Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=278cf304-7964-41e3-83e0-f93b6918c135 Date 10/11/2013 Company Name Intela Mailing Address 1881 9th St. Boulder, CO 80302 Company Description Intela is a performance-based lead generation and email marketing company based in London with its operational center at the base of the Rocky Mountains in Boulder, Colorado. Website http://www.intela.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction … Continue reading “XL Marketing Acquires Intela for Undisclosed Sum”
Category: Boulder/Denver
New Search Engine Seeks to Help Colorado Companies Find Freelancers
Life can be tough for freelancers, even in industries where they’re in demand, like software development. Even the best freelancers need to keep tabs on who’s hiring and reach out to potential new clients. The process doesn’t work that well for companies looking to hire people, either. Vetting unknown candidates is one challenge. So is … Continue reading “New Search Engine Seeks to Help Colorado Companies Find Freelancers”
Venture Goes Mobile as 3rd Quarter Deal Activity Hits 12-Year High
Venture deal activity hit a 12-year high during the third quarter, and big VC investments in Uber, Kymeta, and Flipboard helped push venture funding for U.S. mobile startups over $1 billion for the first time, according to a report today from CB Insights. The New York financial data firm says the 857 venture deals nationwide … Continue reading “Venture Goes Mobile as 3rd Quarter Deal Activity Hits 12-Year High”
Startups Thrive on Competition, Not Non-Competes
It’s time to stop pretending that people are DVDs. It’s time to get rid of employee non-competes. A DVD is a simple piece of plastic that only has value because someone (often a company) filled it with useful information, like a movie or a computer program. A blank DVD isn’t very valuable, but a DVD … Continue reading “Startups Thrive on Competition, Not Non-Competes”
Steve Blank’s UCSF Class Tests “Evidence-Based Entrepreneurship”
Conventional wisdom says the techniques that help today’s technology startups get to market fast—or, just as likely, fail fast, freeing the founders to start over—don’t work in the life sciences. Rapid product iteration based on agile software development methods; continuous business-model adjustments using customer feedback; cloud outsourcing to increase capital efficiency—all these strategies are seen … Continue reading “Steve Blank’s UCSF Class Tests “Evidence-Based Entrepreneurship””
SolarWinds Breezes into Colorado, Acquires Confio Software for $103M
Add Confio Software, a Boulder-based developer of database performance management software, to the list of Colorado tech companies making substantial exits this year. SolarWinds (NYSE: [[ticker:SWI]]), an Austin, TX-based company that develops IT management software, bought Confio for $103 million in a cash deal that closed Monday. SolarWinds president and CEO Kevin Thompson said during … Continue reading “SolarWinds Breezes into Colorado, Acquires Confio Software for $103M”
Science: The Missing Ingredient in the GMO Food Labeling Debate
Residents of Washington State are currently being buried in an avalanche of ads regarding a citizen’s initiative that would require the labeling of genetically engineered foods sold in grocery stores. Estimates for the percentage of items that contain genetically engineered ingredients in a grocery store range from 60 percent to 70 percent (most of those … Continue reading “Science: The Missing Ingredient in the GMO Food Labeling Debate”
Biomet Acquires Lanx for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3af7c564-f763-47eb-9d5d-d59d6982fa2e Date 10/8/2013 Company Name Lanx Mailing Address 310 Interlocken Crescent Broomfield, CO 80021 Company Description Lanx, LLC is a medical device company developing and marketing surgical implants and biological products for spinal surgery. The Company currently markets 15 product lines of implants and associated instrumentation for spinal fusion surgery. Website http://www.lanx.us … Continue reading “Biomet Acquires Lanx for Undisclosed Sum”
Rally Software’s IPO Set to Provide $1.3M for Colorado Nonprofits
An idea planted more than a decade ago is days away from bearing fruit, as Rally Software Development’s initial public offering is about to yield about $1.3 million for Colorado nonprofits. Rally (NYSE: [[ticker:RALY]]), a software development company based in Boulder, CO, donated 1 percent of the company’s founding equity to local nonprofits, and that … Continue reading “Rally Software’s IPO Set to Provide $1.3M for Colorado Nonprofits”
How We Overturned the Retroactive Tax on Startup Founders
The call came at 1:15 pm this past Friday, as I was driving home from a client meeting. “Mr. Overstreet?” questioned the voice on the other end of the line. “I’m calling from Governor Brown’s office. We wanted you to be the first to know that the Governor signed your bill into law.” And just … Continue reading “How We Overturned the Retroactive Tax on Startup Founders”
Harvard’s Verdine Blazing Trail for Scientific Entrepreneurs
If you’re a tenured biomedical researcher at a university today, and you have a big idea for what could be a new drug or diagnostic test, you can do a couple things. Hand it off to someone else at a startup, keep your day job, dabble as an advisor for a couple hours a week … Continue reading “Harvard’s Verdine Blazing Trail for Scientific Entrepreneurs”
Mile High Roundup: Local Tech Companies Raise Cash, Expand Overseas
Welcome to the Mile High Roundup, a look at some of the interesting things that have happened over the past two weeks in the tech scene in Boulder, Denver, and around Colorado. In this edition, a Denver healthcare IT company raises $4.3 million, a whole bunch of companies from Boulder head overseas, and the state … Continue reading “Mile High Roundup: Local Tech Companies Raise Cash, Expand Overseas”
Four Reasons to Encourage Employees to Take Smart Risks
The economic downturn and subsequent market volatility have made risk into a four-letter word. Employees, in particular, are growing increasingly risk-averse, afraid of layoffs and the prospect of extended unemployment. Many of them opt to be cautious rather than brave, to stick to the status quo, and to keep their heads down, rather than challenge … Continue reading “Four Reasons to Encourage Employees to Take Smart Risks”
The Winds of the Future: 5 Ways San Francisco Stays Innovative
In 1920, the San Francisco Bulletin, which was then one of the city’s major newspapers, published a poem by George Sterling, a figure in the city’s Bohemian arts circles. It read in part: The winds of the Future wait At the iron walls of her Gate, And the western ocean breaks in thunder, And the … Continue reading “The Winds of the Future: 5 Ways San Francisco Stays Innovative”
Join Xconomy for Profiles in Biotech Perseverance in SF Dec. 9
Drugs don’t just roll out of anybody’s lab by next Tuesday, and then keep popping out on some exponential curve. The biotech industry depends on investors who are willing to speculate on hot ideas in science, and wait years to see a payoff that may never come. That notion, which has been with the industry … Continue reading “Join Xconomy for Profiles in Biotech Perseverance in SF Dec. 9”
The Human Genome Project Wasn’t Overhyped. The Payoff Just Took Time
[This post was co-authored by Sean Harper, Amgen’s executive vice president of R&D.] People in the tech industry often like to say that we overestimate the short-term impact of new technology and underestimate the longer-term value. The human genome project is a superb example of this truism. Overpromise was indeed rampant during the interval around … Continue reading “The Human Genome Project Wasn’t Overhyped. The Payoff Just Took Time”
With $30M in Tank, UAV Maker 3D Robotics Gets Ready for Take-Off
After raising $30 million in a Series B round of venture funding announced last week, 3D Robotics is ready to really get its drone business off the ground. The four-year-old startup, based in San Diego (headquarters and engineering), Berkeley, CA, (business and sales), and Tijuana (manufacturing), designs and manufactures aircraft that use open source software … Continue reading “With $30M in Tank, UAV Maker 3D Robotics Gets Ready for Take-Off”
Big Rounds for Ping Identity, SolidFire Top Colorado Q3 Tech Stories
The summer of 2013 was full of good news for technology companies in Colorado, with two raising very large VC rounds to finance their progress toward possible IPOs, one sizeable exit for a mobile game developer, and lots of promising signs for startups in Boulder and Denver. Ping Identity IPO Bound. People in Colorado’s startup … Continue reading “Big Rounds for Ping Identity, SolidFire Top Colorado Q3 Tech Stories”
Seeing Beyond the IPO Window Dressing
In his Life Sci VC blog, Bruce Booth recently wrote “Biotech is back with a vengeance in this IPO window.” It’s an accurate snapshot of the market, but the good times he describes accrue to money and sweat equity already long in the ground. In a business with a 10- to 15-year product development cycle, … Continue reading “Seeing Beyond the IPO Window Dressing”
Foundry Group to Invest $2.5M in AngelList Startups, Seeks Partners
While many investors and entrepreneurs debate the effects of crowdfunding and general solicitation for startups, the Foundry Group is taking action. Today, the Boulder-based venture firm announced plans to invest $2.5 million over the next 15 months in companies raising money on AngelList, the top website for young companies seeking early investment. The project is … Continue reading “Foundry Group to Invest $2.5M in AngelList Startups, Seeks Partners”
The Memo That Spawned Microsoft Research—Analysis and Download
Microsoft Research, the central research arm of that tech giant of the northwest, was founded in September 1991. This is the prehistory. With the recent stepping down of Rick Rashid—the head of the organization since its inception, who took a new job at Microsoft in July—I have decided to post the memo that gave birth … Continue reading “The Memo That Spawned Microsoft Research—Analysis and Download”
The Memo That Spawned Microsoft Research—and Its Lessons for Today
How many great corporate organizations were created with the words, “Once upon a time?” Not many, I’ll wager. Yet that is exactly how Microsoft Research, one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious corporate research institutions, came to life back in 1991. “Once upon a time,” former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold wrote to Bill Gates … Continue reading “The Memo That Spawned Microsoft Research—and Its Lessons for Today”
The End of Personal Computers
Lately, we’ve been hearing a lot about the idea that we are witnessing “the end of personal computers,” the “post-PC era,” or, as Microsoft would have it, the “PC-plus era.” The difference in terminology is telling, revealing the intense commercial competition and staggering financial stakes that underlie this transition. For those who have been in … Continue reading “The End of Personal Computers”
A Wild September for Wireless: Putting it in Context
A wild and wacky wireless September it was. In one of the most frenzied months in the history of nearly any tech sector, we saw the following developments dominate the headlines: Verizon bought out Vodafone’s stake in Verizon Wireless for $130 billion. In a week, this financing went from “can they do it” to being … Continue reading “A Wild September for Wireless: Putting it in Context”
The Pharma Bureaucracy Index: Who’s Nimble, and Who’s Sloooowww?
Bureaucracy is one of the dirty words in business. Nobody wants to publicly admit their company is bogged down with too many layers of management, or needs a dozen committees to sign off on every little decision. For a couple years now, I’ve been hearing entrepreneurs complain about suffocating bureaucracy in pharma. So I started … Continue reading “The Pharma Bureaucracy Index: Who’s Nimble, and Who’s Sloooowww?”
Reimagining Work: Scott Berkun’s Year Without Pants at Automattic
From my desk at Xconomy San Francisco—aka my Potrero Hill apartment—I can look out the window at Highway 280, watch the traffic that crawls into the city every morning and back out every evening, and chuckle smugly. There’s never any traffic congestion on the commute from my bed to my coffee machine to my laptop. … Continue reading “Reimagining Work: Scott Berkun’s Year Without Pants at Automattic”
Boulder Startup Founder Seeks to Build Stronger Ecosystem in Dallas
Michael Sitarzewski wants to bring a little bit of Denver to Dallas. After seven years in the Mile High City, the founder and CEO of Epic Playground recently returned to Dallas, where he has become the entrepreneur-in-residence at the Dallas Entrepreneur Center. “In Denver, a lot of my time outside of my company was spent … Continue reading “Boulder Startup Founder Seeks to Build Stronger Ecosystem in Dallas”
VictorOps Raises $6.5M, Releases Mobile-Capable Tool Kit for DevOps
Those dreaded late night phone calls that go out to operations and admin guys when everything goes to hell create a sense of brotherhood, at least in the eyes of Todd Vernon, a serial entrepreneur in Boulder, CO. Vernon knows from experience. He’s been on both sides of those calls and knows how they ruin … Continue reading “VictorOps Raises $6.5M, Releases Mobile-Capable Tool Kit for DevOps”
Agenda Live for Xconomy Healthcare Summit Oct. 15–Get Your Invite
Quick question: What is so important to Americans that the U.S. Congress is willing to shut the government down over it? The answer (as if you didn’t know already): healthcare. Here at Xconomy, we have long been tired of the political spin doctoring that surrounds healthcare. So we set out to convene a very exclusive, … Continue reading “Agenda Live for Xconomy Healthcare Summit Oct. 15–Get Your Invite”
Biotech CEOs Don’t Know It All. They Need Mentors
Biotech CEOs are human beings too. But somehow they are often portrayed, particularly by themselves, as herculean beings that can independently solve it all. Time for brutal honesty: every CEO relies heavily on others’ guidance regarding how the company collective can be successful. Much of this input is appropriately provided by the rest of the … Continue reading “Biotech CEOs Don’t Know It All. They Need Mentors”
VictorOps Obtains $6,500,000 Series A Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ad4bfa10-0739-49e0-99ef-da6913666d68 Date 9/26/2013 Company Name VictorOps Mailing Address 1173 Blue Stem Trail Lafayette, CO 80026 Company Description VictorOps is a new company founded to empower the people that keep the systems running in today’s 24×7, technology centric businesses. While we may be in stealth mode right now, be sure, we understand the … Continue reading “VictorOps Obtains $6,500,000 Series A Financing Round”
Nor1 Acquires FlexTrip for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9300fa39-17e9-47ac-943e-176fe81d346e Date 9/26/2013 Company Name FlexTrip Mailing Address 1909 Broadway Boulder, CO 80302 Company Description Flextrip is a Techstars Boulder graduate. We provide various APIs to online travel companies to help them sell destination tours & activities, the 3rd largest segment of the travel industry after flights & hotels. Website http://www.flextrip.com Transaction … Continue reading “Nor1 Acquires FlexTrip for Undisclosed Sum”
Foundation’s IPO Isn’t Bubbly, It’s a Jolt for Genomic Diagnostics
Foundation Medicine, the Cambridge, MA-based cancer diagnostic company, reminded me of the 2000 genomics bubble when it went public this week. The company sold its IPO shares at $18, and the stock (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FMI]]) almost doubled in its first day of trading, closing at $35.35, a 96 percent increase off an already bumped-up IPO price. … Continue reading “Foundation’s IPO Isn’t Bubbly, It’s a Jolt for Genomic Diagnostics”
Google Partnership is Galvanize’s Latest Big Success in Debut Year
It’s been a whirlwind month for the crew at Galvanize. Even more so than usual. Galvanize, an incubator/co-working community in Denver, is not even a year old, but during that time it has become the focal point of Denver’s tech startup community. Just ask Google. On Wednesday, Google (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GOOG]]) announced it had selected Galvanize … Continue reading “Google Partnership is Galvanize’s Latest Big Success in Debut Year”
Google Partners with Technology Hubs in 7 Cities
Google’s outreach program for entrepreneurs is planting its flag in seven new outposts in the U.S. and Canada with new “tech hubs” that will offer technical and infrastructure support for fledgling tech startups, the company announced today. The six U.S. cities are Denver, Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis, Nashville, TN, and Durham, NC. The only Canadian city … Continue reading “Google Partners with Technology Hubs in 7 Cities”
Balancing Act: How a Working Mom Built Steals.com
Working mothers are constantly struggling to strike a balance between spending time with their kids and making the most of their professional skills or supporting their families financially. Jana Francis, co-founder of Steals.com, has achieved this balance, and for her, the most rewarding part is that her employees are able to strike a balance as … Continue reading “Balancing Act: How a Working Mom Built Steals.com”
Friends of 10.10.10
10.10.10 combines 10 significant problems with 10 prospective CEOs from around the country who will spend 10 days in Denver working together to develop possible solutions. The goal is that after the 10 days, a number of viable, fundable startups will have been created by the chosen CEOs. Read this for more information about 10.10.10’s background. … Continue reading “Friends of 10.10.10”
Techstars Teams Up With Sprint to Launch Mobile Health Accelerator
Techstars has named its next major corporate partners, the next market it is working with startups to conquer, and the next location for a “powered by Techstars” accelerator. Techstars is getting into mobile health, announcing today it is co-creating the Sprint Accelerator in Kansas City, MO, with the wireless company. The program is looking for … Continue reading “Techstars Teams Up With Sprint to Launch Mobile Health Accelerator”
Entrepreneurs Unplugged: Luke Beatty, Head of Strategic Partnerships, AOL
Luke Beatty, Head of Strategic Partnerships at AOL, is the guest at this edition of Entrepreneurs Unplugged, a recurring series in which leading Colorado entrepreneurs share their stories. Prior to his position with AOL, Luke was the Managing Director of the Techstars program in Boulder. Prior to this, Luke served as Vice President and General … Continue reading “Entrepreneurs Unplugged: Luke Beatty, Head of Strategic Partnerships, AOL”
New Tech Denver Monthly Meetup
The Denver version of Colorado’s largest monthly gathering of entrepreneurs and techies, with presentations from great companies, networking, and job leads. $10 donation is requested. Registration through Meetup.com required. More information, including agenda and list of companies presenting, and registration information here.
New Tech Fort Collins Monthly Meetup
The Fort Collins version of Colorado’s largest monthly gathering of entrepreneurs and techies, with presentations from great companies, networking, and job leads. $10 donation is requested. Registration through Meetup.com required. More information, including agenda and list of companies presenting, and registration information here.
New Tech Boulder Meetup
The event is Boulder’s version of Colorado’s largest monthly gathering of entrepreneurs and techies, with presentations from great companies, networking, and job leads. $10 donation is requested. Registration through Meetup.com required. More information, including an agenda, list of of companies presenting, and registration information, is available here and here.
University of Colorado-Boulder New Venture Challenge Kickoff
The CU New Venture Challenge (NVC) is entering its sixth year and has created a reputation as the go-to program for aspiring entrepreneurs across the campus. The NVC is CU-Boulder’s entrepreneurial “flight simulator,” giving teams the chance to build a startup with support from many parts of campus along with dozens of the area’s most … Continue reading “University of Colorado-Boulder New Venture Challenge Kickoff”
Denver Founders Network
A networking and informational event for the founders of startup companies and aspiring entrepreneurs. This group was founded to create a vibrant network of entrepreneurs sharing experiences, connections, and knowledge. More information here.
Denver CEO/CTO Meetup
This event is for CEOs and CTOs of startup companies (and aspiring CEOs/CTOs) who want to meet other startup CEOs and CTOs. In addition to networking, the event will discuss the roles of CEOs and CTOs, building a good and effective partnership, and how to build great teams and great products. Click here for more … Continue reading “Denver CEO/CTO Meetup”
Extreme Weather, Climate Change, and the Colorado Floods
A panel of climate science and meteorology experts will convene at the University of Colorado-Boulder to discuss weather and climate related to the recent devastating floods in Colorado. The panelists are affiliated with the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, or CIRES, which is a joint institute of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration … Continue reading “Extreme Weather, Climate Change, and the Colorado Floods”
The Best Biotech Graduate Schools in Real Life
[Updated 2 pm ET 9/30] Let’s imagine, for a second, you are someone in your 20s or 30s, getting started in the biotech industry. You want to work somewhere you can acquire a well-rounded set of experiences over the next five to 10 years so that you will have what it takes to be qualified … Continue reading “The Best Biotech Graduate Schools in Real Life”
StatusPage.io Garners Seed Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=15b7a119-c032-4140-8261-c084e4374190 Date 9/23/2013 Company Name StatusPage.io Mailing Address 113 E Stuart St Fort Collins, CO 80525 Company Description StatusPage.io launched in 2013 to give companies a better way to be more transparent with their customers. We’re focused on serving companies who provide tools to build products for consumers. We recognize managing a … Continue reading “StatusPage.io Garners Seed Financing”
DSW Panel Talks Colorado Open Data, Sees Opportunities, Challenges
Hackers, developers, and public servants came together during Denver Startup Week to discuss improvements that have been made, as well as challenges that exist, when it comes to Colorado’s publicly available data. The issues are at the core of broader trends in “big data,” open government, and finding new ways to help startups use the … Continue reading “DSW Panel Talks Colorado Open Data, Sees Opportunities, Challenges”
10 Ways to Live Longer, Without Help from Google
With a simple blog post or news exclusive, Google can instantly glamorize any field of research, whether it’s teaching cars to drive themselves, sending robotic rovers to the Moon, blanketing Earth with wireless data from balloons, or—this week—helping people live longer. The airiest of promises from the company evokes the world’s awe and admiration, and … Continue reading “10 Ways to Live Longer, Without Help from Google”