Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=df8adc6d-2e7a-4b6a-8f6b-adb7d71dd726 Date 2/10/2014 Company Name MassRoots Mailing Address Undisclosed Denver, CO 80012 Company Description MassRoots is a Denver, CO-based social network for the medical cannabis community. Website http://www.massroots.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $150,000 Transaction Round Seed Proceeds Purposes The company is using the funds for user adoption and is continuing … Continue reading “MassRoots Garners $150,000 Seed Round”
Category: Boulder/Denver
Valen Technologies Obtains $2,000,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f2dca4a8-ade8-4da7-8c91-e0b9369202f2 Date 2/10/2014 Company Name Valen Technologies Mailing Address 1730 Blake Street Denver, CO 80202 Company Description Valen currently focuses on the insurance industry, and will use this experience as a springboard for its expansion into other industries. Website http://www.valen.com Transaction Type Debt, Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds … Continue reading “Valen Technologies Obtains $2,000,000 New Funding”
Valen Technologies Secures $2,000,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f2dca4a8-ade8-4da7-8c91-e0b9369202f2 Date 2/10/2014 Company Name Valen Technologies Mailing Address 1730 Blake Street Denver, CO 80202 Company Description Valen currently focuses on the insurance industry, and will use this experience as a springboard for its expansion into other industries. Website http://www.valen.com Transaction Type Debt, Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds … Continue reading “Valen Technologies Secures $2,000,000 New Funding”
Campuscene Receives $18,000 Seed Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b271ab8f-47e0-4965-ae22-382f8bb8730e Date 2/10/2014 Company Name Campuscene Mailing Address 1068 Delaware St. Denver, CO 80204 Company Description Campuscene – a modern and engaging college search platform that serves both applicants and admissions offices. Website http://www.campuscene.com Transaction Type Accelerator Transaction Amount $18,000 Transaction Round Seed Proceeds Purposes The company will use the proceeds to … Continue reading “Campuscene Receives $18,000 Seed Financing Round”
How Do You Solve A Problem Like Samantha? The Lessons of “Her”
Warning: Extensive plot spoilers. Like any effective science fiction movie, Spike Jonze’s Her has sparked a lot of important conversation and criticism, about everything from user-interface design to misogyny in filmmaking. But the reviews I’ve read all seem to miss one key point. Considered as a product, not a person (and we’ll get back to … Continue reading “How Do You Solve A Problem Like Samantha? The Lessons of “Her””
Sometimes It Pays to Be A Jerk
The concepts in my Lean LaunchPad curriculum can be taught in a variety of classes–as an introduction to entrepreneurship all the way to a graduate level “capstone class.” I recently learned being tough when you select teams for a capstone class pays off for all involved. Here’s why. Our Lean LaunchPad class requires student teams … Continue reading “Sometimes It Pays to Be A Jerk”
Twitter and Gnip Begin New Program to Help Researchers Use Big Data
The impact big data could have on the commercial world and industries like finance and advertising is well established, but it’s also changing the way social scientists, historians, and public health experts are studying the world. Access to Twitter’s (NYSE: [[ticker:TWTR]]) firehose of more than 500 million public tweets per day has helped researchers track … Continue reading “Twitter and Gnip Begin New Program to Help Researchers Use Big Data”
5 Practical Tips for Startups to Develop a Solid Brand Reputation
Every company wants to build a strong brand. However, for startups in today’s crowded marketplace, it can be quite challenging to get a brand noticed and recognized. I believe it’s always a good idea to study the best brands in the world, and see how they do things. So here are a few key tips … Continue reading “5 Practical Tips for Startups to Develop a Solid Brand Reputation”
Bounce.io Lands $4,800,000 Series A Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=655ae7e8-251a-4b10-8577-ed5d3b336f8f Date 2/6/2014 Company Name Bounce.io Mailing Address 908 Main St. Louisville, CO 80027 Company Description Based in Louisville, Co, bounce.io was founded in late 2012 by a group of old school email guys. All together we have founded 6 companies, have 20+ email patents, and have built anti-spam protection for commercial … Continue reading “Bounce.io Lands $4,800,000 Series A Round”
Not All Student Entrepreneurs Drop Out
Today’s generation of students has a high exposure to the Internet, smartphones, social and many other technologies from a very young age. It is not uncommon to see college students tinkering with technology, starting digital startups, and making millions (and occasionally even billions). Some drop out of school to build their business, but not all. … Continue reading “Not All Student Entrepreneurs Drop Out”
PetroDE Receives $2,000,000 Seed Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=cc373aa3-6462-4ff1-aaa6-22ca40210cd9 Date 2/5/2014 Company Name PetroDE Mailing Address 1500 28th Street Boulder, CO 80303 Company Description PetroDE was born as a result of a need in the Oil & Gas industry to better understand breaking resource plays and locate new opportunities. The classic war map often gets buried by multiple layers of … Continue reading “PetroDE Receives $2,000,000 Seed Round”
Bounce.io Raises $4.8M to Make Bounce Messages a Thing of the Past
It’s always annoying when you send someone an e-mail message and it bounces back with a cryptic note declaring that it couldn’t be delivered. Why can’t someone turn those bounce messages into something clearer and more useful? Colorado-based startup Bounce.io thinks it can do that, and it just raised a $4.8 million Series A round … Continue reading “Bounce.io Raises $4.8M to Make Bounce Messages a Thing of the Past”
TeamSnap Talks About Growth Strategy, Mobile, and $7.5M Round
TeamSnap has added to its roster and raised new money, and now it is ready to add to its base of 5 million users by focusing on features for mobile users. TeamSnap is a Boulder, CO-based startup that makes software that helps coaches of youth and adult sports teams as well as league officials manage … Continue reading “TeamSnap Talks About Growth Strategy, Mobile, and $7.5M Round”
Disrupting Unemployment
The global market for unemployment care is huge, waiting to be disrupted. The US alone spends ~$100 billion yearly on unemployment benefits. But the value of under-used resources is much bigger than that. Less than half of all Americans have paid work. Of those who have, many have jobs that don’t do justice to their … Continue reading “Disrupting Unemployment”
Colorado Legislators Aim to Reward Angel Investors with Tax Credit
Colorado could join the list of states that offer tax credits to angel investors if a bill currently before the Colorado General Assembly is passed. Supporters of House Bill 14-1012, the Advanced Industry Investment Income Tax Credit, believe it would encourage more high-net-worth individuals to try their hands at angel investing and increase the amount … Continue reading “Colorado Legislators Aim to Reward Angel Investors with Tax Credit”
Biopharmaceutical Haiku
Patients ask doctors Can you sequence my genome? Enter brave new world One word description Newly approved cancer drugs Unaffordable Hot biotech trend Virtual drug companies Who will do research? Can’t be denied now Obamacare launch shaky Improvements needed Biosimilars Challenges remain ahead Gold mine, or fools gold? Hype is … Continue reading “Biopharmaceutical Haiku”
The $1K Genome? So What? Illumina Is On a Quest for World Domination
People can argue all day about whether Illumina has, at last, given us the $1,000 genome. The answer does matter, because the cheaper it gets to sequence a whole human genome, the easier it will be to gather lots of them. That will help us understand what makes people different, and shed light on what … Continue reading “The $1K Genome? So What? Illumina Is On a Quest for World Domination”
Romotive’s iPhone on Wheels Gets Kids Riled Up About Robotics
The little girl screamed and tried to run faster as the robot closed in behind her. It may sound like a scene from a cheap horror movie. And if I told you that the little girl in question was my 3-year-old niece, and that I provided the robot, you might think me a very bad … Continue reading “Romotive’s iPhone on Wheels Gets Kids Riled Up About Robotics”
Bogusky Hopes to Capitalize on Ad Tech Boom with New Accelerator
A new startup accelerator co-founded by advertising legend Alex Bogusky is launching in Boulder, CO, with big plans to disrupt the advertising and marketing industries. The accelerator, named Boomtown, plans to support startups that are changing how consumers and brands use technology to interact with each other. It was unveiled Thursday, and is accepting applications … Continue reading “Bogusky Hopes to Capitalize on Ad Tech Boom with New Accelerator”
GutCheck Raises Another $4M to Streamline Online Market Research
Maybe four million is becoming the magic number for GutCheck, a Denver-based startup that develops online market research tools for companies launching new products and marketing campaigns. GutCheck recently closed a $4 million Series C round, which comes on the heels of a $4 million Series B round the company closed in June. GutCheck has … Continue reading “GutCheck Raises Another $4M to Streamline Online Market Research”
Quick Left Merges with Sprintly, Inherits Two Offices on West Coast
Quick Left, a Boulder, CO-based software consulting company, is merging with Sprintly, a company that develops project management tools for software developers, the companies announced Tuesday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the company will be named Quick Left and the company’s headquarters will be in Boulder. The deal expands Quick Left’s … Continue reading “Quick Left Merges with Sprintly, Inherits Two Offices on West Coast”
Simple Energy Raises $6M More to Gamify Utilities, Engage Consumers
Simple Energy, a Boulder, CO-based startup that develops cloud-based customer engagement software for energy utilities, has raised a $6 million Series B round, the company announced Tuesday. The Westly Group led the round, and managing partner Steve Westly will join Simple Energy’s board of directors, the release said. The group is a cleantech venture capital … Continue reading “Simple Energy Raises $6M More to Gamify Utilities, Engage Consumers”
In California, Walgreens & Walmart Are Rethinking Retail Health
On January 1, 2014, a bill signed by Governor Jerry Brown fundamentally transformed how pharmacists operate in California. The new law allows pharmacists in the most populous state in the nation to independently prescribe vaccinations, hormonal contraception, smoking cessation medications, and travel medicine without physician oversight or supervision. Importantly, the bill declares that “pharmacists are … Continue reading “In California, Walgreens & Walmart Are Rethinking Retail Health”
Time for Founders School
Having a film crew in your living room for two days is something you want to put on your bucket list. With a ~$2 billion endowment the Kauffman Foundation is the largest non-profit focused on entrepreneurship in the world. Giving away $75 -100 million to entrepreneurial causes every year makes Kauffman the dominant player in … Continue reading “Time for Founders School”
TeamSnap Garners $7,534,303 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=68214ffa-ca18-4bae-9d55-8368f3ac2c05 Date 1/28/2014 Company Name TeamSnap Mailing Address 1035 Pearl Street Boulder, CO 80303 Company Description The company operates a website service that allows managers of sports teams to more easily manage the administrative aspects of the team. Website http://www.teamsnap.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $7,534,303 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “TeamSnap Garners $7,534,303 New Funding”
What the World Needs Now Is (Probably Not) a Pill for Perfect Pitch
I remember seeing an episode of Desperate Housewives during the show’s first season called Running to Stand Still. In the episode, Lynette, working mom of many, takes her kid’s ADD medicine in order to be supermom and create costumes for the school play while balancing all of her other tasks. It was a classic self-prescribed … Continue reading “What the World Needs Now Is (Probably Not) a Pill for Perfect Pitch”
Ping Identity, MobileDay CEOs Teach Students About Building Companies
It’s not often two of Colorado’s most successful tech executives share what they’ve learned over the course of their careers, but it happened Thursday, when Ping Identity CEO Andre Durand and MobileDay CEO Howard Diamond talked about building businesses. Durand and Diamond were in Boulder to help kick off the University of Colorado at Boulder’s … Continue reading “Ping Identity, MobileDay CEOs Teach Students About Building Companies”
Gene Therapy Lurches Ahead, Sees Thorny Future Questions on Price
Imagine for a minute you’re a teenager with a rare genetic muscle disease nobody has ever heard of. No treatment exists. Your doctor says you might die if you ever eat pepperoni pizza. The medical literature says you’ll never get to be an athlete, get a real job, start a family. You’ll probably die in … Continue reading “Gene Therapy Lurches Ahead, Sees Thorny Future Questions on Price”
JumpCloud Garners $3,000,000 Series A Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8dfa682c-8ced-45ac-bc3e-8477135a4bc2 Date 1/27/2014 Company Name JumpCloud Mailing Address 2040 14th St. Boulder, CO 80302 Company Description DevOps is transforming the IT landscape. With key drivers such as cloud/virtualization, software-defined networking, and Agile, DevOps is a methodology that integrates cross-functional teams to deliver higher quality, more efficient, and innovative software and applications. Website … Continue reading “JumpCloud Garners $3,000,000 Series A Funding”
Simple Energy Garners $6,000,000 Series B Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=be52de4a-78d4-4f26-b15a-be9a102a0631 Date 1/27/2014 Company Name Simple Energy Mailing Address 1215 Spruce St. Boulder, CO 80302 Company Description At Simple Energy we’re changing how millions of people save energy by revolutionizing how utilities engage their customers. We bring a deep understanding of the energy industry and leading behavioral science and game mechanics. Website … Continue reading “Simple Energy Garners $6,000,000 Series B Funding”
Four Colorado Startups Advance to Next Round in Startup Tournament
Four Colorado startups punched their tickets to Washington, DC, last night after winning regional titles in the 1776 Challenge Cup, a global business plan competition. The competition is trying to find promising startups that can solve problems in healthcare, education, energy, and urban planning or “smart cities.” The event is managed by the 1776 startup … Continue reading “Four Colorado Startups Advance to Next Round in Startup Tournament”
Using Cutting-Edge Science and Technology Against an Age-Old Disease
When I started working on the research and science of leprosy more than a decade ago, people thought this chronic infectious disease would eliminate itself and burn out over time. We didn’t have time for that. Why? Nearly 250,000 new cases of leprosy are diagnosed every year, and many more go undetected. Approximately 10 percent … Continue reading “Using Cutting-Edge Science and Technology Against an Age-Old Disease”
Hockney’s iPad: How Technology Illuminates the Way We See
The best painters don’t just make pretty, eye-catching pictures. They make us think about what it means to see. On the canvas, they must reduce the three dimensions of the living world to two—but if they’re good at it, they add a different kind of depth in the process. David Hockney is very, very good … Continue reading “Hockney’s iPad: How Technology Illuminates the Way We See”
ioSemantics Lands $84,157 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=55132de2-e9a5-4d71-ba50-4f80bd1fd883 Date 1/24/2014 Company Name ioSemantics Mailing Address 10822 W. Toller Drive Littleton, CO 80127 Company Description ioSemantics was founded in 2005 by Steven Bucuvalas, following several years of primary research in combining Formal Methods, Computational Mathematics and Semantic Technologies for use in business applications in the Financial Services and Insurance industries. … Continue reading “ioSemantics Lands $84,157 New Round”
Boulder’s JumpCloud Raises $3.1M to Make DevOps Server Tools
JumpCloud, a Boulder, CO-based startup that is developing server management tools for software development and IT teams, has closed a $3.1 million Series A round, according to paperwork the company has filed with the SEC. JumpCloud, which was formerly known as SafeInstance, launched publicly in September and is developing cloud-based software that allows users to … Continue reading “Boulder’s JumpCloud Raises $3.1M to Make DevOps Server Tools”
22 Colorado Startups to Compete Tonight in Global Startup Challenge
Washington, DC might be the nation’s capital, but it’s not known for putting its resources toward helping startups. A group known as 1776 is trying to change that, and they’ve come to Denver as part of their effort to build a global network of startups. 1776 runs a startup co-working space and mentorship program in … Continue reading “22 Colorado Startups to Compete Tonight in Global Startup Challenge”
Venture Highlights of 2013: Early Stage Deals, Mobile, and New York
More venture data is coming out today, and it confirms some of the big-picture trends for 2013—namely, a modest increase in the amount of venture investing nationwide. New York’s CB Insights, a venture capital database, says in its end-of-year report that the $29.2 billion that VCs invested throughout the United States in 2013 amounted to … Continue reading “Venture Highlights of 2013: Early Stage Deals, Mobile, and New York”
WealthTouch Lands New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a807834e-e3f3-4c84-bc5c-214013062eed Date 1/23/2014 Company Name WealthTouch Mailing Address 1245 E. Colfax Avenue Denver, CO 80218 Company Description WealthTouch works with the world’s top financial institutions, family offices and foundations to provide the most sophisticated reporting services available for ultra-high net worth families. Website http://www.wealthtouch.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction … Continue reading “WealthTouch Lands New Financing Round”
SafeInstance Secures $3,067,501 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=434552dc-e356-4ea7-9681-65610bc4512a Date 1/23/2014 Company Name SafeInstance Mailing Address 915 South Pearl Street Denver, CO 80209 Company Description SafeInstance is a stealth mode startup developing a disruptive and innovative approach to securing cloud infrastructures. Website http://www.safeinstance.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $3,067,501 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. … Continue reading “SafeInstance Secures $3,067,501 New Financing”
Colorado Ski Country Tries to Tap Into Entrepreneurial Talent Base
Aspen. Telluride. Breckenridge. They’re some of Colorado’s most illustrious ski resorts and are well known to winter sports enthusiasts and vacationers around the world. But recently, something new has begun to happen in those mountain resort towns. A small movement that seeks to tap into the communities’ surprising amount of technology expertise is gaining momentum. … Continue reading “Colorado Ski Country Tries to Tap Into Entrepreneurial Talent Base”
How Startups Can Navigate the Dynamic IT Channel
The IT industry is one of the most dynamic industries where companies are under constant pressure to keep up with the rapid pace of technological advances and trends. However, information databases on IT companies aren’t always up-to-date. Therefore, navigating the IT channel to find potential channel partners to take a product to market is often … Continue reading “How Startups Can Navigate the Dynamic IT Channel”
The Village Walk: Trust, Relevance, and Reputation in Tech
Dawn broke quietly that morning near Eregi, in Western Kenya, apricot light chasing the indigo of night, birdcalls and soft footsteps sounding outside my farm room’s door. I shared that room with my son, then 11. We were visiting Kenya to work at a favorite childrens’ home and meet with rural entrepreneurs in the “birthplace … Continue reading “The Village Walk: Trust, Relevance, and Reputation in Tech”
The Big Guys Have Lost Their Iron Grip, and It’s All Good
Thinking about Big Pharma’s relationship with the biotech industry last week at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco reminded me of an old physical education teacher I had in 7th grade. This guy was feared for his patented “pinch.” He would grab misbehaving teenage boys by the clavicle, and squeeze so hard that … Continue reading “The Big Guys Have Lost Their Iron Grip, and It’s All Good”
MoneyTree: VC Investment in Boulder/Denver Fell 23 Percent in 2013
Venture capital firms invested $404.6 million in companies located in the Boulder/Denver area last year, a 23 percent drop from 2012, according to the quarterly MoneyTree report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association. The drop in this region went against the national trend: VCs invested a total of $29.4 billion in 3,995 deals … Continue reading “MoneyTree: VC Investment in Boulder/Denver Fell 23 Percent in 2013”
Google Gets a Nest, But Is It Flying Too High?
Somebody needs to say it: Google is getting too big. When one organization controls so much of the infrastructure of the digital economy, it’s not good for consumers. And when it has such an outsized influence on the resources flowing to inventors, programmers, and entrepreneurs, it’s not good for innovation. Like almost everyone else I … Continue reading “Google Gets a Nest, But Is It Flying Too High?”
MIT Sloan Students Meet Bay Area Innovators Tackling Huge Problems
I’d heard a lot about Silicon Valley, but had lived and worked in Europe and Asia until I came to MIT Sloan School of Management. Passionate about bringing new technologies to market, I wanted to do an MBA program in the U.S. because, more than anywhere else, this is where taking risk is valued as … Continue reading “MIT Sloan Students Meet Bay Area Innovators Tackling Huge Problems”
2013 VC Funding Tops $29B, and Software Continues to Eat the World
A few years ago, the technology investor Marc Andreessen wrote an essay that explained “Why Software is Eating the World”—and in 2013 venture capital investors laid out a feast to match the industry’s voracious appetite. Venture investments in both software and Internet-specific deals last year amounted to $18.1 billion, or nearly 62 percent of the … Continue reading “2013 VC Funding Tops $29B, and Software Continues to Eat the World”
Awestruck Medical Receives $30,000 Seed Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=81bf02f6-929a-41e1-aeaf-4af7f5cee0fa Date 1/16/2014 Company Name Awestruck Medical Mailing Address Undisclosed Telluride, CO 81435 Company Description Awestruck Medical is a medical device company based in Telluride, Colorado. The mission of the company is to find and invent practical, fiscally-viable solutions that address market pains in the healthcare industry. Website http://www.awestruckmedical.com Transaction Type Accelerator … Continue reading “Awestruck Medical Receives $30,000 Seed Round”
makeena Lands $30,000 Seed Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8824ea59-d42c-4622-9f4c-f6e44ee60aed Date 1/16/2014 Company Name makeena Mailing Address 1035 Rosehill Drive Boulder, CO 80302 Company Description makeena is a location-enabled web and mobile application for the natural products industry that increases in-store awareness for the natural and sustainable brand by providing the shopper with quick product comparisons and nutritional information, loyalty rewards, … Continue reading “makeena Lands $30,000 Seed Round”
FullContact Buys Cobook, Adds Address-Book Apps and 1M Users
Denver-based startup FullContact announced today that it has acquired Cobook, a Latvia-based company that’s created a popular contact management app for Apple users. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. FullContact is a Techstars grad that’s trying to solve what CEO Bart Lorang calls the world’s contact management problem. The company wants to integrate address … Continue reading “FullContact Buys Cobook, Adds Address-Book Apps and 1M Users”