Category: Seattle

Vision Without Execution is Hallucination

Last week Steve Case wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post called “Give Entrepreneurs Room and They Will Grow the Economy.” For those not familiar with him, Case was the founding CEO of AOL and has been an active healthcare investor, among other things, for the past seven years. My firm, Psilos Group, has co-invested … Continue reading “Vision Without Execution is Hallucination”

Cell Therapeutics Pulls FDA Application, Saying It Isn’t Ready For Panel

Cell Therapeutics suffered an embarrassing defeat the last time it appeared in front of an FDA advisory panel and today the company made a move that will enable it to avoid another public shellacking, at least for a while. The Seattle-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CTIC]]) said today it has withdrawn its application to start selling … Continue reading “Cell Therapeutics Pulls FDA Application, Saying It Isn’t Ready For Panel”

Never Back Smug: A Lesson for Life Sciences From Newt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich comes across on TV as someone who radiates smugness. It’s that sense that he’s not just confident in his own abilities, but extremely satisfied with his talents and his utter superiority over mere mortals like you and me. I’m no political pundit, nor a psychologist, so I’ll let others analyze whether Newt is … Continue reading “Never Back Smug: A Lesson for Life Sciences From Newt Gingrich”

ChoozOn Obtains $1,273,279 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e0b3c592-d213-4766-9495-9385fd1a8975&Preview=1 Date 1/30/2012 Company Name ChoozOn Mailing Address 10900 NE 4th Street Bellevue , WA 98004 Company Description The world is full of great deals that you don’t have enough time to chase down. ChoozOn helps you filter out the noise and spot the best opportunities for you. So you save time, … Continue reading “ChoozOn Obtains $1,273,279 New Financing”

Tableau’s 10th Year: CEO Christian Chabot Remembers the Lean Years

Earlier this week, Seattle’s Tableau Software announced a big jump in annual sales and major hiring plans—something that’s becoming almost routine for those watching the Stanford-bred data-analysis software company’s growth. Now entering its tenth year, Tableau recently opened a London office and has started to expand into the Asia-Pacific region. By the end of the … Continue reading “Tableau’s 10th Year: CEO Christian Chabot Remembers the Lean Years”

Apple Textbook Controversy Isn’t About Books-It’s About Teaching

I don’t think there’s ever been a textbook that made it this easy to be a good student. —Roger Rosner, vice president of productivity applications, Apple Whenever a company as powerful as Apple, Facebook, or Google announces a big new product push, it evokes wonder and acclaim from some observers, head-scratching and horror from others, … Continue reading “Apple Textbook Controversy Isn’t About Books-It’s About Teaching”

The Other 99 Percent: Entrepreneurs

In my recent piece Reengineering Capitalism I highlighted a phenomenon that the global entrepreneurship ecosystem is paying very little attention to: Over 99 percent of entrepreneurs who seek funding get rejected. Yet, the entire world is focused on the 1 percent that is “fundable.” The media, when pitched a startup story, is interested in who … Continue reading “The Other 99 Percent: Entrepreneurs”

2012 Venture Outlook: Some Bright Spots and Some Gloom

It’s that outlook time of year, and Mark Heesen, president of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), was in San Diego earlier this week, talking about the 2012 outlook for venture capital. Today he’ll make a similar presentation to the New Jersey Technology Council. Next week,  John Taylor, the NVCA’s director of research is set … Continue reading “2012 Venture Outlook: Some Bright Spots and Some Gloom”

Assholicism: Do CEOs Need to Be Jerks to Be Successful?

It’s a question as old as human nature. You’ve heard the stories, you know all the famous examples. Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, Michael Eisner, the list goes on. All difficult characters with strong personalities—and hugely successful companies. So, in today’s ultra-competitive tech and business world, does a CEO have to be an asshole to be … Continue reading “Assholicism: Do CEOs Need to Be Jerks to Be Successful?”

OncoGenex Stays in Prostate Cancer Fray, After J&J, Medivation

Prostate cancer was once a backwater for innovation, but suddenly it’s become one of the most competitive battlegrounds in all of biotech. And one of the darkhorses in this race, Bothell, WA and Vancouver, BC-based OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, is getting ready to show next week whether it has another contender in the pipeline. OncoGenex (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OGXI]]) … Continue reading “OncoGenex Stays in Prostate Cancer Fray, After J&J, Medivation”

Cozi Group Garners $3,000,000 Series C Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2185de1a-0fc0-4c06-8b12-3e2cbc65bc41&Preview=1 Date 1/27/2012 Company Name Cozi Group Mailing Address 506 Second Avenue Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description Cozi delivers a new type of service called family-ready software services. These are created specifically with family dynamics in mind, with an emphasis on making life easier, less stressful and more fun for busy families. … Continue reading “Cozi Group Garners $3,000,000 Series C Financing Round”

Long-Awaited Remake of RealNetworks is Under Way-Again

About a year ago, RealNetworks said the elimination of about 10 percent of its workforce officially marked the end of a difficult restructuring period, one that saw nearly 400 layoffs since 2009 and left the digital-media pioneer more focused, efficient, and ready for the future. Turns out that was just a prelude. On Thursday, the … Continue reading “Long-Awaited Remake of RealNetworks is Under Way-Again”

Xconomist of the Week: Mark Lowenstein on Mobile’s Next Waves

Mark Lowenstein has made some pretty bold statements about what’s going to happen in the wireless industry this year. More mergers and acquisitions among mobile operators. Same goes for the handset makers. Mobile payments won’t take off just yet. And enterprises may have jumped the gun on tablets. Lowenstein, a Verizon Wireless veteran and now … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Mark Lowenstein on Mobile’s Next Waves”

Google Search Plus Your World: An Offer You Can’t Refuse

I’ve been taking in Google’s recent release of “Search, plus your world” (or SPYW as the cool kids say) over the last several days, reflecting on what it means for Wetpaint and other media companies; but perhaps even more importantly, deeply understanding what it indicates about Facebook and Google themselves. As we all know by … Continue reading “Google Search Plus Your World: An Offer You Can’t Refuse”

Theraclone, VLST Founders Form New Antibody Startup, V-Gene

Two of the scientific founders of a couple of Seattle’s best-funded biotech startups have come together in a new company that aims to create a valuable antibody drug candidates while burning through the least amount of venture capital possible. The new Seattle-based company, called V-Gene, is being started by combining a couple of technologies developed … Continue reading “Theraclone, VLST Founders Form New Antibody Startup, V-Gene”

Amazon Looking to “Rapidly Grow” Digital Music Team

Now that it’s got a very Apple-like system in place—tablet computer paired with digital media—Amazon.com appears to be cranking up the volume on its online music service as well. The San Francisco office of Amazon’s a2z research and development subsidiary is chock full of job ads for people to work on the Amazon MP3 store … Continue reading “Amazon Looking to “Rapidly Grow” Digital Music Team”

Finsphere Secures $11,300,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=816adc1b-e9fc-467a-b371-06047ed0f281&Preview=1 Date 1/25/2012 Company Name Finsphere Mailing Address 505 106th Ave NE Bellevue, WA 98004 Company Description Finsphere is a well-funded, high tech, venture-backed start up founded in 2007 based in Bellevue, Washington and is currently operating in stealth mode. Its purpose is to solve a multi-billion dollar, global problem with an … Continue reading “Finsphere Secures $11,300,000 New Funding Round”

“Vulture” Capital? Far From It

They say the first casualty of war is the truth. Based upon recent events in the U.S. presidential elections, it looks like the truth is a casualty in politics as well. Whether out of desperation, ignorance, or political convenience, current and former contenders for the Republican presidential nomination have been questioning the long-term economic value … Continue reading ““Vulture” Capital? Far From It”

Amazon Boosting Game Teams in Seattle, CA with Social & Mobile Focus

Amazon.com’s cloud-computing services already power some of the biggest names in online gaming. Its new Kindle Fire tablet and app store are giving game publishers a critical new sales channel. And now, the e-commerce pioneer appears to be getting more serious about publishing its own games. Over the last few months, Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) has … Continue reading “Amazon Boosting Game Teams in Seattle, CA with Social & Mobile Focus”

Symform Adds $2M for Peer-to-Peer Data Storage

Symform, a business IT startup that employs users as storage nodes on a distributed data network, has raised $2 million from WestRiver Capital. The company says that rounds out its Series A fundraising at $7.5 million. Symform was founded in 2007 by ex-Microsofties Praerit Garg and Bassam Tabbara. Symform’s previous investors are Kirkland’s OVP Venture … Continue reading “Symform Adds $2M for Peer-to-Peer Data Storage”

Booyami Obtains $250,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=20002715-776a-469e-85ef-d806a1fff6b6&Preview=1 Date 1/24/2012 Company Name Booyami Mailing Address 6530 Preston Fall City Rd SE Fall City, WA 98024 Company Description Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, we’re passionate about streamlining the relationship between banks and their clients. We’ve experienced both the banking side and the small business side of borrowing base certificates. There is … Continue reading “Booyami Obtains $250,000 New Financing”

Novo Nordisk Adds Diabetes Research to Seattle Immunology Team

Novo Nordisk, the world’s largest maker of diabetes treatments, is increasing its bet on Seattle’s biomedical research community. Denmark-based Novo said today it is establishing a new center with 20 scientists in Seattle who will conduct research into type 1 diabetes. This new group will be housed in South Lake Union alongside Novo’s team of … Continue reading “Novo Nordisk Adds Diabetes Research to Seattle Immunology Team”

Tableau Software to Add 300 to Staff After Near-Double Sales Growth

Tableau Software, the Seattle-based data visualization company that started as a Stanford University spinoff, says it plans to hire some 300 employees this year after ending 2011 with nearly double revenue growth. The company, which views itself as “a future IPO prospect,” says its hiring plans include an expansion of its San Francisco Bay Area … Continue reading “Tableau Software to Add 300 to Staff After Near-Double Sales Growth”

Biotech Is Raising More Cash, But Don’t Be Fooled: Startups are Hurting

Mark Twain used to toss around a saying about three kinds of lies. There are lies, damned lies, and statistics. This week in biotech, we saw some statistics that could lead some people to get a false impression that everything is just peachy in biotechland. If you measure the state of life science innovation by … Continue reading “Biotech Is Raising More Cash, But Don’t Be Fooled: Startups are Hurting”

Symform Secures $500,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9a5836d8-a09c-47b4-afe6-04c153cc13eb&Preview=1 Date 1/23/2012 Company Name Symform Mailing Address 999 N. Northlake Way Seattle, WA 98103 Company Description Symform is a privately-held company based in Seattle. We are developing cost effective solutions to large scale distributed data management problems. Symform is dedicated to the belief that technology products built on cooperative, decentralized principles … Continue reading “Symform Secures $500,000 New Funding”

Light Sciences Oncology Receives $1,255,674 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9b60b392-65d3-4e32-86ed-1487d52a1900&Preview=1 Date 1/23/2012 Company Name Light Sciences Oncology Mailing Address 15405 SE 37th Street Bellevue, WA 98006 Company Description Light Sciences Oncology is developing Light Infusion Therapy (Litx), an innovative light-activated treatment for solid tumors. LSO is currently developing Litx for the treatment of patients with cancers such as hepatoma, metastatic colorectal … Continue reading “Light Sciences Oncology Receives $1,255,674 New Financing Round”

Finsphere Adds $7.3M, Vodafone Ventures Board Member

Bellevue, WA-based Finsphere has added $7.3 million in fundraising and a board member from Vodafone Ventures, according to a new SEC filing. The new money, which appears to include the sale and exercise of some options, adds to a total of $3.95 million that Finsphere raised in related equity financings last year. Finsphere, founded in … Continue reading “Finsphere Adds $7.3M, Vodafone Ventures Board Member”

Tweet Chat Today with John Seely Brown on Education and the Future

There is hardly a more important topic to society than the future education. So I’m really looking forward to hosting a Tweetchat later today on education and the future. My guest will be John Seely Brown (@jseelybrown), the technology visionary who previously served as chief scientist of Xerox and also director of Xerox PARC, the … Continue reading “Tweet Chat Today with John Seely Brown on Education and the Future”

The 10 Social News Apps You Need to Try

Once upon a time, there was a magical innovation called RSS, for Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication. It freed news articles, podcasts, and other content from their original homes on the Web and allowed news junkies to follow their favorite publications and blogs through story streams called news feeds, which could be bundled … Continue reading “The 10 Social News Apps You Need to Try”

Clarus Ventures Adjusts to Unpredictable Biotech World

[[Correction: 11:20 am ET]] It’s never been easy to make a buck in biotech venture capital, but there used to be more predictability and logic to it, according to Clarus Ventures’ Nick Galakatos. You’d invest a few million, or tens of millions, and push a new drug or device toward some scientific validation in a … Continue reading “Clarus Ventures Adjusts to Unpredictable Biotech World”

MoneyTree Report: Seattle Venture Dollars Hit 7-Year Low Last Year

The amount of venture financing poured into Seattle-area companies didn’t keep pace with strong growth nationally last year—in fact, it was quite the opposite. That’s according to the latest MoneyTree Report, from the National Venture Capital Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers, which shows venture investment in Seattle region dropping to $508 million in 2011. That’s the lowest figure … Continue reading “MoneyTree Report: Seattle Venture Dollars Hit 7-Year Low Last Year”

Finsphere Garners $9,579,333 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d133a790-a99e-4c4e-8136-f65b2106fa74&Preview=1 Date 1/20/2012 Company Name Finsphere Mailing Address 505 106th Ave NE Bellevue, WA 98004 Company Description Finsphere is a well-funded, high tech, venture-backed start up founded in 2007 based in Bellevue, Washington and is currently operating in stealth mode. Its purpose is to solve a multi-billion dollar, global problem with an … Continue reading “Finsphere Garners $9,579,333 New Funding Round”

Microsoft, Vulcan, RealNetworks Back Gay Marriage in WA

Microsoft is joining several other notable corporate names throwing their support behind full marriage rights for gay couples in Washington state, a move that could give a final push to gay-marriage efforts at that state Capitol this year. The companies—including RealNetworks, Concur, and Paul Allen’s Vulcan—announced their support for a possible state gay-marriage law on … Continue reading “Microsoft, Vulcan, RealNetworks Back Gay Marriage in WA”

Reinventing Biotech’s Business Model

Biotech companies used to think about how to build enduring companies with soup-to-nuts operations that had everything under one corporate flag, from research to development to manufacturing to marketing. Those models increasingly look like relics. Investors have grown weary of the long timelines, big bucks, and high risk that comes with building such organizations. Stung … Continue reading “Reinventing Biotech’s Business Model”

Twitter Acquires Vancouver’s Summify

Pulling signal out of the noise is getting much more important. And the folks at Twitter are getting some help sorting through the flood of daily updates by buying Summify, a Vancouver, B.C.-based startup that counts RealNetworks founder Rob Glaser among its investors. Summify analyzes a user’s media feeds, including social media and news syndication, … Continue reading “Twitter Acquires Vancouver’s Summify”

Xconomist of the Week Chris Rizik: Who Says A VC Has No Soul?

Chris Rizik is one of Michigan’s most important and successful venture capitalists. He’s the CEO and fund manager of Renaissance Venture Capital, a fund of funds that is perhaps best known for its early backing of the medical device company HandyLab, a University of Michigan spinout that was later purchased by New Jersey’s Becton Dickinson … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week Chris Rizik: Who Says A VC Has No Soul?”

We’re No. 5! Seattle Outperforms in PayScale’s Wage Index

Hey Seattle, are you feeling above average? You should, at least in the paycheck department, according to the latest report tracking American wages from Seattle-based PayScale. The greater Seattle area came in as the fifth-best city for wage growth in 2011, one notch ahead of the San Francisco area. Yep, that’s right—we beat the Valley at something. … Continue reading “We’re No. 5! Seattle Outperforms in PayScale’s Wage Index”

Join Kevin Starr, Corey Goodman, Carl Weissman & More in Seattle April 3

Biotech companies once dreamed of building soup-to-nuts operations that put everything under one corporate flag. You’d have research, development, marketing, manufacturing all together in one big team of bright people taking big risks. Think first-generation companies like Amgen, Genentech, Genzyme. The days of starting companies like that are mostly in the past, thanks in part … Continue reading “Join Kevin Starr, Corey Goodman, Carl Weissman & More in Seattle April 3”

Frazier Healthcare Aims for First Biotech VC Fund After Financial Crisis

Alan Frazier has been on record for a long time saying that the traditional biotech venture model is broken, and in severe need of updating. He’s been working on a new strategy for the past seven years or so, but the approach is facing its biggest test ever as Frazier prepares to raise his first … Continue reading “Frazier Healthcare Aims for First Biotech VC Fund After Financial Crisis”

Cadence Biomedical Lands $1,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=55674740-a850-4740-894f-ae88d4bb2c46&Preview=1 Date 1/19/2012 Company Name Cadence Biomedical Mailing Address 146 N. Canal St Seattle, WA 98103 Company Description Cadence Biomedical, headquartered in Seattle, WA, is an early stage medical device company that is committed to helping the 2.3 million Americans who suffer severe mobility impairments to gain a more mobile and independent … Continue reading “Cadence Biomedical Lands $1,000,000 New Financing Round”

SOPA-PIPA Protests Blossom Across the Country

It’s not just Wikipedia that’s throwing its weight today behind the movement to stop the controversial anti-piracy bills moving through the U.S. Congress. While the English version of the world’s most-visited encyclopedia site has gone dark for the day to call attention to the perceived dangers of the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect … Continue reading “SOPA-PIPA Protests Blossom Across the Country”

Amazon Web Services Adds DynamoDB for Database Scaling

Amazon Web Services is unveiling a new service that it says will allow developers to adopt fast-scaling databases to handle the explosive growth that can squeeze digital companies. It’s called DynamoDB, and is designed to give customers a simple interface that will allow them to quickly dial up or down the performance they need from … Continue reading “Amazon Web Services Adds DynamoDB for Database Scaling”

Cadence Biomedical Snags First $1M to Help Disabled People Walk

One of the co-founders of HealthTech Capital, Don Ross, offered Brian Glaister a blunt assessment last summer when the young entrepreneur came pitching a new device to help disabled people walk. Ross responded that his wife, Donna Jang, is a stroke survivor who struggles to walk more than a couple minutes at a time. She … Continue reading “Cadence Biomedical Snags First $1M to Help Disabled People Walk”

Inside Double Down: How a $500M Deal Started With a $1M Investment

In the spring of 2010, at a small startup in Seattle, some online gaming veterans were ready to send their latest creation into the world. It was a blackjack game for Facebook, fully legal because players couldn’t cash out their virtual chips. With much better production values and an ability to play with other users, … Continue reading “Inside Double Down: How a $500M Deal Started With a $1M Investment”

What Should Students Study? Read the Xconomist Report on Education

Yesterday Bob told you about a special report we put together by canvassing the Xconomists—some of the world’s leading innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors—for their thoughts on what students should study to be prepared for the future. Well, the report is now live, here, with 22 thought-provoking responses. Computing, the scientific method, culture, Chinese, and how to start … Continue reading “What Should Students Study? Read the Xconomist Report on Education”

The World is Your Campus: Study with Rigor, Be Entrepreneurial

Two trends are driving the current job market: globalization, where everybody is becoming part of the economy, and innovation, which increases productivity and allows fewer people to do the same jobs. These two trends will not slow down during the next few decades. How should students train in college to build careers under these conditions? … Continue reading “The World is Your Campus: Study with Rigor, Be Entrepreneurial”

Critical Thinking and the Scientific Process First—Humanities Later

If luck favors the prepared mind, as Louis Pasteur is credited with saying, we’re in danger of becoming a very unlucky nation. Little of the material taught in schools today is relevant to the future. Consider all the science and economics that has been updated, the shifting theories of psychology, the programming languages, political theories, … Continue reading “Critical Thinking and the Scientific Process First—Humanities Later”