Andrew Gadson doesn’t love shopping, but that hasn’t stopped him from building HeartThis. It’s a Pinterest-style app that allows users to discover and curate products, but goes a step farther by linking directly to the stores that sell them. After all, product discovery isn’t that useful if you can’t actually buy the things you want. … Continue reading “HeartThis: A Pinterest-Style App Focused on Fashion and Shopping”
Category: National
Supreme Court Should Scale Back Securities Class Actions
Class-action lawsuits against publicly traded companies, which ironically are meant to protect investors like me, have officially jumped the shark. That was the only conclusion I could come to after learning last week that one firm alone, Levi & Korsinsky, is suing not one, but three companies I invest in—Aegerion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AEGR]]), Sarepta Therapeutics … Continue reading “Supreme Court Should Scale Back Securities Class Actions”
Why It’s Time to Retire the Term “Life Sciences”
I originally thought about titling this piece “Life Sciences, Biosciences, BioPharma, Biotech, and Healthcare: What’s the Difference?” but that was simply too unwieldy. Many people use these terms interchangeably without thinking about what they specifically refer to, and which types of jobs and activities they encompass. Are they all the same thing? I don’t think … Continue reading “Why It’s Time to Retire the Term “Life Sciences””
Varonis Goes Public, Seeks Better Ways to Understand Metadata
E-mails, spreadsheets, and text files can gang up on businesses if they are not careful. As more companies rely on digital information to get things done, the data their employees create may pile up into a foreboding mountain. New York-based Varonis Systems believes its software is the answer to sorting out how, and with whom, … Continue reading “Varonis Goes Public, Seeks Better Ways to Understand Metadata”
Adtech Startup Trada’s Execs Talk About Year of Transition, Future
The past year has been a time of transition for Trada, the Boulder, CO-based advertising tech startup backed by Google Ventures and the Foundry Group. The startup, which specializes in paid search and pay-per-click advertising, has raised $18 million from investors and was one of the fastest growing startups in Colorado. But last fall its … Continue reading “Adtech Startup Trada’s Execs Talk About Year of Transition, Future”
Boston Roundup: HubSpot, Veveo, Clarity, CounterTack, Smarterer
Some news tidbits to catch up on from the last week around New England technology: —Online marketing software maker HubSpot is inching closer to an IPO. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Cambridge, MA-based company is working with Morgan Stanley on the deal, but the timing remains unclear. HubSpot has been vocal about its … Continue reading “Boston Roundup: HubSpot, Veveo, Clarity, CounterTack, Smarterer”
Making Pabst Proud: Wisconsin Startups Mix Beer With New Tech
The Wisconsin beer barons of the 1800s probably didn’t imagine brewers soliciting recipes from their customers. But that’s what Madison, WI-based MobCraft Beer is doing. The young company—which crowdsources craft beer recipes, lets people vote online for their favorite, and brews the most popular one each month—is one of several Wisconsin startups that are marrying … Continue reading “Making Pabst Proud: Wisconsin Startups Mix Beer With New Tech”
RainDance, Angling For an IPO, Adds $16.5M From GE Ventures, Others
RainDance Technologies has been steadily raising cash from private investors for a few years now. But with the addition of GE Ventures to its group of backers, the Billerica, MA-based company is signaling that its next raise just might come from Wall Street. “We’re not able to confirm or deny that,” says RainDance CEO Roopom … Continue reading “RainDance, Angling For an IPO, Adds $16.5M From GE Ventures, Others”
PacBio, the Post-Hype Sleeper of Genomics
Hype and biotech go hand in hand, but genomics takes exaggeration up a few extra notches. When genomics companies fail, they tend to crash especially hard. Yet every now and then, a company that’s monumentally hyped falls flat and then figures out a way to become a solid, if not spectacular, player. That’s the storyline … Continue reading “PacBio, the Post-Hype Sleeper of Genomics”
Rebooted Texas Cancer Agency Funds Biotech Firms
Jon Northrup will move his life sciences firm Beta Cat Pharmaceuticals to Texas after all. A year ago, Northup was caught in limbo and unsure how he should proceed in getting funding for his company, which is developing a drug that targets cancer stem cells. Beta Cat had applied for a $15 million grant from … Continue reading “Rebooted Texas Cancer Agency Funds Biotech Firms”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Thesan, Zogenix, Illumina, and More
The battle continues over an extended-release formulation of a potent opioid painkiller developed by San Diego’s Zogenix. I have the details, along with the rest of the region’s life sciences news over the past week. —San Diego’s Thesan Pharmaceuticals said it has raised $49 million in a Series B round of equity funding to advance … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Thesan, Zogenix, Illumina, and More”
Roundup: Google Demo Day, Merit Network, U-M, Plymouth Ventures
Here’s a look at some of the news from around Michigan’s innovation ecosystem that you might have missed: —Google Demo Day, where seven Detroit startups pitched to win a chance to present their business ideas to a group of Google executives during an April trip to Mountain View, CA, was held last week at Grand … Continue reading “Roundup: Google Demo Day, Merit Network, U-M, Plymouth Ventures”
Bob Doyle and the Magic of Merlin, the First Mobile Game
If you sat down to make a list of the key turning points in the history of mobile computing, you’d definitely have to include 2007, the year Apple released the iPhone. Its glowing touchscreen became a personalized portal to our friends, to the Web, and to hundreds of thousands of games and other specialized apps. … Continue reading “Bob Doyle and the Magic of Merlin, the First Mobile Game”
Looking for More Intelligence in Digital Publishing at Matter Demo Day
Bristling with new ideas to help publishers, writers, and other creative professionals reach out through the digital world, the crew from Matter in San Francisco held a demo day this week in New York. It is the second class to graduate from the media-focused accelerator, this time with seven startups promising to stir up different parts … Continue reading “Looking for More Intelligence in Digital Publishing at Matter Demo Day”
Athletes Look to Tech for Performance, Injury Help at Harvard
Veteran NFL quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has been around big-time football his whole life, even roaming the sidelines as a high school ball boy while his father, Don, played tight end for the New England Patriots. So you can believe it when he says that, despite the game’s big budgets and slick production, not much has changed … Continue reading “Athletes Look to Tech for Performance, Injury Help at Harvard”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Sigal, Radius, SHIN-NY, & More
Perhaps the biggest story in the biotech world this week came out west, where Brisbane, CA-based Intermune (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ITMN]]) nailed a big late-stage study and saw its shares soar more than 160 percent. But there was plenty of action on the East Coast as well. We’ve got all of it wrapped up below: —Elliott Sigal … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Sigal, Radius, SHIN-NY, & More”
How to Tell When a Startup Is Ready for Investment
Since 2005 startup accelerators have provided cohorts of startups with mentoring, pitch practice, and product focus. However, accelerator Demo Days are a combination of graduation ceremony and pitch contest, with the uncomfortable feel of a swimsuit competition. Other than “I’ll know it when I see it”, there’s no formal way for an investor attending Demo … Continue reading “How to Tell When a Startup Is Ready for Investment”
San Diego’s StackIQ Gets First-Day Funding Boost on OurCrowd Website
StackIQ, which provides Software-as-a-Service for managing “Big Data” computing systems, said today it is the first San Diego startup selected to raise capital from accredited investors through OurCrowd, the online crowdfunding firm based in Jerusalem. StackIQ, founded in 2006 with technology out of the San Diego Supercomputer Center at UC San Diego, had raised about … Continue reading “San Diego’s StackIQ Gets First-Day Funding Boost on OurCrowd Website”
Foundry Group Looking to Disrupt Book Publishing With New Startup
The Foundry Group is getting into the book publishing game. The Boulder, CO-based venture capital firm said Wednesday that it has formed FG Press, a startup publishing house. The purpose of the new press will be to better connect authors and readers by upending the traditional role of publishers, according to the FG Press website. … Continue reading “Foundry Group Looking to Disrupt Book Publishing With New Startup”
Innovations in Equity Crowdfunding Take Center Stage in San Diego
Securities regulators are still formulating new rules that would allow startups to use Kickstarter-like campaigns for equity crowdfunding. But in the meantime, a couple of investment groups have put together Internet crowdfunding platforms for people who qualify as accredited investors under existing law. One of the crowdfunding portals, OpenRound, was unveiled last October by Roth … Continue reading “Innovations in Equity Crowdfunding Take Center Stage in San Diego”
Revamped Radius Health Looks to Cash In With $86M IPO
Radius Health has raised more than $250 million from private investors to develop an osteoporosis drug to pit against Eli Lilly’s teriparatide (Forteo). Now, after switching CEOs three times and kicking off a big Phase III trial, the Cambridge, MA-based company will see if it can get the same type of financial support on Wall … Continue reading “Revamped Radius Health Looks to Cash In With $86M IPO”
A New Era for Microsoft: Overcoming the Innovator’s Dilemma
I don’t know if Microsoft will be a $300 billion company 50 years from now, but I do know one thing: selecting Satya Nadella as CEO gives it a better chance than some of the names that were discussed in the news since Steve Ballmer announced he would be stepping down. The reason is simple: … Continue reading “A New Era for Microsoft: Overcoming the Innovator’s Dilemma”
Cellular Dynamics, Seizing the Present, Turns Stem Cells into Cash
Stories like Cellular Dynamics don’t grab venture capitalists in Boston or the San Francisco Bay Area. Stem cell biology as the basis for a low-margin laboratory “services” business? Borrrring. Most of the big thinkers and the big moneymen are more excited about stem cells as “regenerative medicines” that would cost a fortune and could potentially … Continue reading “Cellular Dynamics, Seizing the Present, Turns Stem Cells into Cash”
Ramen Raises Cash for Crowdfunding and Collaboration Software
Ramen is heating up. No, not the meal well known to hungry entrepreneurs and hackers, but a Boulder, CO-based startup of the same name. Ramen, which is just a few months old and has won a major hackathon, said Monday it has raised a seed round and has begun courting customers. So what does Ramen … Continue reading “Ramen Raises Cash for Crowdfunding and Collaboration Software”
Ann Arbor’s Merit: Using e-Commerce to Send Kids to College
David Merritt’s e-mail sign-off reads “stay remarkable,” and it’s clear he takes that motto seriously. The son of parents dedicated to helping others—his father is the pastor of a Detroit church—Merritt, a former captain of the University of Michigan men’s basketball team, says he’s always been conscious of young people’s needs. “Especially kids in the … Continue reading “Ann Arbor’s Merit: Using e-Commerce to Send Kids to College”
New York’s Life Science Disruptors on March 6: Here’s the Agenda
The grass roots biotech movement is in full swing in the New York area. And in just a week, Xconomy will bring together some of the region’s most influential names to talk about it. On March 6, we’ll be hosting our latest biotech event, “New York’s Life Science Disruptors,” at the Apella event space at … Continue reading “New York’s Life Science Disruptors on March 6: Here’s the Agenda”
Drug Development 101: A Story About OncoGenex and the FDA
Most people in the local business community have never heard of Bothell, WA-based OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OGXI]]). But the little company, working on an experimental prostate cancer drug, has an interesting story that’s about to climax this year. In its own way, the OncoGenex story may even help shed some light on the labyrinthine process … Continue reading “Drug Development 101: A Story About OncoGenex and the FDA”
Tests for Tumor DNA in Blood May Yield New Ways to Hit Cancer
What do blood cancers, HIV infection, and cardiovascular disease have in common? Drug developers made rapid progress in those three disease categories once they had blood tests that could monitor changes in individual patients as they responded to medications, says Helmy Eltoukhy, CEO of Redwood City, CA-based diagnostics startup Guardant Health. But that progress hasn’t … Continue reading “Tests for Tumor DNA in Blood May Yield New Ways to Hit Cancer”
IT Startups from Brazil, the UK, and Dallas Join Tech Wildcatters
PledgeCents is going back to school. The Houston-based education crowdfunding site has joined the latest class at the Dallas-based accelerator Tech Wildcatters, which began its three-month program this week. Two grade-school friends started the site, which aims to connect educational causes with donors beyond a localized geographic area, last August. Right now, the site features … Continue reading “IT Startups from Brazil, the UK, and Dallas Join Tech Wildcatters”
Wisconsin Startup’s Neutron Generator Generates Big U.K. Customer
Phoenix Nuclear Labs has closed on a $1.15 million private funding round and inked its first major commercial contract, the Monona, WI, startup said this week. Phoenix has developed a particle accelerator-based neutron generator that has applications in medical isotope production and neutron radiography imaging, among other uses. The company was founded in 2005 by … Continue reading “Wisconsin Startup’s Neutron Generator Generates Big U.K. Customer”
Encore Entrepreneurs: They’re Older and They Have More Insurance
OK, I want you to take a quick test and answer the question with the first thing that comes to mind: What does a “start-up entrepreneur” look like? OK, do you have a picture in your mind? If you are like most people, I bet your first thought was someone who looks suspiciously like a … Continue reading “Encore Entrepreneurs: They’re Older and They Have More Insurance”
NuoDB Scales Up Database Business with $14.2M from Dassault
It’s been about a year since NuoDB released its first product, a new kind of database software designed for the era of cloud computing. The Cambridge, MA-based company had all of the frills you might expect for the occasion, including testimonials from early customers who said they’d put the new technology through its paces. That … Continue reading “NuoDB Scales Up Database Business with $14.2M from Dassault”
Slide Bureau Brings Another Approach to Sparkling Presentations
The Seattle area is home not only to the behemoth of presentation software, Microsoft’s PowerPoint, but also at least three upstarts trying to improve presentation tools in one way or another. The latest is Slide Bureau from boutique software design and consulting firm Jackson Fish Market (JFM). The company of “software artisans” focuses on user … Continue reading “Slide Bureau Brings Another Approach to Sparkling Presentations”
Roundup: Zulily, BlueKai, Koru, and Washington MWC Delegation
Recent notable developments in Seattle tech include: Zulily’s initial earnings report wows Wall Street; BlueKai is acquired by Oracle; Koru names its initial college and university partners; and 16 Washington state companies ply their wares at GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. More details: —Zulily, the latest Seattle-area IPO success, saw its shares soar 36 … Continue reading “Roundup: Zulily, BlueKai, Koru, and Washington MWC Delegation”
Radiator Labs Bets the ‘Cozy’ Will Make Old Steam Heaters Smart
[Updated 2/25/14 4:45 pm. See below.] Plenty of device makers are creating ways to remotely control gadgets in modern homes, but what about in older residences? Some hovels have antiquated appliances that lack digital devices that can be manipulated and linked to data networks. Marshall Cox, CEO and founder of Radiator Labs in New York, says … Continue reading “Radiator Labs Bets the ‘Cozy’ Will Make Old Steam Heaters Smart”
100health Aims to Incubate Health IT Startups, Put Madison on Map
The ambitious talk of turning Madison, WI, into the nation’s premier hub for healthcare and healthtech startups has grown louder in recent weeks. Now add 100health to the conversation. The new company, housed in downtown Madison co-working space 100state, is part think tank and part startup incubator. 100health will work with healthcare providers, insurers, and … Continue reading “100health Aims to Incubate Health IT Startups, Put Madison on Map”
U-M, Ohio State Partner in $148M Lightweight Materials Effort
In a speech today, President Obama will detail plans for the $148 million American Lightweight Materials Manufacturing Innovation Institute (ALMMII), a new high-tech manufacturing research facility that will be located outside of Detroit in Canton, MI. The institute is set to open this spring; officials say it’s expected to bring 10,000 jobs to the Midwest … Continue reading “U-M, Ohio State Partner in $148M Lightweight Materials Effort”
Austin’s SpareFoot, ‘Hotels.com of Self-Storage,’ Gets $10M to Grow
As a college junior in 2008, Chuck Gordon was headed to Singapore for a study abroad program but, first, he needed to find a place to store his stuff. Storage units near his school, the University of California at Los Angeles, were going to cost him about $1,000. “My dad told me he was not … Continue reading “Austin’s SpareFoot, ‘Hotels.com of Self-Storage,’ Gets $10M to Grow”
Celladon Could Go Far Under Servier Collaboration, Licensing Deal
San Diego-based Celladon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLDN]]) said it has granted France’s Servier an option to license a new class of small-molecule drugs that could someday be used to treat type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases. The clinical-stage biotech, which raised gross proceeds of roughly $44 million in its IPO last month, specializes in treating calcium … Continue reading “Celladon Could Go Far Under Servier Collaboration, Licensing Deal”
With Suitable, Park Your Meat Body at Home and Beam In to Work
When you’re a technology reporter, every startup you visit tries to convince you that you’re seeing a glimpse of the future. When I toured Suitable Technologies a few weeks ago, I knew I really was. Suitable builds a remote presence device called Beam. It’s basically an LCD screen, a Webcam, a microphone array, and some … Continue reading “With Suitable, Park Your Meat Body at Home and Beam In to Work”
SecureNOK Rides the Wave With Cyberdefense for Energy Companies
Technology advances have made it easier than ever to install and monitor drilling platforms hundreds of miles out into the sea or deep into isolated parts of our planet. But it’s that very connectedness that makes these facilities so vulnerable to attack. Enter SecureNOK, a Norway-born and Houston-bred energy cybersecurity startup, which says its software … Continue reading “SecureNOK Rides the Wave With Cyberdefense for Energy Companies”
An Executive’s Guide to Not Screwing Up Partnerships
Everyone loves partnerships. These fancy sounding deals are also often called “strategic alliances,” “co-marketing agreements,” “channel sales,” or in Continental Europe, “a coöperation” (sounds quite nice and German, doesn’t it?). Partnerships are prestigious, and they whisper to you the sweet possibilities of easy revenue. In Silicon Valley, they are generally run with lots of fanfare … Continue reading “An Executive’s Guide to Not Screwing Up Partnerships”
Elliott Sigal, Bristol’s Former R&D Chief, on Life After Big Pharma
Less than a year ago, Elliott Sigal, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s R&D chief for nearly a decade, stunned the industry. After a lengthy run that saw Bristol morph from a slogging, multifaceted healthcare conglomerate with its fingers in everything from AIDS drugs to baby formula, to a sleeker, pure play biopharmaceutical company, Sigal abruptly walked away in … Continue reading “Elliott Sigal, Bristol’s Former R&D Chief, on Life After Big Pharma”
Austin’s Zello Finds Itself Key Tool Among Venezuela Protestors
An Austin startup is playing a starring role in anti-government protests in Venezuela. Zello, an app that essentially allows walkie-talkie style communication on a smartphone, was already a popular app in the South American country. But on Friday, CEO Bill Moore says he noticed a severe drop in users. The Venezuelan government had blocked the … Continue reading “Austin’s Zello Finds Itself Key Tool Among Venezuela Protestors”
Fintech Startup Quovo, Led by Harvard Grads, Expands Into MA
Financial data can be downright awkward and wonky to deal with. The challenge is not just that there is a lot of information to work with, says Quovo CEO Lowell Putnam. Data taken from different sources might not even look similar. For example, he says, market data and transaction data are not always put together … Continue reading “Fintech Startup Quovo, Led by Harvard Grads, Expands Into MA”
The Inside Story: What CISOs Know About Cybersecurity
In the wake of aggressive press coverage of recent major breaches at companies from Target to Neiman Marcus, cybersecurity has finally moved out of the shadows to become a top-of-mind issue at major enterprises. The new focus is dramatically changing the landscape for security leaders and business executives, who no longer struggle to convince their … Continue reading “The Inside Story: What CISOs Know About Cybersecurity”
With $1.7M in New Funding, Sightly Takes Aim at Video Ad Marketing
After securing $1.7 million in new funding last month, a San Diego Internet startup is making its debut this week with technology that is intended to provide the same kind of automated personalization in online video advertising that certain software tools do with e-mail and online documents. Sightly founder and CEO John McIntyre says the … Continue reading “With $1.7M in New Funding, Sightly Takes Aim at Video Ad Marketing”
Ingress, Google, and Linda Besh: How a Mobile Game Augments Reality
When I first met Portalyst, she was at the Detroit Public Library, surrounded by her fellow agents in Resistance Detroit. There were BelaWren and Commander Lobo, a bookish married couple from Royal Oak, MI, and B33rhun73r (Beerhunter), a software developer so named for his appreciation of craft brewing. They were all glued to their phones, … Continue reading “Ingress, Google, and Linda Besh: How a Mobile Game Augments Reality”
Colorado-based Drug Developer Ampio Releases Plan to Sell 8M Shares
Ampio Pharmaceuticals, a drug development company based in Colorado, announced today it plans to sell 8 million shares of stock through an underwritten public offering. Ampio (NYSE: [[ticker:AMPE]]) shares have not been priced yet, but the shelf offering would raise $71.8 million at $8.98 a share, the price the stock closed at on Friday. Ampio … Continue reading “Colorado-based Drug Developer Ampio Releases Plan to Sell 8M Shares”
Wisconsin Roundup: Startup Weekend, Epic Systems, Johnson Controls
A few notable news items from Wisconsin’s tech and innovation community over the last week: —The first Startup Weekend was held in the Green Bay area. About 45 people participated, forming nine startup teams in the span of 54 hours on St. Norbert College’s campus, said Chris Campbell, one of the volunteers who helped run … Continue reading “Wisconsin Roundup: Startup Weekend, Epic Systems, Johnson Controls”