Golden Seeds, Now 260 Angels Strong, Looks to Amp Up Investor Education

Before getting involved with the women’s angel investing group Golden Seeds, former Wall Streeter Peggy Wallace was “fascinated by the question of where was the female Warren Buffet, of why we don’t read about famous women investors.” She connected with Golden Seeds founder Stephanie Newby (who’s now at an interim CEO job at Boston-based Crimson … Continue reading “Golden Seeds, Now 260 Angels Strong, Looks to Amp Up Investor Education”

Reinventing Biotech’s Biz Model for NY: Issues for Our Oct. 4 Event

We are getting really excited for our annual fall biotech event in New York, which this year has the theme of Reinventing Biotech’s Business Model for the Big Apple. It takes place this Thursday from 6:00-8:30 pm at the Apella event space at the Alexandria Center for Life Science. We have a stellar lineup for … Continue reading “Reinventing Biotech’s Biz Model for NY: Issues for Our Oct. 4 Event”

Betting on Biotech to Catalyze U.S. Job Growth? Don’t Count On It

The big national conversation this election year is about jobs. The number of unemployed, underemployed, and discouraged workers in the U.S. has been scary-high for a few years now. Everyone wants to know in the wake of the Great Recession how to create more jobs, more high-wage jobs, and train more Americans to get those … Continue reading “Betting on Biotech to Catalyze U.S. Job Growth? Don’t Count On It”

Shake Garners $1,100,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e99eedb3-8c37-43d2-8422-c477363d88aa&Preview=1 Date 9/30/2012 Company Name Shake Mailing Address Undisclosed New York, NY 10010 Company Description Shake, formerly AgreeApp Inc., is a young startup that offers an online legal service. Website http://www.invite.shakelaw.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,100,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor … Continue reading “Shake Garners $1,100,000 New Funding Round”

Kollabora Receives $2,370,210 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=48c06ddc-4533-4c53-8008-60c69efbedd8&Preview=1 Date 9/29/2012 Company Name Kollabora Mailing Address 136 West 21st Street 7th Floor New York, NY 10011 Company Description Kollabora is a social platform for DIYers, consisting of a craft supply marketplace and multiple maker communities linking to projects, supplies, and how-tos. Kollabora soft-launched sewing, knitting, and jewelry making communities with … Continue reading “Kollabora Receives $2,370,210 New Round”

Coffee Meets Bagel Obtains $600,000 Seed Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7e323587-acc8-4b11-ade4-3e88c5d87773&Preview=1 Date 9/28/2012 Company Name Coffee Meets Bagel Mailing Address Undisclosed New York, NY 10022 Company Description Coffee Meets Bagel (CMB) is here to make introductions among quality singles seeking meaningful relationships. Website http://www.coffeemeetsbagel.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $600,000 Transaction Round Seed Proceeds Purposes With its seed capital, the company … Continue reading “Coffee Meets Bagel Obtains $600,000 Seed Financing”

Kinsella Redux: Charting a Way Back for Life Sciences Startups

As a man of many talents, Avalon Ventures’ Kevin Kinsella has a tendency to apply a term from one of his fields of interests in a conversation about another. Kinsella’s career as a biotech venture investor has spanned nearly 30 years and more than 100 financings. These include early stage bets on San Francisco-based Onyx … Continue reading “Kinsella Redux: Charting a Way Back for Life Sciences Startups”

Mimecast Reels In $62M Expansion Round for E-mail Management

Some big news in the corporate e-mail world today. Mimecast, a London-based e-mail management company with a sizable office in Waltham, MA, has raised a $62 million Series C financing round led by Insight Venture Partners, a New York private-equity firm. Previous investor Dawn Capital also participated in the round, which brings Mimecast’s total raised to … Continue reading “Mimecast Reels In $62M Expansion Round for E-mail Management”

Accedo Acquires CloverLeaf, Makes Good on Promise to Expand into NY

Accedo Broadband, a Stockholm-based developer of technology for smart televisions and IPTVs, says it has fulfilled its plans to establish a New York branch. Wednesday morning the company announced it acquired Brooklyn’s CloverLeaf Digital for undisclosed terms. The deal gives Accedo an immediate New York presence, and CloverLeaf, according to its founder Lawrence Brickman, gains … Continue reading “Accedo Acquires CloverLeaf, Makes Good on Promise to Expand into NY”

Mobile Madness NY: Ehrenberg, Porteous, & More at Our Forum Dec. 4

Five years after the first iPhones hit the streets, there’s hardly a business that hasn’t been touched by the mobile computing revolution. Think of it this way: Apple’s smartphone business generated more revenue in the past year than all of Microsoft. And Toys ‘R’ Us is now selling a tablet for kids. To help you … Continue reading “Mobile Madness NY: Ehrenberg, Porteous, & More at Our Forum Dec. 4”

Zipments Secures New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ae13f707-5135-4049-87d9-8d2a0395deb4&Preview=1 Date 9/26/2012 Company Name Zipments Mailing Address East 32nd Street New York, NY 10016 Company Description Zipments is a community-based logistics platform providing businesses and individuals with the fastest, most affordable same day delivery service available. Website http://www.zipments.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds … Continue reading “Zipments Secures New Financing Round”

Genesis Media Garners $3,000,000 Series A Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3b683968-f03a-4ec0-a4a4-e436b2a10834&Preview=1 Date 9/26/2012 Company Name Genesis Media Mailing Address 242 West 30th Street 8th Floor New York, NY 10001 Company Description Genesis Media is the total video partner for any brand looking to connect with a highly engaged audience at scale. Our database of millions of users and partnerships with premium publishers … Continue reading “Genesis Media Garners $3,000,000 Series A Financing”

Streamworks and Others Say Live Video on Mobile Devices Is Changing News

Everyone knows video is a huge driver of Web traffic, but thus far the bulk of that content has been prerecorded, even on news sites. Now change is underway, according to a gathering of media professionals in New York who spoke Tuesday morning about the spread of live video to more mobile devices around the … Continue reading “Streamworks and Others Say Live Video on Mobile Devices Is Changing News”

Genomes-R-Us: Is BGI now Complete?

The sad endgame in the acquisition of Complete Genomics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GNOM]]) came last week: having failed to create a sustainable business, CGI was put up for sale in June of this year, culminating in a takeover by sequencing powerhouse BGI for $117.6 million in cash plus $30 million in bridge financing. Behind that headline is … Continue reading “Genomes-R-Us: Is BGI now Complete?”

Dataminr Receives $13,000,000 Series B Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f3b2497d-5ee9-413a-b6a6-097c59bb1cb3&Preview=1 Date 9/25/2012 Company Name Dataminr Mailing Address 99 Madison Avenue 3rd Floor New York, NY 10016 Company Description Dataminr’s analytics engine transforms social media streams into actionable signals, providing clients in the financial and government sectors with one of the earliest warning systems for market-relevant information, noteworthy events, and emerging trends. … Continue reading “Dataminr Receives $13,000,000 Series B Financing Round”

New Cash for New York Big Data Companies Dataminr and eXelate

A pair of New York big data companies separately announced funding news this morning. Dataminr, a three-year-old real-time social media analytics company, said it raised $13 million in a Series B round with GSV Capital, Deep Fork Capital, Viceroy Capital, Wharton Equity Partners, and others. Founded in 2009, Dataminr uses its access to Twitter’s firehose … Continue reading “New Cash for New York Big Data Companies Dataminr and eXelate”

Who Should Life Science Pros Follow on Twitter?

[Updated: 6:45 pm ET] Last week, I made a case that Twitter has begun to come of age in biotech, and it’s now a must-read source of real-time industry news and information. But one helpful reader (on Twitter, of course) pointed out something was missing in that column: a list of people in the biotech … Continue reading “Who Should Life Science Pros Follow on Twitter?”

OfferPop Secures $3,161,300 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=df828c96-861a-4934-b9e6-80519c834014&Preview=1 Date 9/24/2012 Company Name OfferPop Mailing Address 25 West 36th Street 11th Floor New York, NY 10018 Company Description Offerpop automatically generates branded landing pages/tabs for your campaigns. Pages/tabs encourage user participation with simple social gestures. Promote pages/tabs through any channel – including your website, email or ads. Website http://www.offerpop.com Transaction … Continue reading “OfferPop Secures $3,161,300 New Financing”

eXelate Obtains $12,000,000 Series C Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=857e7111-541d-42dd-b69c-a697b560b1b9&Preview=1 Date 9/24/2012 Company Name eXelate Mailing Address 7 W. 22nd St. Ninth Floor New York, NY 10010 Company Description eXelate was created to address the deficiency in targeted data, which we believe delays the progress of web-based advertising as a whole. Unlike the other major targeting-related players, eXelate believes in sharing … Continue reading “eXelate Obtains $12,000,000 Series C Funding Round”

Why Too Many Startups Suck

While statistics are weak on startup success rates, the worst one I’ve seen suggests that 2 in 1000 venture backed startups will ever achieve $100-million or more in valuation. Another stat puts that number at 2 percent rather than 0.2 percent. Either way, the “hurdle” for successful, scalable startups is high, and it gets higher … Continue reading “Why Too Many Startups Suck”

WellnessFX Offers Insights—But Are Americans Ready to Be Healthy?

“It says here you drink four or more cups of coffee a day. Do you feel like you really need that much?” Yes. Yes, I do, thank you very much. I’m on the phone with a doctor in Sacramento. He’s looking at the results of the blood-chemistry tests I recently commissioned through WellnessFX, along with … Continue reading “WellnessFX Offers Insights—But Are Americans Ready to Be Healthy?”

Roche Picks New Big Apple Tower as Home for Research Center

The Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche announced yesterday that that it will locate its new Translational Clinical Research Center in the West Tower at the Alexandria Center for Life Science in Manhattan. Roche has taken an 11-year lease on the space, which is currently under construction, and hopes to occupy it by the end of 2013. … Continue reading “Roche Picks New Big Apple Tower as Home for Research Center”

From Yoga to Political Funding: ERA Summer Startups Demo Their Ideas

It is getting rather hectic these days in New York trying to keep track of each batch of startups getting a boost from an accelerator. TechStars New York naturally attracts plenty of attention but the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA) program is busy making its own noise in town. The latest round of fledglings to emerge … Continue reading “From Yoga to Political Funding: ERA Summer Startups Demo Their Ideas”

Grishin Robotics Puts $250K into Y Combinator-Grad Double Robotics

Investment fund Grishin Robotics in New York announced Friday it invested $250,000 in Double Robotics, a Mountain View, CA-based maker of mobile, robotic stands for Apple iPads. This is Grishin’s first investment after being founded in June by Mail.ru’s CEO Dmitry Grishin, who plans to back new innovations in robotics across the U.S. Double Robotics, … Continue reading “Grishin Robotics Puts $250K into Y Combinator-Grad Double Robotics”

Joor Lands $3,250,000 Series A Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5baaa4e3-dfd4-4cec-bc83-a73ec4958b25&Preview=1 Date 9/21/2012 Company Name Joor Mailing Address 298 Fifth Avenue 3rd Floor New York, NY 10001 Company Description JOOR is the premier online wholesale platform where top brands and retailers do business online. At JOOR, we’re passionate about building smart technology to keep wholesale vibrant. We’ve gathered industry experience in fashion … Continue reading “Joor Lands $3,250,000 Series A Funding”

e2e Materials Secures $2,000,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c666689a-37b2-454a-a381-dc959bb3c605&Preview=1 Date 9/21/2012 Company Name e2e Materials Mailing Address 239 Cherry Street Ithaca, NY 14850 Company Description e2e Materials is a clean technology company in Ithaca, New York that produces petroleum-free, biodegradable composites that are stronger, lighter and cheaper than composites filling landfills today. Our composite material platform can be tuned to … Continue reading “e2e Materials Secures $2,000,000 New Funding”

Xconomy Forum: Mobile Madness New York

Every business is now in the mobile business. Don’t believe it? Just check out the tablets and e-readers available from companies like Toys ‘R’ Us, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon–not to mention Google, Samsung, Microsoft, and Apple. Take a look at how Starbucks and Square are teaming up on mobile payment technology. See the flood … Continue reading “Xconomy Forum: Mobile Madness New York”

Pixable Picked Up By SingTel for $26.5M

The New York-based startup Pixable, a provider of social photo sharing technology, is being acquired by Singapore Telecommunications for $26.5 million. Pixable has raised about $6.6 million from investors that include Menlo Ventures and Highland Capital Partners, and its most recent fundraise was a $3.6 million Series B round in April 2011. Pixable was founded … Continue reading “Pixable Picked Up By SingTel for $26.5M”

Almost Time for Face Time with Sam Waksal, Kevin Kinsella, and More

Calendar double-take of the day: there are only two weeks left until our big New York biotech event—and your big chance to hang out with the likes of Sam Waksal and Kevin Kinsella. Waksal, of ImClone fame, and Kinsella, founder of Avalon Ventures, will join Cancer Research Institute CEO Jill O’Donnell-Tormey and Enumeral Biomedical CEO … Continue reading “Almost Time for Face Time with Sam Waksal, Kevin Kinsella, and More”

Corporate Venture Activity Rebounds After Slump in Deals and Dollars

Corporate venture capital investments started strong and stayed high during the second quarter, with $2.1 billion invested in innovative startups throughout the United States during the three months that ended in June, according to a survey released today. That’s a 16 percent gain over the $1.8 billion that corporate VCs invested during the same quarter … Continue reading “Corporate Venture Activity Rebounds After Slump in Deals and Dollars”

RGM Group Secures $21,000,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=896ada4e-d666-49c9-8402-4694b1a0564b&Preview=1 Date 9/20/2012 Company Name RGM Group Mailing Address 845 3rd Ave 6th Floor New York, NY 10022 Company Description The RGM Group is an interactive media firm providing unique solutions for premium brands.The company is comprised of three divisions offering partners with: site specific publisher options, an alliance of premium publishers, … Continue reading “RGM Group Secures $21,000,000 New Funding”

Mobli Secures $22,000,000 Series B Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=cc85437f-8a75-4e73-a391-b382fed2dd87&Preview=1 Date 9/20/2012 Company Name Mobli Mailing Address 45 Broadway New York, NY 10006 Company Description Mobli is a real-time visual media platform made up of subject-based channels such as people, places and topics. Mobli enables users to see the world through other people’s eyes! Website http://www.mobli.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction … Continue reading “Mobli Secures $22,000,000 Series B Funding”

Singapore Telecommunications Acquires Pixable for $26,500,000

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0f694156-8c87-44a8-8cd2-fdd19648710c&Preview=1 Date 9/20/2012 Company Name Pixable Mailing Address 137 Varick Street New York, NY 10013 Company Description The company operates a website and service that allows users to print their Facebook and other social networking website content. Website http://www.Pixable.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount $26,500,000 Transaction Round Proceeds Purposes M&A Terms Additional … Continue reading “Singapore Telecommunications Acquires Pixable for $26,500,000”

Paul Arena Out, Robert Hussey In as CEO of Augme Technologies

With the end of summer comes a change in leadership at Augme Technologies (OTCBB: [[ticker:AUGT]]) in New York. The company announced that Robert F. Hussey, who served as its interim chief operating officer from June until the beginning of September, was appointed interim CEO, replacing Paul Arena. Augme is the parent company of Hipcricket, a … Continue reading “Paul Arena Out, Robert Hussey In as CEO of Augme Technologies”

Philip Kiracofe and Others Talk About Healthy Failure at Ignite NYC

There’s no shortage of ways that a startup can fail. Money runs out, a rival wins over the customer base, or the company just does not deliver on its expectations. But while failure may wound pride, it also creates room for new ideas to flourish in the innovation scene. Philip Kiracofe, entrepreneur, investor, and co-founder … Continue reading “Philip Kiracofe and Others Talk About Healthy Failure at Ignite NYC”

Ensuring TPP Doesn’t Derail Innovation

From e-commerce and the iPad to new medical devices and cutting edge manufacturing breakthroughs, American innovation has been on hyper drive over the last decade and has dynamically altered the ways in which we work and live in today’s modern economy. Yet, now there are questions as to whether the United States will continue to … Continue reading “Ensuring TPP Doesn’t Derail Innovation”

NYC Innovation News Spans Music, Biotech, & Media

It seems that New York innovators in every slice of the city’s tech scene have been making news this week, so we’ve rounded up some of the top items we’ve come across. —Seth Goldstein, founder of real-time music service Turntable.fm, has launched a new startup called DJZ to serve as an online hub for news … Continue reading “NYC Innovation News Spans Music, Biotech, & Media”

SumZero Lands $1,000,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=61345e8c-b584-4915-9d21-be55e9253c50&Preview=1 Date 9/18/2012 Company Name SumZero Mailing Address 10 East 29th St New York, NY 10016 Company Description SumZero is the world’s largest community of hedge fund, mutual fund, and private equity professionals. Website http://www.sumzero.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. … Continue reading “SumZero Lands $1,000,000 New Financing”

Kapitall Appoints Jarrett Lilien, Former E-Trade COO, as Its New CEO

Sometimes using a simple layout to explain a complex task such as investing can make it easier to comprehend. Kapitall in New York developed an online investing platform that uses a game-like interface to help its users better understand the stock trading world. Now the three-year-old company is eager to scale up and expand its … Continue reading “Kapitall Appoints Jarrett Lilien, Former E-Trade COO, as Its New CEO”

Block Avenue Takes Big Data Approach to Neighborhood Ratings

In theory, Tony Longo is one of the last people who should be making bad decisions about which block to live on. He founded an online brokerage firm called CondoDomain (recently acquired by Better Homes Realty), and street location was the final factor when he decided where to live in New York City. But when … Continue reading “Block Avenue Takes Big Data Approach to Neighborhood Ratings”

Biotech Begins to Come of Age on Twitter

Two years ago, most everybody in biotech had heard of Twitter but most people were looking for reasons to ignore it. A year ago, people in the industry began realizing that even though they’re busy, it’s not a fad, and maybe they should see what the fuss was about. Now we’re just beginning to see … Continue reading “Biotech Begins to Come of Age on Twitter”

10gen Lands New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=154af7af-a218-4878-a8f1-437d076189b8&Preview=1 Date 9/17/2012 Company Name 10gen Mailing Address 134 5th Ave Third Floor New York, NY 10011 Company Description 10gen develops MongoDB, and offers production support, training, and consulting for the open source database. Website http://www.10gen.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Through this strategic partnership, … Continue reading “10gen Lands New Funding”

Oracle Acquires SelectMinds for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=85052b2d-bb27-4f53-ae27-366ceea0de46&Preview=1 Date 9/17/2012 Company Name SelectMinds Mailing Address 149 Fifth Avenue 6th Floor New York, NY 10010 Company Description SelectMinds pioneered corporate alumni programs over 7 years ago and continues to push the boundaries of technology in this industry to provide corporate social networking solutions that help our clients and their current … Continue reading “Oracle Acquires SelectMinds for Undisclosed Sum”

Sulia Garners $1,186,353 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=eafe9737-f2ef-49e1-a19a-cfd84bf0dee3&Preview=1 Date 9/15/2012 Company Name Sulia Mailing Address 10 West 18th Street 3rd Floor New York, NY 10011 Company Description Sulia, which is dedicated to finding and sorting the most relevant Twitter users into related groups, so you can follow them. Website http://www.sulia.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,186,353 Transaction Round … Continue reading “Sulia Garners $1,186,353 New Financing Round”

Why Journalists Shouldn’t Try to Think Like Investors

There are way more Bay Area tech companies than I can possibly cover, so I have to say no to a lot of story pitches. When I do that, I sometimes trot out the investor analogy. It goes like this: “I’m sort of like an angel or venture investor. Except I’m investing my time rather … Continue reading “Why Journalists Shouldn’t Try to Think Like Investors”

Flashpoint Brings More Atlanta Startups to NY for a Demo Day

Making a return to New York, the Flashpoint accelerator program at the Georgia Institute of Technology will show off 14 startups this afternoon at a demo day hosted at the offices of Union Square Ventures. Back in January, Flashpoint made its first appearance in Manhattan with a demo day that introduced these Atlanta-based startups not … Continue reading “Flashpoint Brings More Atlanta Startups to NY for a Demo Day”

Xconomist of the Week: Sean MacLeod Says Stop Trying to Be SF

One of the most popular parlor games in Seattle, and every other city that isn’t in the center of the technology universe, starts with people asking themselves this: How can we become more like the San Francisco Bay Area? Sean MacLeod, president of Seattle’s Stratos Product Development and one of our Xconomists, says he’s heard … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Sean MacLeod Says Stop Trying to Be SF”

OwnEnergy Lands New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d47a0236-9267-49e9-bc04-13f637c0734c&Preview=1 Date 9/13/2012 Company Name OwnEnergy Mailing Address 45 Main Street Brooklyn, NY 11201 Company Description OwnEnergy partners with landowners to develop renewable energy projects, with an initial focus on 10 – 80 MW wind energy projects. Our partners take an active role in the development and installation process in return they … Continue reading “OwnEnergy Lands New Financing”

Flybridge Capital Expands New York Office, Keeps Boston Roots

After investing in New York startups such as social targeting technology company 33Across, database software developer 10gen, and social media management system developer tracx, Boston’s Flybridge Capital Partners quietly set up an office on Broadway in February, led by general partner David Aronoff. On Monday Flybridge said it sent Matt Witheiler, a principal with the … Continue reading “Flybridge Capital Expands New York Office, Keeps Boston Roots”

Handybook Hopes to Simplify Booking for Household Services in Boston & NYC

Most entrepreneurs don’t cite laziness as the inspiration for their business. But Oisin Hanrahan, founder of Handybook.com, says he and co-founder/roommate Umang Dua hated doing things like cleaning up their apartment or putting together Ikea furniture, and really hated the existing means for finding people to do those tasks. (Those means include Google search, Craigslist, … Continue reading “Handybook Hopes to Simplify Booking for Household Services in Boston & NYC”