Category: Wisconsin

Innovation Outlook for 2015: Tackling Big Data Variety

In 2015, look for the innovation community to be talking about Big Data Variety: the problem, how to fix it, how to make money off of it. Companies have invested roughly $3-4 trillion on enterprise software over the last 20 years, with Gartner forecasting $320 billion in 2014 alone. A lot of that investment has … Continue reading “Innovation Outlook for 2015: Tackling Big Data Variety”

Madworks Accelerator Out to Prove Value of Grants to Startups

The Madworks seed accelerator in Madison, WI, one of several grant-based startup accelerators launched in the state last year, is starting to show some early, but small, success. Now its leaders intend to continue building momentum and fine-tuning the program as it begins its third session next month. Last summer, Madworks used a $90,000 grant … Continue reading “Madworks Accelerator Out to Prove Value of Grants to Startups”

Innovation Hub: Who Needs Talent?

How many articles have been written about the innate business acumen of Steve Jobs, the brilliant coding abilities of Mark Zuckerberg, the extraordinary gifts of Yo Yo Ma? And what if they were all wrong? Geoff Colvin has combed through the research, and he argues that, again and again, scholars have almost completely discounted the … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Who Needs Talent?”

Two Generations of Geneticists, Two “Precision Medicine” Wish Lists

In late 2012, President Obama awarded Leroy “Lee” Hood the National Medal of Science for a lifetime of achievements, including the invention of machines that made the historic Human Genome Project possible. So when Obama announced yesterday a “precision medicine initiative”—something that would surely require ever-deeper knowledge about the personal genetic differences that influence health … Continue reading “Two Generations of Geneticists, Two “Precision Medicine” Wish Lists”

Wisconsin Roundup: Murfie, Kegonsa, Ward 5, Silicon Pastures, & More

Here are a few of the latest headlines in Wisconsin’s innovation and technology community: —Madison-based Murfie has raised $876,073 in a funding round that could total $1.25 million when it closes, according to a new SEC document. The money comes from angel investment groups, CEO Matt Younkle said. Murfie is an online marketplace for CD … Continue reading “Wisconsin Roundup: Murfie, Kegonsa, Ward 5, Silicon Pastures, & More”

Crowdfunding is Banging on Biotech’s Door. Will We Let It In?

In the summer of 2013, the medical device startup Scanadu made headlines around the world when Scout, its handheld medical diagnostic tool for consumers, raked in an astounding $1.6 million on the popular crowdfunding platform Indiegogo. That’s all well and good for a medical device, but most biotech veterans remain skeptical that crowdfunding can make … Continue reading “Crowdfunding is Banging on Biotech’s Door. Will We Let It In?”

In the Jiu-Jitsu Match of Biotech Risk, a Reminder of Other Paths

Risk makes for great headlines. I’m guilty as charged. My first column for Xconomy questioned whether biotech venture capitalists were losing relevance, running away from risk in an inherently risky business. Heading full steam into the new year, there will be plenty of headlines and stories from us and our peers about the brave and … Continue reading “In the Jiu-Jitsu Match of Biotech Risk, a Reminder of Other Paths”

Ventris Learning Aims to Close the Educational Achievement Gap

In the United States, a third of all fourth graders score below the basic level in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests, a standardized test that assesses students in their knowledge of a variety of subjects, including reading, writing, math, history, and civics. Scoring particularly low were students in socioeconomically challenged urban school … Continue reading “Ventris Learning Aims to Close the Educational Achievement Gap”

Nonprofit Investor BrightStar Herds Startup Deals, Seeks More Donors

Some dealmakers weren’t sure what to expect from BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation when the nonprofit, which invests donations into Badger State startups, came onto the scene in late 2013. Turns out, the organization has proven itself not only as a valuable, albeit small, source of capital, but also as a shrewd negotiator that has pushed fellow … Continue reading “Nonprofit Investor BrightStar Herds Startup Deals, Seeks More Donors”

J.P. Morgan 2015: Notes, Thoughts, And Conversations From the Vortex

The word “story” gets ill treatment at events like the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. It often means an elevator pitch from a harried CEO to a distracted investor, or a few observations a journalist strings together with a headline, or Twitter snark trying to pass for insight. But we heard a real story on Sunday … Continue reading “J.P. Morgan 2015: Notes, Thoughts, And Conversations From the Vortex”

It Had to be You: Why Roche Was The Lone Suitor For Foundation

The buzz from day one of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco earlier this week was the announcement on Sunday night by Roche that it was acquiring a majority interest in Foundation Medicine (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FMI]]) for a bit more than $1 billion in cash, which translates into $50 a share. Those were just … Continue reading “It Had to be You: Why Roche Was The Lone Suitor For Foundation”

Murfie Lands $876,073 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d43cd326-da3c-4202-b2b6-10580024c23c Date 1/16/2015 Company Name Murfie Mailing Address 7 S. Pinckney St. Madison, WI 53703 USA Company Description Murfie is part marketplace, part community; a throwback to your neighborhood record store with a digital update. Website http://www.murfie.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $876,073 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were … Continue reading “Murfie Lands $876,073 New Financing”

Lucigen Obtains $2,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0bdab311-a320-4e25-93fb-904616cedc55 Date 1/16/2015 Company Name Lucigen Mailing Address 2905 Parmenter Street Middleton, WI 53562 USA Company Description At Lucigen, we deliver solutions to current problems in DNA cloning, sequencing, amplification, and protein expression by providing exceptionally reliable products and services to life science researchers. With a focus on quality and customer service … Continue reading “Lucigen Obtains $2,000,000 New Financing Round”

Forward Health Stays Aggressive in Healthcare Analytics, Snags $5.7M

Michael Barbouche has been helping hospitals and clinics crunch patient data since before many had installed electronic health records systems, and well before “population health management” became a buzz phrase in the industry. In 2004, the statistician was tapped to help build a system to collect and analyze patient data for the Wisconsin Collaborative for … Continue reading “Forward Health Stays Aggressive in Healthcare Analytics, Snags $5.7M”

Lucigen Grabs $2M to Move Rapid Ebola, C. Diff Diagnostics to Market

Lucigen has raised nearly $2 million from angel investors to help fund tests needed to win regulatory approval for its rapid molecular diagnostic technology that will initially target Ebola and Clostridium difficile, or C. diff. Middleton, WI-based Lucigen, founded in 1998 as a supplier of life sciences research products, got into diagnostics several years ago … Continue reading “Lucigen Grabs $2M to Move Rapid Ebola, C. Diff Diagnostics to Market”

Ideas for Diversity, Education, and Computer Science

On December 24 2009, Xconomy published a column in which I reflected on the preceding decade and predicted for the coming one. I still quote that column in talks, because it’s the one time I can remember when I was actually right: I said that this would be the decade in which computer scientists put … Continue reading “Ideas for Diversity, Education, and Computer Science”

Uber-Size Deals Dominate Mega Year in U.S. Venture Activity

Venture capital firms invested more than $47.3 billion in U.S. startups in 2014, marking the highest funding level of VC funding since 2001, according to data being released today by CB Insights, the New York-based venture capital database. The $47.3 billion was 62 percent more than the $29.2 billion that venture firms invested in 2013. … Continue reading “Uber-Size Deals Dominate Mega Year in U.S. Venture Activity”

Wisconsin Roundup: Okanjo, Arrowhead, Cellular Dynamics, & More

Here’s a quick recap of recent announcements from Wisconsin’s startup and innovation community: —Okanjo, a Milwaukee-based e-commerce startup, raised $1.7 million from previous investors, primarily local angels, according to TechCrunch. The company has now snagged $3.2 million total in outside money. —On Monday, shares of Arrowhead Research (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARWR]]) slid as much as 28 percent … Continue reading “Wisconsin Roundup: Okanjo, Arrowhead, Cellular Dynamics, & More”

Ebullient Heats Up With $1M For Computer Cooling Tech

Ebullient has raised nearly $1 million in seed funds meant to jolt commercialization of the Madison, WI-based startup’s liquid cooling technology for computer equipment. The company expects to close the $969,000 round of convertible debt by the end of the month, co-founder and CEO Tim Shedd says. Investors include the management team and wealthy individuals … Continue reading “Ebullient Heats Up With $1M For Computer Cooling Tech”

Houston, Austin, Raleigh, Denver Tops in U.S. for STEM Workers

All metro areas are not created equal. If you’re looking at job markets in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)—a major indicator of economic growth and innovation—the U.S. is a study in contrasts. That’s according to a survey by WalletHub, a financial information site based in Washington, DC. The analysis looked at metrics such as … Continue reading “Houston, Austin, Raleigh, Denver Tops in U.S. for STEM Workers”

Colleges Must Mix Entrepreneurial Skills, Traditional Liberal Arts

The great challenge facing higher education is to prepare students to navigate a world of accelerating uncertainty and faster churn. Training students to re-invent themselves every few years, as is already required in the world today, is an objective that legacy approaches to higher education is not optimized for. I’m convinced, however, that the University … Continue reading “Colleges Must Mix Entrepreneurial Skills, Traditional Liberal Arts”

In Search of a Better Approach to Breast Cancer Screening

As a venture investor in the healthcare sector, I see a lot of new medical technologies that promise improvement over the current standard of care. Opportunities that represent truly transformational change in medicine are rare, and those that address a major clinical challenge affecting tens of millions of lives are rarer still. Breast cancer screening … Continue reading “In Search of a Better Approach to Breast Cancer Screening”

Titan Spine Eyes Bigger Slice of Tricky Spinal Fusion Market

[Corrected 1/13/15, 3:45 p.m. See below.] It’s hard enough for a small company to jostle for position in a crowded, but booming, industry. It can be even tougher when the sector’s growth slows down, and a company isn’t fighting just against competitors—but also to win over critics who are skeptical that anyone in the industry … Continue reading “Titan Spine Eyes Bigger Slice of Tricky Spinal Fusion Market”

Schools Should Nurture Kids’ Natural Knack for Entrepreneurship

I think the most important change we could make in education would be to put more emphasis on exposing kids to entrepreneurship, starting very early on. I’ve found that kids have a natural inclination towards entrepreneurship—we just need to give them the opportunity to learn and practice the skills they need to act on their … Continue reading “Schools Should Nurture Kids’ Natural Knack for Entrepreneurship”

Forward Health Garners $5,700,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ba70cd9f-f1d2-4e5d-9731-1b518e1419e7 Date 1/13/2015 Company Name Forward Health Mailing Address 44 East Mifflin Street Madison, WI 53703 USA Company Description While many are talking about improving health care outcomes, we are actually doing it. We are equipping health care institutions across the country with the necessary tools to impact quality and financial outcomes … Continue reading “Forward Health Garners $5,700,000 New Financing”

Seven Surprises About Convertible Notes That Founders Should Know

Over the past two years, there has been an explosion of the use of convertible notes for seed rounds. It used to be these debt instruments that convert to equity later at a discount to the price of the next round were only for small initial financings of, say, $250,000 for a company to get … Continue reading “Seven Surprises About Convertible Notes That Founders Should Know”

Okanjo Garners $1,700,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8963dc61-1f8c-47d7-888d-6e266ff2e387 Date 1/10/2015 Company Name Okanjo Mailing Address 220 E. Buffalo St. Milwaukee, WI 53202 USA Company Description Our goal is to deliver publishers easy and highly-effective ways to monetize the valuable content they create. At the same time, we provide advertisers with contextual targeting that matches shoppers with a displayed interest. … Continue reading “Okanjo Garners $1,700,000 New Financing”

Milestones of Innovation 1: Hamilton’s 1790 Report on the Public Credit

Today is the 225th anniversary of a milestone in the history of American innovation. On January 9, 1790, the 35-year-old secretary of the Treasury of the United States sent the House of Representatives a 40,000-word blueprint for the new nation’s financial system. The report was produced just four months after Congress commissioned it. Proposing the … Continue reading “Milestones of Innovation 1: Hamilton’s 1790 Report on the Public Credit”

Schuster: Milwaukee Has Good Startup Ideas, Still Lacks Capital

Milwaukee’s economy still relies heavily on legacy manufacturing companies, but there’s a growing recognition of the need to seed new businesses in sectors with prospects for growth. Efforts are afoot to foster more entrepreneurship in sectors like water technology, energy, and software, and to spin more startups out of the area’s universities. And while most … Continue reading “Schuster: Milwaukee Has Good Startup Ideas, Still Lacks Capital”

Wisconsin Roundup: Epic, Exact Sciences, Semba, Wicab, & More

With the holidays behind us, it’s time to catch up on some recent news in the world of Wisconsin technology and innovation: —Madison-based Semba Biosciences raised $511,175 from investors, according to a new SEC document. Investors have put at least $2.4 million into the company since it was founded in 2005, SEC documents show. Semba … Continue reading “Wisconsin Roundup: Epic, Exact Sciences, Semba, Wicab, & More”

Even When Money is Easy, Rules of Biotech Finance Still Apply

Last month Juno Therapeutics closed a $250 million IPO, bringing the total raised since it was founded in Seattle in 2013 to close to $600 million. The money is earmarked to support more than ten clinical trials over the next 12 months. Last year, 133 biotech companies around the world raised $11 billion in initial … Continue reading “Even When Money is Easy, Rules of Biotech Finance Still Apply”

Wellbe Secures $2,400,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=cb513d2a-2ccc-4649-b478-789a59977d38 Date 1/7/2015 Company Name Wellbe Mailing Address 1200 John Q Hammons Drive Madison, WI 53717 USA Company Description Wellbe was founded in 2009 by James Dias, who has built a career in connecting the needs of real people to technologies that can improve their lives. Looking at a fragmented healthcare system … Continue reading “Wellbe Secures $2,400,000 New Financing Round”

Don’t Get Comfortable: 5 Biopharma Flashpoints to Consider in 2015

The annual J.P. Morgan healthcare conference starts this weekend in San Francisco. Pundits are predicting a much higher tally of shoulder injuries than usual. You know, from all the people patting themselves on the back. After a year filled with medical promise and cash raining down from everywhere, the self-congratulation could be thicker than the … Continue reading “Don’t Get Comfortable: 5 Biopharma Flashpoints to Consider in 2015”

Technology Upgrades: Welcome to My Nightmare (Yours Too?)

I was having coffee with a friend recently and the subject of word processing software came up. My friend related how he was happily using WordStar. WordStar? I hadn’t thought about it in years, but it was the first computer program I ever used, way back in 1984. I was surprised to find that not … Continue reading “Technology Upgrades: Welcome to My Nightmare (Yours Too?)”

Semba Biosciences Lands $611,175 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d6d5921e-7d28-4cbd-9792-c014760b23af Date 1/6/2015 Company Name Semba Biosciences Mailing Address 505 South Rosa Road Madison, WI 53719 USA Company Description Semba Biosciences, Inc. is a life science company located in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. Founded in 2005, the company provides innovative instruments, reagents, and methods for high-performance purification of biomolecules and chemicals to the … Continue reading “Semba Biosciences Lands $611,175 New Financing Round”

Managing Rapid Growth: Staying on Top and Ahead of the Success Wave

From the event organizer: “New opportunities—and problems—come with rapid growth. They all require different managerial and leaders. Mary D. Gale is a lecturer at Babson College and board member and investor in several high-growth startups. She is a former startup CEO & strategy consultant.” Click here for more information on Gale’s talk and to register … Continue reading “Managing Rapid Growth: Staying on Top and Ahead of the Success Wave”

Wellbe Snags $2.4M For Software to Guide Patients Through Treatment

Wellbe, a Madison, WI-based provider of software that helps guide patients through medical treatments and surgeries, has raised $2.4 million from investors, the company announced today. Wellbe has now snagged about $4 million from investors since CEO James Dias co-founded the company in 2008. Investors in the latest round include Terrence Gibbons, former Pharmacy OneSource … Continue reading “Wellbe Snags $2.4M For Software to Guide Patients Through Treatment”

Wisconsin Startup Introduces Wallet Designed to Foil E-Pickpockets

Give pickpockets their due. It takes undeniable skill and dexterity to weave through a crowd and steal a wallet with the victim none the wiser—or to use a radio scanner to steal signals transmitted by the radio frequency identification (RFID) chips implanted on passports and an increasing number of “contactless” smart credit cards. But don’t … Continue reading “Wisconsin Startup Introduces Wallet Designed to Foil E-Pickpockets”

Implications of the Oil Price Collapse

Instead of developing a warmed over list of “Top 10 Predictions for 2015,” over the past few months I have been most interested in the implications from the collapse of oil prices around the world. We will see the obvious and direct benefit to the U.S. consumer (November retail sales were up a surprising 0.7 … Continue reading “Implications of the Oil Price Collapse”

How Should the Innovation Community Solve Its Gender and Diversity Problems?

It’s been one of the hottest-button topics of the past year—and it’s not going away anytime soon. The under-representation of women and minorities in technology and innovation jobs is a real issue, particularly at the highest levels of organizations. The question, as I see it, is what to do about it. But not everyone sees … Continue reading “How Should the Innovation Community Solve Its Gender and Diversity Problems?”

So You Want to Be an Early Stage Investor?

I absolutely love what I do—running a seed-stage venture fund (Founders’ Co-op) and startup accelerator (Techstars Seattle)—but neither is a job with a well-defined career path. Unlike later-stage or public market investing, where finance and quantitative analysis is a big part of the job, effective early-stage investing requires a combination of human, strategic, and operational … Continue reading “So You Want to Be an Early Stage Investor?”

Teach More Business in School

Science, medicine and information technology have become intimately entangled with business on all levels. Whether in academic settings or business settings, success in these areas increasingly requires involvement with basic business concepts and principles that aren’t taught in college. Undergraduates in science and engineering disciplines graduate from universities and enter positions in biotechnology and technology … Continue reading “Teach More Business in School”

Dallas Entrepreneur Center Aims to Bridge Tech’s Diversity Divide

The issue of gender and diversity is not a new challenge but one that has recently come to the forefront in a lot of our communities. There seems to be an awareness of the issues and an inherent need to address, but many are still conflicted how to best move forward. I think the best … Continue reading “Dallas Entrepreneur Center Aims to Bridge Tech’s Diversity Divide”

Hepatitis C Commercial Game Theory

Anyone either celebrating or fearing the start of a Hepatitis C drug price war should take a break from the excitement to consider that a far more nuanced and profound game is at hand, one where the rules of tacit collusion (the legal kind) constrain price erosion—and each new entrant with a “good enough” drug … Continue reading “Hepatitis C Commercial Game Theory”

The Small Business Revolution Will Be Measured

In 2015 I predict we will see a rise in the number of small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that collect and analyze data for improving operational efficiencies, reducing risk, and better meeting customer needs. People tend to think of big data and business intelligence as living mostly in the realm of the big enterprise. Large … Continue reading “The Small Business Revolution Will Be Measured”

Improve Education with Great Expectations for All Students

If I could change one thing about our K-12 education system, it would be to end the curse of low expectations in Washington’s public schools. Numerous studies have shown that teacher and principal expectations have a profound effect on school culture and student performance. A student treated as if she or he can accomplish anything … Continue reading “Improve Education with Great Expectations for All Students”