While the 113th Congress addresses hot-button issues like gun control, comprehensive immigration reform, sequester spending cuts and the federal budget, a critical issue that greatly impacts our economy and global competitiveness is being overlooked—innovation. Washington’s approach to innovation policy has been fragmented and detached from other prevalent issues, which led CONNECT to develop an innovation … Continue reading “A Call for the 113th Congress to Support an Innovation Agenda”
Category: New York
Excess Healthcare Spending Is Undermining Innovation
I read Luke Timmerman’s article yesterday on ProCure with mixed emotions. My first emotion was that of deep gratitude for the men and women who commit their lives to the science of improving healthcare. I continue to be inspired by these professionals and their incredible contributions to a healthcare industry that is very slow to … Continue reading “Excess Healthcare Spending Is Undermining Innovation”
PublicStuff Puts Translation Tools in Platform for Contacting Town Hall
Tuesday morning Lily Liu, CEO and founder of PublicStuff in New York, unveiled an updated version of her company’s platform that connects citizens with local government and municipal services. It is kind of like accessing 311 call centers in app form, but with additional services for citizens and data analytics for local government. The update, … Continue reading “PublicStuff Puts Translation Tools in Platform for Contacting Town Hall”
Should Big Data Businesses Be Forced to Prevent Hacking?
Earlier this year, Twitter admitted they lost personal information on 250,000 or so users to hackers. Other organizations, including the New York Times and the Federal Reserve, reported hackers had been inside their systems. The list of high profile hackings is so long that perhaps the day has come when companies should expect they will … Continue reading “Should Big Data Businesses Be Forced to Prevent Hacking?”
GoRecess Garners $20,000 Seed Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3b6dfbc1-4a4a-4077-9295-88918914b665&Preview=1 Date 3/19/2013 Company Name GoRecess Mailing Address 902 Broadway 4th Floor New York, NY 10010 Company Description The One-Stop Destination to Find, Book and Review Fitness Classes. Inspired by memories of elementary school recess, we created GoRecess to bring the fun back to fitness. Just as you couldn’t wait to run … Continue reading “GoRecess Garners $20,000 Seed Round”
UClass Obtains $20,000 Seed Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=50f95fc7-ce7f-4524-9f69-1882d0ef6f3f&Preview=1 Date 3/19/2013 Company Name UClass Mailing Address 250 West 74th Street New York, NY 10023 Company Description UClass is the safest and easiest way to connect your class with the world. Website http://www.uclass.org Transaction Type Accelerator Transaction Amount $20,000 Transaction Round Seed Proceeds Purposes The company will use the proceeds to … Continue reading “UClass Obtains $20,000 Seed Financing”
Partnership Fund for NYC Expects a Spring of FinTech, Life Sciences, & More
Amid the stoic grey marble and granite of the financial district, Maria Gotsch, CEO of the Partnership Fund for New York City, thinks about new ways to foster growth among the city’s innovators in life sciences, digital health, financial technology, and other sectors. She runs the $110 million private fund that puts money towards projects, … Continue reading “Partnership Fund for NYC Expects a Spring of FinTech, Life Sciences, & More”
Women, Success, and Corporate Culture: Are These the Values We Want?
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Lean In, is probably right. What it takes to be successful in a U.S. company and what we define as success in America requires the kind of singular focus on developing leadership skills and a strong power base that Sandberg discusses in her book. These are the hard facts of … Continue reading “Women, Success, and Corporate Culture: Are These the Values We Want?”
Smart Tech Spending for Startups
At a startup, all decisions about hiring, product development, or marketing campaigns have to align with cash flow. One area that can eat into funding is technology spending. How does a young startup know which technology to spend in, and which technology they need? Oftentimes, the trends of the season are obsolete by the end … Continue reading “Smart Tech Spending for Startups”
Why Are Healthcare Costs Exploding? See Proton Cancer Therapy
Whenever a new medical technology comes out in the U.S., a few things happen. Doctors, hospitals, the media, and, of course, the drug and device makers cheer. Newer technology must always be better, right? Never mind if it costs a little extra. We’re talking about a patient’s life and well-being, after all. But when we … Continue reading “Why Are Healthcare Costs Exploding? See Proton Cancer Therapy”
How Google Glass, Indoor Location, & Mobile Shopping Can Save Retail
Retail is changing. Roughly $3.7 trillion in annual U.S. spending is up for grabs. That’s a lot of money. Some technology theorists, including Marc Andreessen, believe the change will be revolutionary in nature—predicting the outright death of brick-and-mortar retail. The theory is that soon enough, visiting a physical store will be as archaic as reading … Continue reading “How Google Glass, Indoor Location, & Mobile Shopping Can Save Retail”
East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: GSK, Protein Sciences, IMS Health
One big East Coast pharmaceutical firm abandoned work on a hepatitis C drug this week, while another shuttered a young company that had cost it $720 million to acquire. But new ideas continue to burst forth, and investors pitched in $20 million for another hopeful startup. The Connecticut company that figured out how to make … Continue reading “East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: GSK, Protein Sciences, IMS Health”
Tumblr, Warby Parker, Everyday Health Set for Xconomy April 25 Forum
The more New York makes its presence known on the venture landscape, the more this community faces questions about its sustainability. Xconomy will host a half-day forum on April 25 to delve into what some of New York’s leading entrepreneurs, and the venture capitalists who back them, can do to ensure that the current surge … Continue reading “Tumblr, Warby Parker, Everyday Health Set for Xconomy April 25 Forum”
Attention Startups: The Automotive Industry Isn’t a Rust Belt Monolith
What do you think about when you hear the phrase “online advertising” or “big data”? How about “social network”? Do visions of hoodie-wearing young entrepreneurs dance through your head? Each of these are massive parts of the startup tech sector. In 2012, online display advertising was $12 billion; big data has become the new hot … Continue reading “Attention Startups: The Automotive Industry Isn’t a Rust Belt Monolith”
Xconomy Forum: New York’s Venture Challenge—Building Big to Last
New York has firmly established itself as a serious contender to Boston as East Coast venture king. But to prove the Big Apple’s tech surge is truly the result of a fundamental change in its entrepreneurial ethos, startups and VCs must adapt to new economic and investment realities, and show they can build big companies … Continue reading “Xconomy Forum: New York’s Venture Challenge—Building Big to Last”
NYU-Poly Scientist Gets Google Grant for Social Networks Research
Google has awarded Oded Nov, an assistant professor at Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly), a multiyear grant to support a research project that will examine the role of design in shaping online behavior. Nov, from the Department of Technology Management and Innovation at NYU-Poly, will collaborate on the two-year research project with Mor … Continue reading “NYU-Poly Scientist Gets Google Grant for Social Networks Research”
Has The Pendulum Swung Too Far in Favor of Rare Diseases?
As a politician, one of the worst things you can be accused of is being a flip-flopper, a person who changes their mind on one or more issues. Another way of looking at this character trait is to say one has thoughtfully wrestled with an issue and changed one’s mind, as President Obama recently did … Continue reading “Has The Pendulum Swung Too Far in Favor of Rare Diseases?”
GiveGab Garners $1,200,000 Series A Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=163a450e-5d8a-4fc9-8111-d9fdf76ed1fe&Preview=1 Date 3/14/2013 Company Name GiveGab Mailing Address 130 East State St. Ithaca, NY 14850 Company Description GiveGab is a social network dedicated to helping volunteers and nonprofit organizations interact, on a local level, in your communities. Our goal is to create a fun yet effective online environment that encourages real-world volunteer … Continue reading “GiveGab Garners $1,200,000 Series A Financing Round”
Bonobos Receives $30,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2b1a8491-754e-4cf0-9c56-e08a8c9cef46&Preview=1 Date 3/14/2013 Company Name Bonobos Mailing Address 45 W. 25th St. 5th Floor New York, NY 10010 Company Description The company operates a men’s clothing website. Website http://www.bonobos.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $30,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor Glynn Capital … Continue reading “Bonobos Receives $30,000,000 New Financing”
Funding for New York Startups in Mobile Ad Tech and Web Monitoring
Catchpoint Systems in New York, a provider of Web and infrastructure monitoring technology, on Tuesday announced it raised $3.2 million in a Series A round led by Battery Ventures. Founded in 2008 by four expatriates from DoubleClick and Google, Catchpoint plans to use the funds for product development and growth. Its technology helps companies monitor their … Continue reading “Funding for New York Startups in Mobile Ad Tech and Web Monitoring”
New Domain Partnership Focuses on China’s Emerging Healthcare Market
Domain Associates, the life sciences venture firm based in San Diego and Princeton, NJ, says today it has formed a partnership with the Beijing-based firm Elite Consulting to license biomedical products and technologies from the West, and to help commercialize those technologies in China. The exclusive partnership, called Domain Elite, intends to in-license rights to … Continue reading “New Domain Partnership Focuses on China’s Emerging Healthcare Market”
Crowdsourced Workforces Rising
Crowdsourcing is a growing trend in the tech startup industry, and one that has the potential to address pressing needs in various markets. In particular, crowdsourcing of workforces is seeing tremendous uptick. At 1M/1M we’ve encountered several startups that are applying the model on different problem domains related to hiring and staffing. CrowdFlower founder Lukas … Continue reading “Crowdsourced Workforces Rising”
Pfizer Yields to Rivals in Hep C Drug Race
As flashy new entries piled into the race to create an injection-free hepatitis C drug about a year ago, Xconomy’s national biotech editor, Luke Timmerman, likened the contest to the Daytona 500 of the pharmaceutical world. Now Pfizer, the world’s biggest drug company, has scratched itself from the starting lineup. The New York pharmaceutical giant … Continue reading “Pfizer Yields to Rivals in Hep C Drug Race”
MLB Advanced Media Ups Its Game Streaming More than Baseball to Mobile
[Updated 3/13/13, 9:26 am. See below.] Naturally, there is much ado about baseball at Major League Baseball Advanced Media in New York, especially with spring training underway. But its technology reaches far beyond the bleachers—and even beyond the TV screen. “Mobile, in our business, isn’t the second screen,” says Matthew Gould, vice president of communications … Continue reading “MLB Advanced Media Ups Its Game Streaming More than Baseball to Mobile”
IMS Health Acquires Appature to Get Healthcare Marketing Software
[Updated: 11:30 am PT] Seattle-based Appature, the maker of software for healthcare marketers, has graduated from scrappy startup into something much bigger. Appature is announcing today that it has agreed to be acquired by Parsippany, NJ-based IMS Health, the giant data provider that tracks prescription trends for healthcare companies. IMS, a private company founded in … Continue reading “IMS Health Acquires Appature to Get Healthcare Marketing Software”
Four Things I Learned From Studying Innovation in 3 U.S. Cities
I’ve spent most of my career studying how key regions around the world have harnessed their indigenous research capabilities, entrepreneurial spirit, and industrial prowess to realize the economic and employment returns many innovative technologies promise. I’m particularly intrigued by the differences that make some places engines for innovation. If we are to be successful in … Continue reading “Four Things I Learned From Studying Innovation in 3 U.S. Cities”
Protein Sciences’ Pitch: a “Pure” Flu Vaccine Alternative
The small private company Protein Sciences skirted bankruptcy, fought off a hostile takeover bid, spent three years angling for a sorely-needed government contract, and survived a four-year dialogue with the FDA before winning approval this year for the first influenza vaccine made with genetic engineering and without eggs. Now comes the hard part. The 115-employee … Continue reading “Protein Sciences’ Pitch: a “Pure” Flu Vaccine Alternative”
Some Bold Baseball and Biotech Picks for the 2013 Season
Spring training is here. That means I get to spend days thinking and writing about biotech and nights dreaming about hard-throwing setup men with decent walks-plus-hits-allowed per inning pitched (WHIP) ratios who have a shot at becoming a closer. I’ll leave it up to you to decide which obsession is the greater malady. Kidding aside, … Continue reading “Some Bold Baseball and Biotech Picks for the 2013 Season”
Wanted: Star Journalist to Help Launch Xconomy in the Lone Star State
It’s no secret that we’re on a little bit of an expansion bender these days (hey there, Boulder/Denver), and our next hit is going to be a big one: Xconomy Texas. With the combination of Houston’s first-class research hospitals and growing life sciences sector, Austin’s vibrant tech scene, and the state’s massive energy sector we … Continue reading “Wanted: Star Journalist to Help Launch Xconomy in the Lone Star State”
Ultra Light Startups Investor Feedback Forum
An evening of pizza, networking, and startup pitch advice from a panel of investors. Sitting on the investor panel will be David Aronoff of Flybridge Capital Partners, Gil Beyda of Genacast Ventures, Ed Sim of BOLDstart Ventures, and Mark Waschen of DreamIt Ventures. Apply to pitch, find more details and register here.
What Makes an App Awesome? A Case Study with Mokriya Craigslist
If you were starting a Mobile App Design Hall of Fame, how would you decide which apps to nominate? Personally, I think I’d vote for the apps that keep me engaged through creative, elegant use of touchscreen-specific design principles. I’d point to a handful of mobile apps that are so delightful to play with that … Continue reading “What Makes an App Awesome? A Case Study with Mokriya Craigslist”
East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Merck, Celgene, PTC, Cerulean
New Jersey life sciences companies grabbed the spotlight this week as they raised money, joined with partners, and made new hires. Merck’s research division will have a new leader as a former executive comes back from a long stint at the world’s largest biotechnology company. And a Cambridge, MA, company is in suspense as it … Continue reading “East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Merck, Celgene, PTC, Cerulean”
NYSE Euronext’s Scott Cutler Talks IPOs and New York’s Need for Big Exits
The select few startups that brave the leap to public markets have an opportunity to provide their early backers with healthy returns, but also come under deeper scrutiny. Scott Cutler, executive vice president with NYSE Euronext and head of global listings, let Xconomy into his office this week to chat about the IPO market’s potential … Continue reading “NYSE Euronext’s Scott Cutler Talks IPOs and New York’s Need for Big Exits”
Roger Perlmutter Returns to Merck, Looks to Biotech Future (Again)
Roger Perlmutter is heading back to Merck, after a decade away. This time around, he’s got a lot more experience knowing how to build a pharmaceutical pipeline. The Whitehouse Station, NJ-based pharmaceutical giant (NYSE: [[ticker:MRK]]) said today it has hired Perlmutter as executive vice president and president of Merck Research Laboratories, starting April 15. He … Continue reading “Roger Perlmutter Returns to Merck, Looks to Biotech Future (Again)”
Snoox Secures $2,000,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f1119365-a81f-443d-9b36-479879c84198&Preview=1 Date 3/7/2013 Company Name Snoox Mailing Address 41 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10010 Company Description The most powerful piece of advice you can get is a recommendation from a friend. We’ve all been there. You want to buy something or book a holiday, but before you do anything, you search … Continue reading “Snoox Secures $2,000,000 New Round”
Adcade Lands $1,500,000 Seed Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1c34b084-607e-45d2-a150-ddf8ce45b6f2&Preview=1 Date 3/7/2013 Company Name Adcade Mailing Address 110 5th Ave Fifth Floor New York, NY 10011 Company Description The Next Generation of Mobile Advertising. Providing advertisers, publishers and developers with the resources and capabilities to achieve their marketing or monetization goals. Website http://www.adcade.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,500,000 Transaction … Continue reading “Adcade Lands $1,500,000 Seed Funding”
Outbrain Acquires Visual Revenue for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f71ac518-0386-40dc-b935-c1bc74ee8015&Preview=1 Date 3/7/2013 Company Name Visual Revenue Mailing Address 450 West 33rd St 14th Floor New York, NY 10001 Company Description Based out of midtown New York, NY, Visual Revenue provides a predictive analytics solution that helps online media organizations set a better front page. Our Front Page Automation Platform provides Editors … Continue reading “Outbrain Acquires Visual Revenue for Undisclosed Sum”
Innovid Lands $11M Series C Round for Video Ad Tech Platform
New York’s Innovid announced Wednesday that it has raised $11 million in a Series C round with backing from new investor Vintage Investment Partners and existing investors Sequoia Capital, Genesis Partners, and T-Venture. Innovid’s platform lets ad agencies working for brands and marketers put interactive video ads on mobile gadgets and PCs. The ads can … Continue reading “Innovid Lands $11M Series C Round for Video Ad Tech Platform”
Limit the Decisions You Make as a Leader
My hardest job as a CEO: Not making decisions. Yes, you read that right. My goal as an executive is to make only one significant decision a year. But isn’t that what a leader is supposed to do? Take the heat, call the shots, and have the final say? That’s the conventional wisdom on leadership. … Continue reading “Limit the Decisions You Make as a Leader”
Innovid Lands $11,000,000 Series C Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4be25623-984c-4b4d-a832-4944c70c153b&Preview=1 Date 3/6/2013 Company Name Innovid Mailing Address 584 Broadway New York, NY 10012 Company Description Our focus is creating a video ad experience that integrates well with the content, both contextually and visually. Website http://www.innovid.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $11,000,000 Transaction Round Series C Proceeds Purposes The funding will … Continue reading “Innovid Lands $11,000,000 Series C Funding”
Vistar Media Garners $1,500,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=efc31153-dc66-4328-b860-60bb387d4ab8&Preview=1 Date 3/6/2013 Company Name Vistar Media Mailing Address 122 W 26th St 4th Floor New York, NY 10001 Company Description Our place-based media ad serving technology provides the industry’s first programmatic platform. Media buyers and place-based networks can now seamlessly transact across guaranteed and non-guaranteed inventory. With the power of real-time … Continue reading “Vistar Media Garners $1,500,000 New Financing Round”
Small Businesses to Tech Providers: Nah, We’re Good
If you’re a technology entrepreneur thinking about trying to crack the small-business market, be prepared for an unenthusiastic reception. That’s a big takeaway from a recent survey of small businesses in the Boston area sponsored by Dell and Intel. After asking 101 local small companies (less than 100 employees), the survey found 91 percent “satisfied … Continue reading “Small Businesses to Tech Providers: Nah, We’re Good”
Hybris Raises $30M from Meritech, Greylock, and Huntsman Gay
Hybris, a German enterprise software provider with its U.S. headquarters in New York, said Tuesday it raised $30 million in a round led by Meritech Capital Partners, with participation from Huntsman Gay Global Capital, which previously invested in the company, and Greylock Israel. Hybris, which also has offices in Boston, has developed a merchandising, data, … Continue reading “Hybris Raises $30M from Meritech, Greylock, and Huntsman Gay”
Presage Snags $13M from Celgene to Pick Winning Cancer Drug Combos
Seattle-based Presage Biosciences has found another big partner that thinks it can help separate the winners from the losers in early cancer drug development, before the really big bucks get wasted on bad experiments. Presage, a spinoff from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is announcing today it has struck a new partnership with Summit, … Continue reading “Presage Snags $13M from Celgene to Pick Winning Cancer Drug Combos”
TripleLift Garners $2,100,000 Seed Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=921bcb50-6f1f-4695-8ed1-19d21333a464&Preview=1 Date 3/5/2013 Company Name TripleLift Mailing Address 122 West 26th St 4th Floor New York, NY 10001 Company Description We are experiencing a massive shift in the way people are consuming content online. Websites are becoming increasingly, if not entirely image driven. We call this the rise of the Visual Web. … Continue reading “TripleLift Garners $2,100,000 Seed Funding Round”
Yodle Secures $5,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1cda2170-fdf1-4723-afd9-315badfaa30a&Preview=1 Date 3/5/2013 Company Name Yodle Mailing Address 50 W 23rd St New York, NY 10010 Company Description As a leading provider of local online advertising services, Yodle helps you get found – offering the expertise and tools you need to reach these prospects, and convert them into customers. Website http://www.yodle.com Transaction … Continue reading “Yodle Secures $5,000,000 New Financing”
roundCorner Garners New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=22b652e8-c02a-4f08-848e-5ec1e49350c5&Preview=1 Date 3/5/2013 Company Name roundCorner Mailing Address 349 5th Avenue 6th Floor New York, NY 10016 Company Description roundCorner is a Salesforce.com solution provider offering products and professional services that help public media stations and nonprofits unlock the value of their greatest asset – a lifetime relationship with their constituents. Website … Continue reading “roundCorner Garners New Funding Round”
Square Founder Jack Dorsey and Union Square’s Fred Wilson Chat at NYU
Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Square and Twitter’s executive chairman, made his way back to New York University for a fireside chat Friday with Fred Wilson, the co-founder of Union Square Ventures. Dorsey, an NYU alum, talked about his early startup days and how his latest endeavor is evolving. “Where we’re going with Square is … Continue reading “Square Founder Jack Dorsey and Union Square’s Fred Wilson Chat at NYU”
Boston Startup School Adds NY, Gets New Name: Startup Institute
The push to remake higher education is picking up steam, and some Boston-based innovators are once again on the front lines. Boston Startup School, an education company that offers two-month skills training classes for people seeking to join early stage companies, says today that it’s expanding to New York with a first Big Apple-based class scheduled … Continue reading “Boston Startup School Adds NY, Gets New Name: Startup Institute”
Someone Needs to Rank U.S. Biotech Hubs, For Real
[Updated: 11:40 am PT] It’s time for a challenge: Will somebody please come out with a deeply researched and credible report that ranks U.S. regional biotech clusters, on the criteria that matter the most? I’m feeling compelled to issue this challenge after going over the latest deeply flawed report on this subject, from real estate … Continue reading “Someone Needs to Rank U.S. Biotech Hubs, For Real”