There was a time, at the turn of the century, when my chief purpose in life seemed to be serving as the stenographer for my tight-knit group of friends. All of us were newly graduated from college and, for one reason or another (often not at our own choosing), we were back in our hometown. … Continue reading “How the Daily Office Birthday Email Became the Startup Cup of Zup”
Category: National
AirPay Starts Small, Seeks Feedback on New Mobile Payment System
I stopped by the launch party late yesterday for AirPay, an early stage startup incubating in San Diego’s Ansir Innovation Center that has been developing a mobile payment system with social media features. “I have friends who say we’re insane,” says James Adams, the CEO who co-founded AirPay with Web developer Eric Shultz almost two … Continue reading “AirPay Starts Small, Seeks Feedback on New Mobile Payment System”
The iRobot Q&A: Colin Angle on the Next Robotics Inflection Point
It is a time of change at iRobot. Ten years after the landmark release of Roomba, the robotic vacuum cleaner, the Bedford, MA-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IRBT]]) could be considered the most successful robotics firm in history, even as it is trying to reinvent itself with new product lines. This reinvention comes amid big uncertainties in … Continue reading “The iRobot Q&A: Colin Angle on the Next Robotics Inflection Point”
Greenstart Unveils New Startups, New Coaching Method
The Greenstart digital cleantech accelerator in San Francisco shared details about its third class of startups last week—and about the way it helps companies prepare for the rigors of the real world. On the same day that it named its newest investments—in the areas of collaborative consumption, solar installation, power management, and remote device management—Greenstart … Continue reading “Greenstart Unveils New Startups, New Coaching Method”
Hukkster Brings Its Bookmarklets for Finding Discounts to E-commerce
Consumers may shrug these days when e-mails for deals and sales clog their inboxes, seeing as the Web is inundated with such offers. New York startup Hukkster believes it can help shoppers pinpoint the products they really want, with a “bookmarklet” service that alerts its users when prices drop on specific items they want to … Continue reading “Hukkster Brings Its Bookmarklets for Finding Discounts to E-commerce”
Alnylam Inks $29M Deal With Monsanto for New Bio Tools for Farmers
Cambridge, MA-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) said today it has formed a 10-year strategic alliance with St. Louis-based agricultural giant Monsanto (NYSE: [[ticker:MON]]) to develop biotech solutions for the farming industry. Under the terms of the deal, Monsanto will receive exclusive worldwide rights to Alnylam’s RNAi-based technology for agricultural use, in return for $29.2 million in upfront … Continue reading “Alnylam Inks $29M Deal With Monsanto for New Bio Tools for Farmers”
What’s A Brand, Anyway? The Story of Nuts.com
The New York Times certainly thought we were nuts, as did Forbes and Al Ries in AdAge, all of whom agreed that our six-figure acquisition of the nuts.com domain and our re-branding from NutsOnline to Nuts.com was an example of overspending. Was it? * * * I joined Cranford, NJ-based Nuts.com a year ago as the … Continue reading “What’s A Brand, Anyway? The Story of Nuts.com”
CEO of Startup Lockerz Hired as Yahoo’s New Marketing Chief
Kathy Savitt, a longtime PR and marketing executive who founded the well-financed “social commerce” website Lockerz, has left her CEO post at the startup to take the job of chief marketing officer at Yahoo. She’s being replaced by former Amazon and Pepsi executive Mark Stabingas, who had been serving as the startup’s operations chief. Yahoo announced … Continue reading “CEO of Startup Lockerz Hired as Yahoo’s New Marketing Chief”
Blackstone LaunchPad Fosters Entrepreneurship, Possibility
Energy, hope, and possibility: That, essentially, is what Bill Green says the Launch Pad program is about. Green, senior vice provost and dean of undergraduate education at the University of Miami, co-founded the Launch Pad there as a way to integrate the values of entrepreneurship campus-wide and turn students into CEOs of startups, which Green believes is key … Continue reading “Blackstone LaunchPad Fosters Entrepreneurship, Possibility”
Alder Gets $3.5M Milestone as Bristol-Myers Starts Crohn’s Study
Alder Biopharmaceuticals struck its first big partnership three years ago with Bristol-Myers Squibb based largely on the potential of its antibody drug candidate for rheumatoid arthritis. But the product has more potential uses than that, and now Alder is pulling in some more cash as Bristol-Myers is advancing the drug as a treatment for Crohn’s … Continue reading “Alder Gets $3.5M Milestone as Bristol-Myers Starts Crohn’s Study”
San Diego’s Sapphire Energy Producing Green Crude From NM Algae Farm
San Diego’s Sapphire Energy says today it has harvested 81 tons of algal biomass from its farm in Columbus, N.M., less than two months after the first phase of its “green crude farm” became operational. The venture-backed company, which financed the project with a combination of private and public funding, says the demonstration proves that … Continue reading “San Diego’s Sapphire Energy Producing Green Crude From NM Algae Farm”
If You Can’t Stand the Heat, Get Out of the Kitchen
I recently took a vacation in Italy, and in my quest to eat everything not nailed down in the Lake Como region, I had the good fortune to participate in an amazing private cooking class in the resort kitchen of the Villa d’Este Hotel. The sous chef, a charming Italian man (duh) took my family through … Continue reading “If You Can’t Stand the Heat, Get Out of the Kitchen”
Sherpaa Aims to Streamline Healthcare for Startups
After Jay Parkinson completed his residency at Johns Hopkins and started practicing medicine in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in 2007, he set out to make doctor-patient communications as seamless as possible. His patients logged onto his Google calendar to make appointments and note their symptoms, which triggered an alert on Parkinson’s iPhone. He made house calls and … Continue reading “Sherpaa Aims to Streamline Healthcare for Startups”
9 Takeaways from Rock Boston Demo Day: Health IT Firms Up
San Francisco-based accelerator Rock Health had its first Boston Demo Day here in Cambridge, MA, on Friday. I came away with some thoughts, which I will share here. As usual, I was looking more for emerging themes in the field, and not so much trying to figure out exactly what each company is doing, or … Continue reading “9 Takeaways from Rock Boston Demo Day: Health IT Firms Up”
CardioDx Pockets $58M, Right After Medicare OK
CardioDx persuaded the folks who work for Medicare that its molecular diagnostic test is a worthwhile medical advance, and now it has persuaded investors to put some more money to work into making it a commercial success. The Palo Alto, CA-based company said today it has completed a two-part equity financing worth $58 million. The … Continue reading “CardioDx Pockets $58M, Right After Medicare OK”
Genentech, ImmunoGen Breast Cancer Drug Extends Lives
Genentech’s new souped-up antibody drug for breast cancer was the star of the show at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s big conference in June, even though the clinical data wasn’t yet fully baked. But now the data is in, and confirms what most everybody thought it would show—that the drug is extending lives. South … Continue reading “Genentech, ImmunoGen Breast Cancer Drug Extends Lives”
InstaEdu’s Brother-Sister Team Puts Tutoring Online, On Demand
InstaEdu, a San Francisco-based startup that provides teens with on-demand online tutoring, began as a side project ginned up by siblings Alison and Dan Johnston. Alison, who had been part of search startup Aardvark and wound up as an associate product marketing manager at Google after Aardvark’s acquisition, was itching to start her own company, … Continue reading “InstaEdu’s Brother-Sister Team Puts Tutoring Online, On Demand”
Merck on Track to Seek Approval for Two Heart Drugs in ’13
Whitehouse Station, NJ-based pharmaceutical giant Merck (NYSE: [[ticker:MRK]]) provided an update Sunday on three of its experimental drugs to treat cardiovascular conditions during the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Munich. In a statement the company said it plans to file for approval next year in the United States and Europe for the anti-clotting drug vorapaxar. The experimental compound … Continue reading “Merck on Track to Seek Approval for Two Heart Drugs in ’13”
Wikets Targets Mobile Shopping with Social Recommendation App
Last summer, when Lexington, MA-based Wikets revealed via an SEC filing that it had raised $1.5 million in funding, its website said it was building technology for users to share ideas with people they trust. Late last week the startup announced an update to its now-live mobile social shopping app, so I caught up with … Continue reading “Wikets Targets Mobile Shopping with Social Recommendation App”
New York: First Stop for a Micro-Invasion of British Startups?
Brits obviously are no strangers when it comes to crossing the Atlantic. But the choice of New York may seem a touch counterintuitive as a place for overseas startups to plant their flags. New York is eager to attract more developers, designers, and engineers, whose ranks are deeper in Silicon Valley. However, Manhattan does have … Continue reading “New York: First Stop for a Micro-Invasion of British Startups?”
U-M Student Startup Fetchnotes Wins TechStars Spot
Fetchnotes, the Ann Arbor, MI-based startup founded by a group of University of Michigan students, announced today that it has been accepted into the national business accelerator TechStars Boston. It’s a prestigious program that accepts only 1 percent of startups that apply to participate, and Fetchnotes is the first U-M student startup to earn the … Continue reading “U-M Student Startup Fetchnotes Wins TechStars Spot”
Rock Health’s Boston Demo Day Yields Seven Startups
In case you’ve lost track of Demo Days around here, there’s a pretty interesting one happening today. Rock Health, the grant-giving healthcare accelerator that started in San Francisco, is holding its inaugural Rock Boston Demo Day at the Broad Institute in Cambridge, MA, at 2 pm. You could be forgiven for confusing the various health-tech … Continue reading “Rock Health’s Boston Demo Day Yields Seven Startups”
10 Indispensable Apps for the Back-to-School Season
There’s a reason that George Fox University, Regis College, Chicago State University, Seton Hill, and other colleges and universities are giving iPads to all incoming freshmen this fall. It’s because the Apple tablets are just as good as laptops for many types of educational tasks, such as notetaking, and even better for others, such as … Continue reading “10 Indispensable Apps for the Back-to-School Season”
CIMIT, Best Doctors, Inspiration Biopharma, & More Boston Life Sciences Newsmakers
We’ve seen a mix of drug development and health IT out of New England companies this week. —Best Doctors, a Boston-based company whose database of 50,000 physicians can be called upon to provide second opinions on diagnoses and treatment plans, announced that it had raised $45.5 million in new funding. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co … Continue reading “CIMIT, Best Doctors, Inspiration Biopharma, & More Boston Life Sciences Newsmakers”
Qualcomm Acquires Israeli Company with Small Cellular Technology
Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]), the San Diego wireless chipmaker, says it has acquired DesignArt Networks, an Israeli company that specializes in modem and system design for small cell base stations and high-speed wireless backhaul equipment. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the English version of the Israeli business daily “Globes” estimates the deal to be about … Continue reading “Qualcomm Acquires Israeli Company with Small Cellular Technology”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Regulus IPO, Fate Funding, & More
The week’s big news in San Diego’s life sciences sector came with the IPO filing by Regulus Therapeutics. The proposed IPO also will test relaxed rules for emerging companies under the new Jump Start Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act. It will be a story worth following, and you can get started here. —After signing partnerships … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Regulus IPO, Fate Funding, & More”
After Acquisition, ePrize Committed to Mobile Growth, Hiring
On Monday, Pleasant Ridge, MI-based digital marketing and engagement company ePrize announced it had been acquired by Greenwich, CT-based Catterton Partners. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, though ePrize CEO Matt Wise points out that the company’s backers, including Quicken Loans‘ Dan Gilbert, scored a healthy return on their investments. “Most of ePrize’s … Continue reading “After Acquisition, ePrize Committed to Mobile Growth, Hiring”
EnVivo Forges Ahead With Alzheimer’s Drug
The pharmaceutical world went into shock on August 6, when Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Elan Pharmaceuticals pulled the plug on bapineuzumab (“bapi”), a highly anticipated experimental drug they were co-developing to fight Alzheimer’s disease. The folks at Watertown, MA-based EnVivo Pharmaceuticals were among those watching the drug’s demise with interest. Just a few weeks earlier, … Continue reading “EnVivo Forges Ahead With Alzheimer’s Drug”
Inside Nukotoys’ Project to Build a Monster iPad Hit for Kids
As any game designer will tell you, games with fundamentally new mechanics don’t come along very often. After all, there are only so many plausible ways to move a ball down a field, gamble with a 52-card deck, relabel the properties on a Monopoly board, or knock over a tower with avian missiles. So a … Continue reading “Inside Nukotoys’ Project to Build a Monster iPad Hit for Kids”
With $500K in Tow, Rentabilities Aims to Simplify the Cryptic Equipment Rental Space
Which Boston startup provides you one stop (rental) shopping for Disney-princess-themed bouncy castles, boats for booze cruises, and even a Zoltar fortune-telling machine just like the one from the Tom Hanks movie Big? Rentabilities, the same guys who created all the Twitter fuss last fall with a pirate-themed entrepreneur boat party, and are about to … Continue reading “With $500K in Tow, Rentabilities Aims to Simplify the Cryptic Equipment Rental Space”
TG Therapeutics Builds Pipeline Around Cancer and Immune Diseases
On August 16, New York-based TG Therapeutics (OTCBB: [[ticker:TGTX]]) announced that it had formed a deal with a Swiss company called Rhizen Pharmaceuticals to co-develop a drug to treat blood cancers and autoimmune diseases. It was TG’s second transaction in the last five months related to “B-cell diseases,” which are disorders involving key cells in … Continue reading “TG Therapeutics Builds Pipeline Around Cancer and Immune Diseases”
Meet Double Down’s Lone Investor: Ron Erickson Talks Online Gambling
Early this year, a small Seattle social video game studio called Double Down Interactive came out of virtually nowhere to be acquired by slot-machine company International Game Technology for up to $500 million. It was a signal that online gambling with real money would start to engulf the fast-moving games industry, especially as the longstanding … Continue reading “Meet Double Down’s Lone Investor: Ron Erickson Talks Online Gambling”
The Top 5 Risks Confronting Startups
You might have a great idea for a startup. You may be passionate, driven, and ready to go. But how ready are you to manage your risks? Many startups fail because of ineffective risk management. So how do you avoid a similar fate? It all depends on how well you understand and manage your risks. … Continue reading “The Top 5 Risks Confronting Startups”
Daily Deals Go Mobile With Ford’s New Roximity App
The days of considering a leisurely Sunday afternoon drive as a peaceful refuge from a busy week are clearly over. Now, we expect to be able to take our hyperconnected lives with us on the road, and if we can tell our cars exactly how and who to connect with, all the better. In the … Continue reading “Daily Deals Go Mobile With Ford’s New Roximity App”
3-D Vision Brings New Dimensions to 2-D TV, Even The Wizard of Oz
The pitch for 3-D video in the home has yet to be embraced by the majority of consumers, but a Westbury, NY-based innovator believes his technology can jumpstart demand. Gene Dolgoff, CEO of 3-D Vision, developed a way to turn two-dimensional video content into 3-D imagery without the need for new televisions. Though his converter … Continue reading “3-D Vision Brings New Dimensions to 2-D TV, Even The Wizard of Oz”
In a Requiem for Helix Wind, Critics Come to Bury More Than Praise
Back in May, I noted that Sauer Energy of Newbury Park, CA, had acquired the assets from San Diego’s defunct Helix Wind, which ceased operations at the end of 2010 with an accumulated deficit of nearly $42 million. During its three years in the sun, Helix attracted widespread attention for the iconic design of its … Continue reading “In a Requiem for Helix Wind, Critics Come to Bury More Than Praise”
The Big Themes at Y Combinator’s Summer 2012 Demo Day
If your startup accelerator rises to a certain level of prominence, you get the opportunity to push a generation of young entrepreneurs in the directions you want simply by virtue of choosing certain startups over others. And because lots of other accelerators, entrepreneurs, and investors take their cues from you, you end up influencing the … Continue reading “The Big Themes at Y Combinator’s Summer 2012 Demo Day”
FutureAdvisor Collects $5M to Expand 401(k) Advice Software
Seattle personal finance startup FutureAdvisor, a summer 2010 graduate of the Y Combinator startup accelerator program, has landed a new round of venture financing to add employees and continue expanding its 401(k) advice service. Co-founders Bo Lu and Jon Xu, who run the startup out of a historic building in Seattle’s Pioneer Square, say that … Continue reading “FutureAdvisor Collects $5M to Expand 401(k) Advice Software”
Happtique Offers E-Prescribing Platform for Health Apps
Anybody with diabetes who searches their iPhone for an app to help them monitor their blood sugar will likely be overwhelmed by the choices. A simple search using the word “glucose” pulls up more than 150 results in the app store—all from companies claiming to offer the best solutions for managing diabetes. Yet very few … Continue reading “Happtique Offers E-Prescribing Platform for Health Apps”
CIMIT, Induct Software Roll Out New Collaboration Platform for Healthcare
Collaboration is all the rage. So is innovation management. Throw in “cloud-based platform,” “improving quality of patient care while reducing cost,” and “translational research,” and it sounds like the perfect storm of IT-meets-healthcare buzzwords and memes. So here’s the news. Boston-based nonprofit CIMIT, the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology, has teamed up … Continue reading “CIMIT, Induct Software Roll Out New Collaboration Platform for Healthcare”
Locately, MoFuse, Care.com, & More Names from the Boston Deals Roundup
Health IT, mobile, database, and biofuel tech companies in New England have been making deals this week. —Locately, the Boston-based mobile location analytics startup, was bought by the Service Management Group, a Kansas City, MO-based market research firm, for an undisclosed cash sum. —Sqrrl, a Washington, DC-founded maker of secure database software, nabbed $2 million in … Continue reading “Locately, MoFuse, Care.com, & More Names from the Boston Deals Roundup”
FDA Approves Sotera Wireless Technology for Monitoring Vital Signs
It took a little longer than expected, but FDA regulators have cleared the mobile technology that San Diego’s Sotera Wireless has developed for monitoring hospital patients’ vital signs. Sotera said in April that the FDA had cleared its ViSi mobile monitor, a device that continuously monitors blood pressure, respiration, skin temperature, blood oxygen levels, and … Continue reading “FDA Approves Sotera Wireless Technology for Monitoring Vital Signs”
PopCap Lays Off 50, May Have to Close Irish Office
PopCap Games, a veteran Seattle casual video game publisher bought last year by industry giant Electronic Arts, is laying off about 50 people in North America as it grapples with the rapidly changing games business. There’s also a chance that PopCap’s office in Dublin, Ireland may have to close if profits in Europe don’t improve. … Continue reading “PopCap Lays Off 50, May Have to Close Irish Office”
Gates Backs Intellectual Ventures Spinout: Antenna Maker Kymeta
Updated 11:20 am, see final paragraph Intellectual Ventures, the patent-licensing firm headed by former Microsoft technology chief Nathan Myhrvold, has spun out a new company that promises to make fast broadband Internet available almost anywhere. The new company, named Kymeta, is the second to emerge from Intellectual Ventures. It debuts amid continued criticism that Intellectual … Continue reading “Gates Backs Intellectual Ventures Spinout: Antenna Maker Kymeta”
Bride Meets Blog: Abby Larson on Style Me Pretty’s Explosive Growth
When people try to defend Boston’s validity as a consumer tech startup hub, they point to the success of brands like TripAdvisor, RueLaLa, and Wayfair. But there’s another that’s managed to stay pretty under the radar, pulling in 18.6 million page views per month, and serving as the 12th biggest source of traffic on the … Continue reading “Bride Meets Blog: Abby Larson on Style Me Pretty’s Explosive Growth”
On Our New Mobile Site, You’ve Been Upgraded to Xconomy Class
Visiting Xconomy.com on a smartphone should be like flying first class in the Pan Am heyday: a chance to listen in on the conversations of some of the day’s biggest movers and shakers in state-of-the-art surroundings with the minimum of aggravation or delay. That’s why we’re excited to announce the arrival of a dramatically upgraded version … Continue reading “On Our New Mobile Site, You’ve Been Upgraded to Xconomy Class”
Best Doctors Raises $45.5M for Second-Opinion Service
Boston-based Best Doctors, which was founded by Harvard physicians in 1989, has brought in $45.5 million in new funding, according to an SEC filing. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. provided the funding, vice chairman Evan Falchuk told VentureWire. The company previously raised $20 million. Best Doctors maintains a database of 50,000 doctors, who can be called … Continue reading “Best Doctors Raises $45.5M for Second-Opinion Service”
Chalkable Brings Apps, including Khan Academy Math, to Classrooms
With the fall semester just a bell ring away, educators and students will be faced with an onslaught of apps and software competing for spots in their computer desktops. New York’s Chalkable, a recent grad from the 500 Startups accelerator program, believes it can bring order to the crowded education technology space. Chalkable plans to … Continue reading “Chalkable Brings Apps, including Khan Academy Math, to Classrooms”
An Insider’s View on Raising Money from Life Sciences VCs
The life sciences venture capital industry is undergoing rapid change. Although many innovative ideas have been taken from the bench to scientific discovery to treating patients, funding today to develop new products and services is getting more difficult to attain. Getting a product to market involves not only a long scientific process, but a carefully … Continue reading “An Insider’s View on Raising Money from Life Sciences VCs”
MediciNova Raises Capital Through $20M Stock Purchase Agreement
Aspire Capital, a Chicago-based fund that invests directly in public companies, has agreed to invest as much as $20 million in San Diego-based MediciNova (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MNOV]]) over the next two years. Aspire agreed to pay the market price at the time of each purchase, with the company controlling the timing and number of shares sold. … Continue reading “MediciNova Raises Capital Through $20M Stock Purchase Agreement”