Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1748b194-1699-4fc5-b678-601c74ef7329 Date 10/17/2013 Company Name Conversio Health Mailing Address 2445 Technology Forest The Woodlands, TX 77380 Company Description Drawing on over 25 years of experience, Conversio Health offers a unique and comprehensive approach to patient care. Our innovative program is proactive, aimed at the prevention of emergency room visits and unnecessary hospitalizations … Continue reading “Conversio Health Secures New Funding Round”
Category: Texas
JOBS Act Fallout: Do New Rules Mean Don’t Talk Money on Demo Day?
What started off as the usual demo day for the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator in New York quickly showed how the JOBS Act’s new rules on fundraising have clamped down the way startups pitch—or have they? Over and over, the audience at last month’s ERA demo day was told the companies on stage were not seeking funding, … Continue reading “JOBS Act Fallout: Do New Rules Mean Don’t Talk Money on Demo Day?”
Researcher Probes Science to Building a “Bio-Artificial” Heart
Most of our organs contain enough stem cells to repair and regenerate themselves after injuries. But not the heart, that most central of muscles. And finding a way to compensate for that fact has become a life’s mission for Doris Taylor, a new arrival at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston. Taylor is a pioneer … Continue reading “Researcher Probes Science to Building a “Bio-Artificial” Heart”
The $100M Club: Where the Major League Life Sciences Companies Are
[Updated: 1:15 pm PT 11/10/13] People love to rank U.S. biotech clusters. Most of these reports are full of data on venture financing, patents, jobs, and NIH funding. But many are riddled with flawed and biased methodology, and are usually designed to push a political agenda. These rankings, which many people take at face value, … Continue reading “The $100M Club: Where the Major League Life Sciences Companies Are”
Glycos Biotechnologies Lands $375,250 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b8ee2e03-1427-4d6e-a7a5-c7a31bd0f500 Date 10/14/2013 Company Name Glycos Biotechnologies Mailing Address 711 Leverkuhn Houston, TX 77007 Company Description GlycosBio is transforming the fuels and chemicals industries with biological systems that can flexibly manufacture high value products from a wide range of feedstocks. Website http://www.glycosbio.com Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount $375,250 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds … Continue reading “Glycos Biotechnologies Lands $375,250 New Funding Round”
Chevron To Invest $90 Million in Fund to Support Energy Startups
Chevron Technology Ventures has rolled out a new $90 million venture capital fund to invest in new technologies in the oil and gas business. The fund, which is its fifth and is called CTV Fund V, will fund early to mid-stage startups innovating in ways that would improve Chevron’s business performance or create new opportunities … Continue reading “Chevron To Invest $90 Million in Fund to Support Energy Startups”
Here’s How Yummly, the Foodie’s Google, Could Conquer the Kitchen
If you wanted to build a central information hub for the kitchen—connecting consumers with recipe ideas, ingredient lists, shopping assistance, and cooking instructions—you’d probably break the problem down into a few steps. First you’d build the world’s most powerful recipe search engine. Then you’d add filters to help people discover dishes they like, and avoid … Continue reading “Here’s How Yummly, the Foodie’s Google, Could Conquer the Kitchen”
Venture Goes Mobile as 3rd Quarter Deal Activity Hits 12-Year High
Venture deal activity hit a 12-year high during the third quarter, and big VC investments in Uber, Kymeta, and Flipboard helped push venture funding for U.S. mobile startups over $1 billion for the first time, according to a report today from CB Insights. The New York financial data firm says the 857 venture deals nationwide … Continue reading “Venture Goes Mobile as 3rd Quarter Deal Activity Hits 12-Year High”
LDR Holding Receives $75,000,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6d73dc70-7c7b-4ccf-8293-f98d114e7311 Date 10/10/2013 Company Name LDR Holding Mailing Address 13785 Research Boulevard Austin, TX 78750 Company Description LDR Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: LDRH) is a privately held company that makes non-fusion and fusion spinal implants. Website http://www.ldrholding.com Transaction Type IPO Transaction Amount $75,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Undisclosed M&A Terms
Startups Thrive on Competition, Not Non-Competes
It’s time to stop pretending that people are DVDs. It’s time to get rid of employee non-competes. A DVD is a simple piece of plastic that only has value because someone (often a company) filled it with useful information, like a movie or a computer program. A blank DVD isn’t very valuable, but a DVD … Continue reading “Startups Thrive on Competition, Not Non-Competes”
Steve Blank’s UCSF Class Tests “Evidence-Based Entrepreneurship”
Conventional wisdom says the techniques that help today’s technology startups get to market fast—or, just as likely, fail fast, freeing the founders to start over—don’t work in the life sciences. Rapid product iteration based on agile software development methods; continuous business-model adjustments using customer feedback; cloud outsourcing to increase capital efficiency—all these strategies are seen … Continue reading “Steve Blank’s UCSF Class Tests “Evidence-Based Entrepreneurship””
Nuventix Obtains $2,599,883 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=67e26711-83dd-41dc-824d-a967c29516a0 Date 10/9/2013 Company Name Nuventix Mailing Address 1909 W. Braker Ln. Austin, TX 78758 Company Description Nuventix was founded by Professor Ari Glezer and researchers, Dr. Sam Heffington and Dr. Raghav Mahalingam, at the Georgia Institute of Technology with the simple goal of removing more heat with less air. The result … Continue reading “Nuventix Obtains $2,599,883 New Funding”
SolarWinds Breezes into Colorado, Acquires Confio Software for $103M
Add Confio Software, a Boulder-based developer of database performance management software, to the list of Colorado tech companies making substantial exits this year. SolarWinds (NYSE: [[ticker:SWI]]), an Austin, TX-based company that develops IT management software, bought Confio for $103 million in a cash deal that closed Monday. SolarWinds president and CEO Kevin Thompson said during … Continue reading “SolarWinds Breezes into Colorado, Acquires Confio Software for $103M”
Science: The Missing Ingredient in the GMO Food Labeling Debate
Residents of Washington State are currently being buried in an avalanche of ads regarding a citizen’s initiative that would require the labeling of genetically engineered foods sold in grocery stores. Estimates for the percentage of items that contain genetically engineered ingredients in a grocery store range from 60 percent to 70 percent (most of those … Continue reading “Science: The Missing Ingredient in the GMO Food Labeling Debate”
Shelfbucks Receives $500,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=78424d93-f85f-4970-9312-184837dea143 Date 10/8/2013 Company Name Shelfbucks Mailing Address 200 Academy Dr. Austin, TX 78704 Company Description Shelfbucks aims to level the playing field between physical and online retail. We will revolutionize the brand to consumer channel through mobile. Website http://www.bricktrends.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $500,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “Shelfbucks Receives $500,000 New Funding Round”
Molecular Templates Garners $8,500,000 Series C Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1bf94590-c278-44c0-8d68-e296a3fe509e Date 10/8/2013 Company Name Molecular Templates Mailing Address 111 W. Cooperative Way Georgetown, TX 78626 Company Description Molecular Templates Inc. is creating an entirely new generation of potent anti-cancer agents based on proprietary applied proteomics technologies.The novel therapeutic agents in development by MTI are aimed particularly at melanoma, prostate and other … Continue reading “Molecular Templates Garners $8,500,000 Series C Funding”
Wearable Comms from Filip Technologies to Get U.S. Entry With AT&T
[Updated 10/7/13 2:13 pm. See below.] Thanks to an agreement announced today with AT&T in Dallas, Filip Technologies got a little closer to bringing its wearable communicators for kids to the U.S. The smartwatch-like devices have yet to be released, but are designed to be personal locators and phones that parents can use to keep … Continue reading “Wearable Comms from Filip Technologies to Get U.S. Entry With AT&T”
How We Overturned the Retroactive Tax on Startup Founders
The call came at 1:15 pm this past Friday, as I was driving home from a client meeting. “Mr. Overstreet?” questioned the voice on the other end of the line. “I’m calling from Governor Brown’s office. We wanted you to be the first to know that the Governor signed your bill into law.” And just … Continue reading “How We Overturned the Retroactive Tax on Startup Founders”
Harvard’s Verdine Blazing Trail for Scientific Entrepreneurs
If you’re a tenured biomedical researcher at a university today, and you have a big idea for what could be a new drug or diagnostic test, you can do a couple things. Hand it off to someone else at a startup, keep your day job, dabble as an advisor for a couple hours a week … Continue reading “Harvard’s Verdine Blazing Trail for Scientific Entrepreneurs”
Houston Startup Hopes to Create Tech Cluster, Rebuild Neighborhood
When Gaurav Khandelwal opened the doors to Start Houston last year, its neighbors included a carpet outlet warehouse, food-distribution companies, and an industrial tool supplier. The gritty environs of warehouses and out-of-service railroad tracks in the optimistically named “EaDo” neighborhood—presumably hipper than “East of Downtown”—are not the sort you usually associate with a hotbed of … Continue reading “Houston Startup Hopes to Create Tech Cluster, Rebuild Neighborhood”
Four Reasons to Encourage Employees to Take Smart Risks
The economic downturn and subsequent market volatility have made risk into a four-letter word. Employees, in particular, are growing increasingly risk-averse, afraid of layoffs and the prospect of extended unemployment. Many of them opt to be cautious rather than brave, to stick to the status quo, and to keep their heads down, rather than challenge … Continue reading “Four Reasons to Encourage Employees to Take Smart Risks”
The Winds of the Future: 5 Ways San Francisco Stays Innovative
In 1920, the San Francisco Bulletin, which was then one of the city’s major newspapers, published a poem by George Sterling, a figure in the city’s Bohemian arts circles. It read in part: The winds of the Future wait At the iron walls of her Gate, And the western ocean breaks in thunder, And the … Continue reading “The Winds of the Future: 5 Ways San Francisco Stays Innovative”
TabbedOut Receives $7,750,000 Series B Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f413d55d-af41-4569-8ba9-03365c11c04e Date 10/4/2013 Company Name TabbedOut Mailing Address 804 Congress St. Austin, TX 78701 Company Description The company provides a mobile application that allows users to purchase food and drinks at restaurants and bars. Website http://www.tabbedout.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $7,750,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes Tabbedout will use … Continue reading “TabbedOut Receives $7,750,000 Series B Funding”
Join Xconomy for Profiles in Biotech Perseverance in SF Dec. 9
Drugs don’t just roll out of anybody’s lab by next Tuesday, and then keep popping out on some exponential curve. The biotech industry depends on investors who are willing to speculate on hot ideas in science, and wait years to see a payoff that may never come. That notion, which has been with the industry … Continue reading “Join Xconomy for Profiles in Biotech Perseverance in SF Dec. 9”
Capital Factory Founder Sets up Syndicate to Fund E-mail Startups
Ambiguities around the new regulations for crowdfunding and general solicitation for startups aren’t preventing Joshua Baer, founder of the Capital Factory in Austin, from starting his own syndicate on AngelList, the top website for young companies seeking early investment. “This fits right between angels and VC firms,” he says. “We’re living in a time of … Continue reading “Capital Factory Founder Sets up Syndicate to Fund E-mail Startups”
The Human Genome Project Wasn’t Overhyped. The Payoff Just Took Time
[This post was co-authored by Sean Harper, Amgen’s executive vice president of R&D.] People in the tech industry often like to say that we overestimate the short-term impact of new technology and underestimate the longer-term value. The human genome project is a superb example of this truism. Overpromise was indeed rampant during the interval around … Continue reading “The Human Genome Project Wasn’t Overhyped. The Payoff Just Took Time”
Traxo Secures $4,200,000 Series A Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=82bfbad4-629c-4877-83e3-115ed087dab9 Date 10/3/2013 Company Name Traxo Mailing Address 5600 W Lovers Lane Dallas, TX 75209 Company Description Traxo serves as a travel home base, offering travelers a single location for managing travel. Trips are seamlessly brought into a user’s Traxo account, wherever they are booked, adding efficiency that frees the traveler from … Continue reading “Traxo Secures $4,200,000 Series A Financing”
Haul Brings In Mark Cuban’s “Shark Tank” Startups as First Customers
A Dallas Internet startup has signed on one of Texas’s most high-profile entrepreneurs as one of its clients. Haul, a sort of talent management agency that connects shopping haulers—typically young women who model clothes or demonstrate products in homemade YouTube videos—with advertisers and retailers in an online marketplace, is working with the Mark Cuban Companies, … Continue reading “Haul Brings In Mark Cuban’s “Shark Tank” Startups as First Customers”
Seeing Beyond the IPO Window Dressing
In his Life Sci VC blog, Bruce Booth recently wrote “Biotech is back with a vengeance in this IPO window.” It’s an accurate snapshot of the market, but the good times he describes accrue to money and sweat equity already long in the ground. In a business with a 10- to 15-year product development cycle, … Continue reading “Seeing Beyond the IPO Window Dressing”
The Memo That Spawned Microsoft Research—Analysis and Download
Microsoft Research, the central research arm of that tech giant of the northwest, was founded in September 1991. This is the prehistory. With the recent stepping down of Rick Rashid—the head of the organization since its inception, who took a new job at Microsoft in July—I have decided to post the memo that gave birth … Continue reading “The Memo That Spawned Microsoft Research—Analysis and Download”
The Memo That Spawned Microsoft Research—and Its Lessons for Today
How many great corporate organizations were created with the words, “Once upon a time?” Not many, I’ll wager. Yet that is exactly how Microsoft Research, one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious corporate research institutions, came to life back in 1991. “Once upon a time,” former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold wrote to Bill Gates … Continue reading “The Memo That Spawned Microsoft Research—and Its Lessons for Today”
The End of Personal Computers
Lately, we’ve been hearing a lot about the idea that we are witnessing “the end of personal computers,” the “post-PC era,” or, as Microsoft would have it, the “PC-plus era.” The difference in terminology is telling, revealing the intense commercial competition and staggering financial stakes that underlie this transition. For those who have been in … Continue reading “The End of Personal Computers”
A Wild September for Wireless: Putting it in Context
A wild and wacky wireless September it was. In one of the most frenzied months in the history of nearly any tech sector, we saw the following developments dominate the headlines: Verizon bought out Vodafone’s stake in Verizon Wireless for $130 billion. In a week, this financing went from “can they do it” to being … Continue reading “A Wild September for Wireless: Putting it in Context”
Texas Cleantech Startup Acquires Chicago Rival, Boosts Energy Marketplace
Choose Energy, a suburban Dallas online energy marketplace, has acquired a Midwest competitor. The cleantech startup, which is based in Plano, TX, announced Monday that it had purchased Power2Switch, another online energy marketplace based in Chicago that had recently expanded its operations into New Jersey, Texas, Ohio, and New York. “We will now be able … Continue reading “Texas Cleantech Startup Acquires Chicago Rival, Boosts Energy Marketplace”
The Pharma Bureaucracy Index: Who’s Nimble, and Who’s Sloooowww?
Bureaucracy is one of the dirty words in business. Nobody wants to publicly admit their company is bogged down with too many layers of management, or needs a dozen committees to sign off on every little decision. For a couple years now, I’ve been hearing entrepreneurs complain about suffocating bureaucracy in pharma. So I started … Continue reading “The Pharma Bureaucracy Index: Who’s Nimble, and Who’s Sloooowww?”
NetSocket Lands $3,000,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5b70f724-50af-41a7-ac08-c4a349931dc7 Date 9/30/2013 Company Name NetSocket Mailing Address 3701 W. Plano Pkwy. Plano, TX 75075 Company Description NetSocket has created the world’s first real-time IP service assurance solution: the patented, award-winning, and innovative Session2Topology correlation engine. Website http://www.netsocket.com Transaction Type Debt, Venture Equity Transaction Amount $3,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds … Continue reading “NetSocket Lands $3,000,000 New Funding”
NetSocket Obtains $3,000,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5b70f724-50af-41a7-ac08-c4a349931dc7 Date 9/30/2013 Company Name NetSocket Mailing Address 3701 W. Plano Pkwy. Plano, TX 75075 Company Description NetSocket has created the world’s first real-time IP service assurance solution: the patented, award-winning, and innovative Session2Topology correlation engine. Website http://www.netsocket.com Transaction Type Debt, Venture Equity Transaction Amount $3,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds … Continue reading “NetSocket Obtains $3,000,000 New Financing Round”
Reimagining Work: Scott Berkun’s Year Without Pants at Automattic
From my desk at Xconomy San Francisco—aka my Potrero Hill apartment—I can look out the window at Highway 280, watch the traffic that crawls into the city every morning and back out every evening, and chuckle smugly. There’s never any traffic congestion on the commute from my bed to my coffee machine to my laptop. … Continue reading “Reimagining Work: Scott Berkun’s Year Without Pants at Automattic”
fisoc Receives $11,435,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7fc3037d-826a-4f90-a440-4dd31b6ef6cc Date 9/27/2013 Company Name fisoc Mailing Address 3815 S. Capital of Texas Highway Austin, TX 78704 Company Description fisoc was founded by industry experts with experience in banking and social media. fisoc’s mission is to make solutions for financial institutions. The team has developed banking solutions used by over a thousand … Continue reading “fisoc Receives $11,435,000 New Funding”
Technology Entrepreneurship Boot Camp at UTSA
The CITE Technology Entrepreneurship Boot Camp is sponsored by the University of Texas at San Antonio and features a keynote by Pat Condon and Dirk Elmendorf, co-founders of Rackspace.
Boulder Startup Founder Seeks to Build Stronger Ecosystem in Dallas
Michael Sitarzewski wants to bring a little bit of Denver to Dallas. After seven years in the Mile High City, the founder and CEO of Epic Playground recently returned to Dallas, where he has become the entrepreneur-in-residence at the Dallas Entrepreneur Center. “In Denver, a lot of my time outside of my company was spent … Continue reading “Boulder Startup Founder Seeks to Build Stronger Ecosystem in Dallas”
Agenda Live for Xconomy Healthcare Summit Oct. 15–Get Your Invite
Quick question: What is so important to Americans that the U.S. Congress is willing to shut the government down over it? The answer (as if you didn’t know already): healthcare. Here at Xconomy, we have long been tired of the political spin doctoring that surrounds healthcare. So we set out to convene a very exclusive, … Continue reading “Agenda Live for Xconomy Healthcare Summit Oct. 15–Get Your Invite”
Biotech CEOs Don’t Know It All. They Need Mentors
Biotech CEOs are human beings too. But somehow they are often portrayed, particularly by themselves, as herculean beings that can independently solve it all. Time for brutal honesty: every CEO relies heavily on others’ guidance regarding how the company collective can be successful. Much of this input is appropriately provided by the rest of the … Continue reading “Biotech CEOs Don’t Know It All. They Need Mentors”
Xtreme Power Receives $300,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e59d062d-1b72-489d-88fd-d2bff656b300 Date 9/26/2013 Company Name Xtreme Power Mailing Address 1120 Goforth Road Kyle, TX 78640 Company Description Xtreme Power is a Power Systems company with sophisticated technology to deliver efficient solutions. Xtreme Power Solutions is a manufacturer of power systems from the small sized, (2kW) generator replacement, through large scale Megawatt load … Continue reading “Xtreme Power Receives $300,000 New Round”
Applied Optoelectronics Lands $3,600,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b073eb22-fc33-48f1-970d-4c582a189dd3 Date 9/26/2013 Company Name Applied Optoelectronics Mailing Address 13115 Jess Pirtle Blvd Sugar Land, TX 77478 Company Description Founded in February 1997, Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAOI) designs, develops, and manufactures advanced optical semiconductor devices, packaged optical components, optical subsystems, laser transmitters, and fiber optic transceivers. Website http://www.ao-inc.com Transaction Type IPO … Continue reading “Applied Optoelectronics Lands $3,600,000 New Funding”
Foundation’s IPO Isn’t Bubbly, It’s a Jolt for Genomic Diagnostics
Foundation Medicine, the Cambridge, MA-based cancer diagnostic company, reminded me of the 2000 genomics bubble when it went public this week. The company sold its IPO shares at $18, and the stock (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FMI]]) almost doubled in its first day of trading, closing at $35.35, a 96 percent increase off an already bumped-up IPO price. … Continue reading “Foundation’s IPO Isn’t Bubbly, It’s a Jolt for Genomic Diagnostics”
Austin Travel Startup Digitizes Holiday Rentals For a Hotel Alternative
For TurnKey Vacation Rentals, there’s no place like your home. The Austin startup offers second-home and vacation home management services for property owners looking for short-term tenants. “That’s a big ticket in travel,” says T.J. Clark, TurnKey’s co-founder and CEO. “We think it’s the largest travel ticket there is.” Clark estimates the vacation rental market … Continue reading “Austin Travel Startup Digitizes Holiday Rentals For a Hotel Alternative”
Balancing Act: How a Working Mom Built Steals.com
Working mothers are constantly struggling to strike a balance between spending time with their kids and making the most of their professional skills or supporting their families financially. Jana Francis, co-founder of Steals.com, has achieved this balance, and for her, the most rewarding part is that her employees are able to strike a balance as … Continue reading “Balancing Act: How a Working Mom Built Steals.com”
VIPorbit Software International Lands $1,000,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=adaf6e47-d021-4679-a998-8c086f34ebad Date 9/25/2013 Company Name VIPorbit Software International Mailing Address 1740 B Rufe Snow Drive Kelle, TX 76248 Company Description VIPorbit Software International, Inc., specializes in contact management apps that help business professionals build sustainable relationships that lead to greater success. VIPorbit is led by co-founder and CEO Mike Muhney, a recognized … Continue reading “VIPorbit Software International Lands $1,000,000 New Round”
VIPorbit Offers Apple Users Apps to Manage Their Digital Lives
A suburban Fort Worth, TX, startup has raised $1 million in angel funding in order to promote its Apple-based contact management software. VIPorbit Software is a series of apps that can be downloaded onto the Apple iPhone, iPad, and desktops, as well as laptops and MacBooks to manage contacts, calendars, and tasks across all social … Continue reading “VIPorbit Offers Apple Users Apps to Manage Their Digital Lives”