’ age of VC/entrepreneurship. It would be the ‘golden’ age if we could fix the liquidity issues.” Those are the words of Michael Greeley, general partner of Flybridge Capital Partners in Boston and treasurer of the National Venture Capital Association, referring to the very tight IPO market that is limiting capital-raising options … Continue reading “Some “Q’s” for SecondMarket Founder at Our Feb. 1 Venture Forum”

Never Back Smug: A Lesson for Life Sciences From Newt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich comes across on TV as someone who radiates smugness. It’s that sense that he’s not just confident in his own abilities, but extremely satisfied with his talents and his utter superiority over mere mortals like you and me. I’m no political pundit, nor a psychologist, so I’ll let others analyze whether Newt is … Continue reading “Never Back Smug: A Lesson for Life Sciences From Newt Gingrich”

ConforMIS Adds $89M to Expand Sales, Manufacturing, Technology

Burlington, MA-based ConforMIS, a medical device company with a newly FDA approved knee replacement system, announced today that it has secured $89 million in a Series E investment. The money comes from London-based AGC Equity Partners, New York-based Axel Johnson, government investment funds from Asia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as other private … Continue reading “ConforMIS Adds $89M to Expand Sales, Manufacturing, Technology”

Amylin, Alkermes Win FDA Approval of Once-Weekly Diabetes Drug

[Updated: 3:47 pm] Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Alkermes have gone to the FDA twice before to seek approval of their new diabetes drug, and been turned back, but now the persistence has paid off. The FDA has cleared their once-weekly injectable diabetes drug for sale in the U.S. San Diego-based Amylin (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMLN]]) and Dublin- and … Continue reading “Amylin, Alkermes Win FDA Approval of Once-Weekly Diabetes Drug”

Apple Textbook Controversy Isn’t About Books-It’s About Teaching

I don’t think there’s ever been a textbook that made it this easy to be a good student. —Roger Rosner, vice president of productivity applications, Apple Whenever a company as powerful as Apple, Facebook, or Google announces a big new product push, it evokes wonder and acclaim from some observers, head-scratching and horror from others, … Continue reading “Apple Textbook Controversy Isn’t About Books-It’s About Teaching”

Infinity Drug Fails in Pancreatic Cancer Trial, Shares Fall

Bad news out today from Infinity Pharmaceuticals. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company said it is halting a mid-stage clinical trial of its drug for pancreatic cancer early after learning that patients were living longer in the placebo comparison group. Infinity (NASDAQ: [[ticker:INFI]]) shares fell more than 30 percent after the news. The trial of 122 … Continue reading “Infinity Drug Fails in Pancreatic Cancer Trial, Shares Fall”

The Other 99 Percent: Entrepreneurs

In my recent piece Reengineering Capitalism I highlighted a phenomenon that the global entrepreneurship ecosystem is paying very little attention to: Over 99 percent of entrepreneurs who seek funding get rejected. Yet, the entire world is focused on the 1 percent that is “fundable.” The media, when pitched a startup story, is interested in who … Continue reading “The Other 99 Percent: Entrepreneurs”