Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0c0a240c-9a9f-41d4-bb8f-57d3049cccfa&Preview=1 Date 4/3/2012 Company Name Belly Mailing Address Undisclosed Chicago, IL 60601 Company Description Belly is a universal loyalty program that customers can take with them anywhere! We’re spreading the love to your favorite places, enabling you to earn rewards wherever you go. Website http://www.bellycard.com Transaction Type Debt, Venture Equity Transaction Amount … Continue reading “Belly Receives $2,500,000 Series A Financing Round”
Category: Detroit
Belly Lands $2,500,000 Series A Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0c0a240c-9a9f-41d4-bb8f-57d3049cccfa&Preview=1 Date 4/3/2012 Company Name Belly Mailing Address Undisclosed Chicago, IL 60601 Company Description Belly is a universal loyalty program that customers can take with them anywhere! We’re spreading the love to your favorite places, enabling you to earn rewards wherever you go. Website http://www.bellycard.com Transaction Type Debt, Venture Equity Transaction Amount … Continue reading “Belly Lands $2,500,000 Series A Financing”
HiredMyWay Offers a New Approach to Online Jobseeking
HiredMyWay, the Detroit Venture Partners-backed startup with offices in Detroit and Chicago, saw an opportunity in the dismal job market after the U.S. economy tumbled. Matt Mosher, a twentysomething serial entrepreneur, and Erinn O’Conner, a job recruiter with 20 years of experience, teamed up to start a company with the goal of building a better … Continue reading “HiredMyWay Offers a New Approach to Online Jobseeking”
Biotech Can’t Sidestep Cost-Effectiveness Anymore
Back in the old days of biotech, the business was pretty straightforward. You’d craft your scientific idea, aim a new drug at patients in need, charm investors to give you some money, run bang-up clinical trials, win FDA approval. Do all that, and you’re good as gold. Charge insurers whatever the market will bear, and … Continue reading “Biotech Can’t Sidestep Cost-Effectiveness Anymore”
Swift Biosciences Obtains $500,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4ee18edc-d9dc-4f0e-8418-86c5fc9eefd7&Preview=1 Date 3/31/2012 Company Name Swift Biosciences Mailing Address 58 Parkland Plaza Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Company Description Swift Biosciences is developing molecular biology reagents for research and diagnostic applications. Our products help users to detect genes and gene products that other products can’t. We also help users to analyze their samples … Continue reading “Swift Biosciences Obtains $500,000 New Funding”
Xconomist of the Week: Andy Ory on the Real Opportunity for Acme Packet
Acme Packet is not the easiest technology company to write about. If you’re not careful, you end up bogging down in things like SIP trunking, IMS deployments, session delivery solutions, and other Internet Protocol networking lingo. Fortunately, Acme Packet’s co-founder and CEO, Andy Ory, makes things easy. Ory has led the Bedford, MA-based company (NASDAQ: … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Andy Ory on the Real Opportunity for Acme Packet”
Coming Soon to Detroit: Live Bus Arrival Times Via Text Message?
The horrors of Detroit’s bus system and the hour-plus wait times riders regularly experience are well documented. In a city where so many people are carless, it’s a particularly galling problem. But if all goes according to plan, Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) bus riders may soon be able to have live route information sent … Continue reading “Coming Soon to Detroit: Live Bus Arrival Times Via Text Message?”
Steve Blank Hands A New Owner’s Manual to Startup Founders
If you look closely at the cover of Steve Blank’s new book, The Startup Owner’s Manual, you’ll see that it shows an exploded view of the transmission from an automobile engine. Leonardo da Vinci invented the exploded view more than 500 years ago, and it has stayed with us as a visualization tool, because it’s … Continue reading “Steve Blank Hands A New Owner’s Manual to Startup Founders”
Wayne State Launches Pre-Seed Fund For Student Tech Startups
Wayne State University has launched a new pre-seed fund supporting student-run tech startups, the first of its kind in Detroit. The Warrior Fund, which is made possible through a grant from the Michigan Initiative for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, will be administered by the tech transfer office and Blackstone Launch Pad. A total of $25,000 is available … Continue reading “Wayne State Launches Pre-Seed Fund For Student Tech Startups”
Driving a Genomics Revolution Through Open Source Innovation
Eric Schadt, co-founder of Sage Bionetworks, Director of the Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, and Chair of the Dept. of Genetics and Genomics Sciences at Mt. Sinai Medical School, will discuss the promise of genomics and the future of biomedical innovation. For details, click here.
UpTo: The Social Calendar App That Learned From Plancast’s Missteps
Have you ever jumped online to check your Twitter feed only to see that your friend just posted a Foursquare check-in at a restaurant you left twenty minutes ago? And then been frustrated that you hadn’t known ahead of time that your friend was going to be dining in the same spot as you? After … Continue reading “UpTo: The Social Calendar App That Learned From Plancast’s Missteps”
DynaTrace, Expanding Within Compuware, Looks to Drive Growth for a Giant
When a big tech company acquires a smaller one, there is some bloodletting to be expected—and the smaller company’s products often will get marginalized, if not axed completely. Not so for Waltham, MA-based dynaTrace Software, which is now part of Detroit software giant Compuware (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CPWR]]). Since the $256 million acquisition last July, Compuware has … Continue reading “DynaTrace, Expanding Within Compuware, Looks to Drive Growth for a Giant”
SimpleRegistry Lands Seed Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=44a7fbef-2198-4970-903a-eac601e59e71&Preview=1 Date 3/27/2012 Company Name SimpleRegistry Mailing Address 1411 Vine Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Company Description SimpleRegistry is similar to a traditional registry in which you register for the individual gifts you would like to receive. However, with SimpleRegistry, anything you can think of and assign a cost to can be added … Continue reading “SimpleRegistry Lands Seed Financing Round”
EcoCar 2 Competition Offers Students the Chance to Drive Future of Hybrid Cars
Students from 15 universities—including Wayne State University—are currently battling it out in the EcoCar 2 competition, which is sponsored by General Motors, the U.S. Department of Energy, Argonne National Laboratory, and 20 other industry and government entities. It offers participants the chance to gain real-world automotive engineering skills as they strive to improve the fuel … Continue reading “EcoCar 2 Competition Offers Students the Chance to Drive Future of Hybrid Cars”
The iPhone Before the Apple iPhone
Ask most people to tell you the story of the iPhone, and you’ll likely hear about how an innovative computer company took the traditional telephone, combined it with the Internet, and came up with an attractive and low-cost device that pioneered a new category of touch screen hardware, appealing not just to the tech savvy, … Continue reading “The iPhone Before the Apple iPhone”
Ford Chooses Palo Alto as Site of New R&D Lab
In January, Ford Motor Company announced it would build its first-ever West Coast R&D center in Silicon Valley. On Friday, Ford announced it has chosen downtown Palo Alto as the place to build it. The new location will join research divisions already located in Dearborn, MI; Aachen, Germany; Nanjing, China; and Tel Aviv, Israel. In … Continue reading “Ford Chooses Palo Alto as Site of New R&D Lab”
Some Tongue-in-Cheek Fantasy Baseball (and Biotech) Picks
Baseball season starts this week, which means it’s time for me to spend too much time and energy on fantasy baseball. This is a strange little hobby in which millions of people use a combination of real-time data, news, and intuition to pick an imaginary team of baseball players that they hope will beat the … Continue reading “Some Tongue-in-Cheek Fantasy Baseball (and Biotech) Picks”
An Evangelist Makes the Case for Google+
Guy Kawasaki, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor who first rose to notoriety as chief evangelist for Apple back in the early days of the Macintosh, has found something new to evangelize. He’s just published an e-book about Google+ called What the Plus: Google+ for the Rest of Us. At a trim 180 pages, including … Continue reading “An Evangelist Makes the Case for Google+”
Glaxo and J&J’s Shrewd Move Will Help the Biotech Ecosystem
Index Ventures made news recently when it announced a new €150 million fund to invest in early-stage, life science companies. With many venture firms scaling back or exiting the business entirely, any successful fundraising is good news. However, two aspects made the announcement from Index particularly noteworthy: first, the fund is focused on early-stage innovation, … Continue reading “Glaxo and J&J’s Shrewd Move Will Help the Biotech Ecosystem”
Groupon Acquires FeeFighters for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3d475bb8-35a6-4eeb-9715-51c3344cc2e2&Preview=1 Date 3/23/2012 Company Name FeeFighters Mailing Address 213 N. Racine Chicago, IL 60607 Company Description FeeFighters is a comparison shopping website for credit card processing. Our unique auction process and comparison engine allows us to save businesses 40% on average on their credit card processing. Website http://www.feefighters.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction … Continue reading “Groupon Acquires FeeFighters for Undisclosed Sum”
Flud (Quietly) Relaunches Its Android App
When we last checked in with Flud, the Web startup had just launched a new-and-improved version of its iPhone app, which allows users to aggregate, curate, and share news content. Bobby Ghoshal, Flud’s co-founder and CEO, says the company was riding high on widespread news coverage (Ghoshal says the accompanying spike in traffic briefly killed … Continue reading “Flud (Quietly) Relaunches Its Android App”
The Supreme Court’s Bad Precedent for Innovation
The Supreme Court’s ruling this week in Prometheus vs Mayo that medical tests relying on correlations between drug dosages and treatment are non-patentable portends a dramatic and frightening reduction in patent protection for innovations in the life sciences and bio-technology industries – and beyond. The Court held that San Diego-based Prometheus Laboratories’ patent claim for … Continue reading “The Supreme Court’s Bad Precedent for Innovation”
Xconomist of the Week: Linda Rottenberg on Global Tech Boom
Tech blogs typically cover startups in North America and Europe that want to be the next Facebook-style success, but the innovation ecosystem is far more diverse and far-reaching. Linda Rottenberg, CEO and co-founder of New York nonprofit Endeavor Global, has spent the last 15 years or so championing an effort to connect mentors and investors … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Linda Rottenberg on Global Tech Boom”
ExactTarget Receives $161,500,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e33286e6-24cd-442e-9e01-af3df5a4fb53&Preview=1 Date 3/22/2012 Company Name ExactTarget Mailing Address 20 North Meridian Street Indianapolis, IN 46204 Company Description ExactTarget (NYSE: ET) is on a mission. We’re dedicated to providing the most powerful on-demand software for email communications and finding the best and brightest marketers on the planet to revolutionize the way people think … Continue reading “ExactTarget Receives $161,500,000 New Funding”
Lift:Detroit Black Tie Gala
Inaugural meeting of a new group of young professionals and entrepreneurs who want to incorporate social responsibility and community outreach into the revitalization of Detroit. For more information and to register, click here.
MichBio Annual Business Meeting and Showcase
Michael Stebbins, the assistant director for biotechnology in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy will deliver the keynote speech at this annual meeting of Michigan’s bioscience leaders. Event includes a strolling dinner. Click here for registration and details.
Michigan Growth Capital Symposium
Angel, seed, and growth investors will be on hand for the one of largest events of this kind in the Midwest. This year’s event includes keynote speeches, networking, panels, and 40 pre-qualified companies seeking funding. For details, click here.
Xconomy Launches Mobile Channel
Coming on the heels of a fantastic, jam-packed Mobile Madness 2012 event last Wednesday here in Cambridge, MA, Xconomy is pleased to announce the official debut of our new Mobile Channel. The mobile sector—from apps to iPads—has been a growing part of our daily coverage. Our Mobile Madness conference, meanwhile, has been a mainstay in … Continue reading “Xconomy Launches Mobile Channel”
Bizdom Relaunches with New Office in the Madison, New Logo, No ‘U’
The nonprofit Detroit-based accelerator Bizdom (no more U) has relaunched with new digs in the Madison Building downtown, a spiffy new logo and website, and a few tweaks to its business model. With the new branding, Bizdom is playing up its connection to Quicken Loans’ Dan Gilbert, who created the program in 2007 and remains … Continue reading “Bizdom Relaunches with New Office in the Madison, New Logo, No ‘U’”
Biotech Lagging Behind Go-Go Web Valuations, Survey Says
Developing the latest breakthrough drug just doesn’t pay these days as much as creating the hot new web app does. Private life sciences companies in Silicon Valley that got financing in the fourth quarter of 2011 had an average per-share value that was about 10 percent higher than their previous round of financing, which typically … Continue reading “Biotech Lagging Behind Go-Go Web Valuations, Survey Says”
Covidien Acquires superDimension for $300,000,000
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=88089ab6-ba2e-47e5-905c-7c01dfe36aa3&Preview=1 Date 3/20/2012 Company Name superDimension Mailing Address 161 Cheshire Lane Minneapolis, MN 55441 Company Description The superDimension team consists of over seventy highly-skilled individuals in a variety of disciplines including R&D, manufacturing, operations, finance, administration, clinical research, regulatory affairs, quality assurance, marketing, technical support and sales. Website http://www.superdimension.com Transaction Type M&A … Continue reading “Covidien Acquires superDimension for $300,000,000”
Venture MI II Invests $15M in Wisconsin Early-Stage Fund
Venture Michigan Fund II announced today that it has made a $15 million investment in Venture Investors Early Stage Fund V, a Madison, WI-based operation with an office in Ann Arbor, MI that focuses on investing in startups spun out of technology from midwestern universities. Venture Investors is expected to make 15 to 18 investments in … Continue reading “Venture MI II Invests $15M in Wisconsin Early-Stage Fund”
Biotech’s New Frontier: Europe?
Plenty of places in the world are messed up, but Europe has been near the top of the list lately. If all the horrible scenarios play out, this will be the year the euro collapses, the European Union fractures, and some economically advanced countries could go bust. Yet while the world financial system holds its … Continue reading “Biotech’s New Frontier: Europe?”
Vox Mobile Receives $7,500,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b2d085f1-3fed-40d1-8b7f-e686511922a0&Preview=1 Date 3/17/2012 Company Name Vox Mobile Mailing Address 6200 Oak Tree Blvd Independence, OH 44131 Company Description Since 2004, Vox Mobile has been earning the trust of hundreds of organizations from across the US and Canada by providing the software, services, and support that comprise every aspect of a mobility-focus IT … Continue reading “Vox Mobile Receives $7,500,000 New Round”
Quizzle: ‘Cracking the Nut’ of Online Personal Finance in a Down Economy
In its first year of operation, Detroit-based startup Quizzle, one of the many under the sprawling QuickenLoans umbrella, handed out free credit reports as a way to entice users. More than a million people signed up for the site. During Quizzle’s second year of operation, it began offering users products to help clean up their … Continue reading “Quizzle: ‘Cracking the Nut’ of Online Personal Finance in a Down Economy”
Bikes and Business: Can Cities Cycle Their Way To Prosperity?
I’ve been in Boston this week, attending Xconomy’s big Mobile Madness conference and hanging out with my colleagues in our Cambridge, MA, headquarters. For all the debate among startup entrepreneurs about whether Boston or Silicon Valley is a better place to start a company, I’ve been reminded during my visit that Boston has a huge … Continue reading “Bikes and Business: Can Cities Cycle Their Way To Prosperity?”
How the NY Times Got the JOBS Act Wrong
One of the great dilemmas in the modern economy is balancing risk and reward, cost and benefit. That is true for investors, corporate managers, citizens, and elected officials. The financial crisis was caused by excessive risk taking by almost every player in the system. Investors stretched for return but didn’t understand the risks to which … Continue reading “How the NY Times Got the JOBS Act Wrong”
Xconomist of the Week: Rapundalo on How the Affordable Care Act May Thwart Innovation
Stephen Rapundalo, head of the industry association MichBio, has been spending some time on Capitol Hill recently lobbying Michigan’s congressional delegation to repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act, which he says will have a chilling effect on innovation in Michigan’s nascent medical device sector. Along with representatives from 18 other states’ med-tech associations—including the … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Rapundalo on How the Affordable Care Act May Thwart Innovation”
Bioformix Secures $13,600,000 Series A Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2db6a0d8-8ce4-47de-9235-06463cdadf03&Preview=1 Date 3/14/2012 Company Name Bioformix Mailing Address 422 Wards Corner Road Cincinnati, OH 45140 Company Description The company is developing sustainable adhesives and plastic alternatives. Website http://www.bioformix.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $13,600,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes Bioformix will use the funding to expand its operations, including R&D, … Continue reading “Bioformix Secures $13,600,000 Series A Round”
Unitask Software Wants to Make Oracle Users’ Experience Better
Dale Royal, the CEO of Bloomfield Hills, MI-based Unitask Software, is not a man who lets the grass grow under his feet. In 2001, he was an executive at Veritas Software but he realized he needed to tend to his homefront, so, at age 41, he retired. “I had been running a billion-dollar company, but I … Continue reading “Unitask Software Wants to Make Oracle Users’ Experience Better”
A Seussian Guide to BioPharma
Years ago, pharma’s rep was grand, Selling drugs throughout the land. Many different problems mended, Diseases treated, lives extended. Sulfa drugs, antibiotics, Pain-relieving strong narcotics. A high point before the age of genes, Were Salk and Sabin’s new vaccines. Profit margins super high, Income more than “getting by”. As a group, they were admired, Nowadays, … Continue reading “A Seussian Guide to BioPharma”
Caterva Secures $490,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=eb8e8d9f-d71c-4d71-98e9-1ebe662e1c8e&Preview=1 Date 3/13/2012 Company Name Caterva Mailing Address Sixty Hazelwood Drive Champaign, IL 61820 Company Description The company develops online marketing software. Website http://www.caterva.com Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount $490,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. SEC regulatory filing. M&A Terms Venture Investor Undisclosed
Tap.me Secures $3,200,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=81f66f68-2e5d-4d3e-82a4-f895dbdb67a1&Preview=1 Date 3/13/2012 Company Name Tap.me Mailing Address 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza 19th Floor Chicago, IL 60654 Company Description The company connects games to brands and brands to gamers with the next generation of in-game advertising. Website http://www.tap.me Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $3,200,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Matt Spiegel … Continue reading “Tap.me Secures $3,200,000 New Funding”
LineStream Technologies Lands Series B Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ab347c50-f2af-4c8d-bdfb-fa2331e2839d&Preview=1 Date 3/13/2012 Company Name LineStream Technologies Mailing Address 1468 W. 9th St. Cleveland, OH 44113 Company Description The LineStream Mission: We make it easy to improve the performance of automated systems. Website http://www.linestream.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. … Continue reading “LineStream Technologies Lands Series B Round”
AIDS Drugs Were the Start. Let’s See More FDA Accelerated Approvals
There’s been a lot of talk in biotech lately about the need for reforms at the FDA, to make it run faster and more predictably. One idea is taking shape in a bill starting to move through Congress. And at least at first glance, it looks like it’s based on good common sense. The idea … Continue reading “AIDS Drugs Were the Start. Let’s See More FDA Accelerated Approvals”
Crowdfunding: The Train to the Future Is Leaving—Get on Board
It has been a whirlwind last few days in the crowd-funding world. For those of you who have not yet tuned in to this, there is legislation afoot, backed by the President and (so far) the House, that would enable, in effect, mini- IPOs as a way to fund startups. Forget everything you know about … Continue reading “Crowdfunding: The Train to the Future Is Leaving—Get on Board”
Aastrom Closes $40 Million Financing Deal with Eastern Capital
Ann Arbor, MI-based startup Aastrom Biosciences (Nasdaq: ASTM) said today that it has completed a private placement deal with Eastern Capital Limited worth $40 million, the largest round of financing in the company’s history. Last month, Aastrom began a Phase 3 clinical study of ixmyelocel-T, the company’s multicell therapy for patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI) … Continue reading “Aastrom Closes $40 Million Financing Deal with Eastern Capital”
The Lytro Camera Is Revolutionary, But It’s No iPhone
The inventors and investors behind the Lytro, the hot new “light field” camera that creates refocusable digital photos, are trying to have it both ways. They’re arguing that their new camera, which sells for $399-$499, will revolutionize consumer photography in the near term by freeing people from shutter delays and the need to focus their … Continue reading “The Lytro Camera Is Revolutionary, But It’s No iPhone”
The Web Never Forgets. Should It?
By now most people are aware that Google changed its privacy policy. You’ve read articles on all sides of the spectrum: some say this is the worst thing ever; others claim it just doesn’t matter. And there’ll be even more since the EU has declared this new policy “illegal.” This new policy matters quite a … Continue reading “The Web Never Forgets. Should It?”
Angels Favored Healthcare & Internet, With Bigger Rounds in 2011
Each time new private investing data comes out, it seems like it’s another chance for California to show its dominance. That’s the case with the Halo Report, but this particular report also reveals some interesting trends in angel investing. Put together by the Angel Resource Institute, Silicon Valley Bank, and the data services firm CB Insights, … Continue reading “Angels Favored Healthcare & Internet, With Bigger Rounds in 2011”