Rather than let the New York innovation community have all the fun, patches of startups are sprouting up across the Hudson River in New Jersey. The Garden State’s innovation scene is more diffuse compared with the concentrated activity in Manhattan and Brooklyn. But New Jersey coworking spaces such as JuiceTank Innovation Lab and Cowerks are … Continue reading “NJ Coworking Spaces Chase Momentum on the Other Side of the Hudson”
Tag: Y Combinator
Bump Brings Flock Photo-Sharing App to Android
David Lieb thinks there’s a big transition under way in the world of consumer information technology, and he wants his company, Bump Technologies, to be there waiting on the other side. The Mountain View startup’s specialty is helping smartphone owners get photos, address book entries, and other digital information off their phones and onto other … Continue reading “Bump Brings Flock Photo-Sharing App to Android”
Leaky Lands $670,000 Seed Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=70dddf0b-ab67-4c47-9d96-c42d5d2d468c&Preview=1 Date 12/6/2012 Company Name Leaky Mailing Address 47 Maiden Lane 3rd Floor San Francisco, CA 94108 Company Description Shopping for insurance can be intimidating and frustrating. That’s why we try to make comparing insurance easy, friendly and fun. We are committed to establishing Leaky as the best way to compare insurance … Continue reading “Leaky Lands $670,000 Seed Round”
Science Exchange Creates a Trading Post for Research Services
Elizabeth Iorns is the daughter of successful computer industry entrepreneurs, but as a New Zealand schoolgirl she swerved from the path taken by her mom and dad. Building on an early fascination with biology, she rocketed through her college years winning awards and scholarships, took a PhD at a prestigious cancer research center in London, … Continue reading “Science Exchange Creates a Trading Post for Research Services”
Broken iPhone? Call iCracked, the Aspiring “AAA of Smartphones”
In the underappreciated 2000 M. Night Shyamalan thriller Unbreakable, Bruce Willis played a security guard with powers of invulnerability and super-strength, and Samuel L. Jackson played his brittle-boned archnemesis, Mr. Glass. Imagine that you were recasting the movie with Apple’s iPhone in a starring role—which part would the device play? After AJ Forsythe’s iPhone had … Continue reading “Broken iPhone? Call iCracked, the Aspiring “AAA of Smartphones””
Y Combinator Alters Investment Package to Avoid “Contested Divorces”
Startups admitted the Winter 2013 class at Y Combinator, the prestigious startup accelerator in Mountain View, CA, will be greeted by a smaller investment package. Under a new program outlined in a blog post today, startups will get $80,000 each from a group of four outside venture investors, in addition to Y Combinator’s investment of … Continue reading “Y Combinator Alters Investment Package to Avoid “Contested Divorces””
Amicus Receives $3,200,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=03c5e7aa-da47-4d63-b5c4-2ca5798e6d56&Preview=1 Date 11/13/2012 Company Name Amicus Mailing Address 902 Broadway Fourth Floor New York, NY 10010 Company Description Amicus empowers cause-driven organizations to leverage the social networks of their supporters, raise more money, attract more members, and win more votes. Website http://www.amicushq.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $3,200,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed … Continue reading “Amicus Receives $3,200,000 New Financing Round”
Privy Gets Global Experience at 500 Startups Accelerator
Plenty of Boston-area tech startups want to learn from West Coast mentors. Few actually go out there and do it. And most that do, don’t come back. Privy is an exception—for now. The Boston startup, which helps restaurants and local businesses manage online marketing and promotions, is taking part in the 500 Startups Accelerator in … Continue reading “Privy Gets Global Experience at 500 Startups Accelerator”
Four New Energy Stars: A Greenstart Demo Day Preview
Shouldn’t there be an easy online place to share a bike, the same way people are sharing their cars and apartments these days? Shouldn’t it be easier and cheaper for homeowners to put solar panels on their rooftops? Shouldn’t it be possible to control your electrical plugs, your fridge, your thermostat, or your home security … Continue reading “Four New Energy Stars: A Greenstart Demo Day Preview”
SmartAsset Receives $1,500,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6af0a75b-e547-4937-acb9-6ab4e788d345&Preview=1 Date 10/30/2012 Company Name SmartAsset Mailing Address 5 Tudor City New York, NY 10017 Company Description Buying a home, planning for retirement or going back to school? Our powerful financial modeling technology will show you the strategy that is right for you, allow you to compare alternatives and walk you through … Continue reading “SmartAsset Receives $1,500,000 New Round”
The Flexibility to Explore: Zuckerberg on Facebook’s Early History
The mob scene outside Stanford’s Memorial Auditorium this Saturday resembled the prelude to a big rock concert, and in some ways, it was. For today’s generation of young tech entrepreneurs, Mark Zuckerberg—the headline speaker, for the third year running, at Y Combinator’s Startup School—is like Mick Jagger, Madonna, and Justin Bieber rolled into one. In his … Continue reading “The Flexibility to Explore: Zuckerberg on Facebook’s Early History”
Clever Garners $3,000,000 Seed Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0dab93ac-4636-4308-945d-3594a27fbf18&Preview=1 Date 10/22/2012 Company Name Clever Mailing Address 59 Hilltop Drive San Carlos, CA 94070 Company Description We believe that data should empower learning, not hold it back. With unique experiences in education and technology, the Clever team understands the data challenges that schools and developers face. Our mission is to make … Continue reading “Clever Garners $3,000,000 Seed Funding”
FundersClub Secures $6,000,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4f02abd7-bea4-43d2-b4d1-cded9c02c3cf&Preview=1 Date 10/19/2012 Company Name FundersClub Mailing Address 465 Forest Ave. Palo Alto, CA 94301 Company Description FundersClub is changing the way the world fundraises and invests. We believe that in this age of efficiency, progress, and democratization, no innovation that has the support of the people should go unpursued. We are … Continue reading “FundersClub Secures $6,000,000 New Funding”
Ginzametrics Helps Huge Sites Get More Search & Social Attention
Ray Grieselhuber, the founder of search optimization startup Ginzametrics, deserves a prize for patience. My first meeting with him was more than two years ago, on September 27, 2010 (I remember that it was a windy but bright afternoon outside Caffe La Stazione in the Dogpatch). I said I’d likely write a story based on … Continue reading “Ginzametrics Helps Huge Sites Get More Search & Social Attention”
Coinbase Obtains $618,700 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7571da24-c7aa-4455-b1d9-240e831dfc50&Preview=1 Date 10/3/2012 Company Name Coinbase Mailing Address Undisclosed San Francisco, CA 94105 Company Description Coinbase is based in San Francisco, CA. We’re committed to making bitcoin easy to use. Website http://www.coinbase.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $618,700 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture … Continue reading “Coinbase Obtains $618,700 New Funding”
Tracks.by Obtains $1,298,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c2cc41d1-2289-41f4-92b3-f6e5ba20f46f&Preview=1 Date 10/3/2012 Company Name Tracks.by Mailing Address Undisclosed San Francisco, CA 94105 Company Description Tracks.by lets artists launch new music and videos. Using the launch campaigns on the Tracks.by platform, artists can turn every music and video release into an opportunity to get likes on Facebook, find fans that love them, … Continue reading “Tracks.by Obtains $1,298,000 New Financing”
MyVR Obtains $1,400,000 Seed Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8c18bcc9-1a83-4f2f-98cf-fe89fccecca4&Preview=1 Date 9/29/2012 Company Name MyVR Mailing Address 150 California St San Francisco, CA 94111 Company Description MyVR is online marketing software that allows vacation rental owners and operators to manage all of their vacation rental marketing in one place. MyVR is the complete marketing solution for your vacation rental home. Website … Continue reading “MyVR Obtains $1,400,000 Seed Financing Round”
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”
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”
Y Combinator Gets an Historian: Inside YC’s Summer 2011 Session
The best way to find out what it’s like inside Y Combinator is to found a startup and get admitted to the program. The second-best way is to read Randall Stross’s new book, The Launch Pad. Y Combinator, of course, is the exclusive school for startups in Mountain View, CA. It’s been described as a … Continue reading “Y Combinator Gets an Historian: Inside YC’s Summer 2011 Session”
YourMechanic Garners $1,800,000 Seed Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=062e3a28-5d3f-48b1-8876-52665095dc75&Preview=1 Date 9/12/2012 Company Name YourMechanic Mailing Address 1135 College Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94306 Company Description Our mechanics come to you! Think of us as the AAA of car mechanics. We help you find the right mechanic, find fair price of the services, book an appointment, pay for services, and get … Continue reading “YourMechanic Garners $1,800,000 Seed Financing Round”
Amid Talk of Bubble, Xconomy Incubator Guide Grows to 121 Listings
After we put out the 2011 Xconomy Guide to Venture Incubators, my colleague Wade wrote a Friday column entitled “There Is an Incubator Bubble—And It Will Pop.” That particular guide listed 64 startup incubator programs, up from 34 in 2010, and 20 in our first guide in 2009. Wade concluded his column with the admonition: … Continue reading “Amid Talk of Bubble, Xconomy Incubator Guide Grows to 121 Listings”
Chartio Gives Tools to a New Generation of Database Jockeys
Even though data is more important than ever—whole businesses are built around collecting it, analyzing it, and repackaging it—you don’t see a lot of CEOs boasting that their companies are “data driven” anymore. That would be like saying that your car is “road based” or that your refrigerator is “cold driven.” It’s so obvious that … Continue reading “Chartio Gives Tools to a New Generation of Database Jockeys”
Workday, Nebula, SV Angel: Bay Area Tech News By the Numbers
It’s been a while since our last roundup of recent Bay Area technology investing news, so let’s catch up a little. From biggest to smallest: $400 million—The amount that Pleasanton, CA-based Workday hopes to raise in an upcoming IPO, according to SEC filings released last week. The company builds cloud-based applications for human resources, payroll, accounting, … Continue reading “Workday, Nebula, SV Angel: Bay Area Tech News By the Numbers”
Hukkster Brings Its Bookmarklets for Finding Discounts to E-commerce
Consumers may shrug these days when e-mails for deals and sales clog their inboxes, seeing as the Web is inundated with such offers. New York startup Hukkster believes it can help shoppers pinpoint the products they really want, with a “bookmarklet” service that alerts its users when prices drop on specific items they want to … Continue reading “Hukkster Brings Its Bookmarklets for Finding Discounts to E-commerce”
Hiptype Lands $192,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=afac2075-d411-4125-a12c-6238438c4bd1&Preview=1 Date 8/24/2012 Company Name Hiptype Mailing Address Undisclosed Mountain View, CA 94043 Company Description Hiptype is a platform for data-driven book publishing Most eBook retailers only share sales, downloads, ratings and reviews with publishers. We’ve designed a plugin that publishers can add to their eBooks to gain valuable insights about how … Continue reading “Hiptype Lands $192,000 New Financing”
Virool Obtains $2,870,301 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ef27ec85-cc73-4e76-9609-e6046d2fd33b&Preview=1 Date 8/24/2012 Company Name Virool Mailing Address 767 Bryant St San Francisco, CA 94107 Company Description Today, there are over 300,000 videos being uploaded on the web every day with 80% of them getting less than 1,000 views. Most companies hoping for their videos to go viral face two challenges: getting … Continue reading “Virool Obtains $2,870,301 New Funding”
The Big Themes at Y Combinator’s Summer 2012 Demo Day
If your startup accelerator rises to a certain level of prominence, you get the opportunity to push a generation of young entrepreneurs in the directions you want simply by virtue of choosing certain startups over others. And because lots of other accelerators, entrepreneurs, and investors take their cues from you, you end up influencing the … Continue reading “The Big Themes at Y Combinator’s Summer 2012 Demo Day”
Point, Shoot, Print: Picplum Aims to Make Photo Printing Effortless
It should be far easier to order prints of the photos you snap with your digital camera or smartphone—that’s a no-brainer. But San Francisco-based Picplum is one of the only companies that’s actually working to make the process simpler. For comparison, here’s how ordering a print works on a competing site, Yahoo’s Flickr. This will … Continue reading “Point, Shoot, Print: Picplum Aims to Make Photo Printing Effortless”
Gantto Helps Managers Chart a Way Around Project Delays
Say you’re making pasta with fresh marinara sauce for dinner. “It’s not uncommon to see a young, new cook spend 10 minutes chopping the vegetables and then 10 minutes cooking the sauce,” say Chris Carlson. “Then they put on the pot of water, and that takes 10 minutes just to boil. And then they add … Continue reading “Gantto Helps Managers Chart a Way Around Project Delays”
WePay Discovers Its Hidden Talent: Social Risk Evaluation
WePay has come a long way from its humble beginnings at Boston College in 2008, where co-founders Bill Clerico and Rich Aberman created it as a way for groups like fraternities or ski-weekend buddies to collect and spend money. The company moved to the Bay Area in 2009, went through the Y Combinator startup program, … Continue reading “WePay Discovers Its Hidden Talent: Social Risk Evaluation”
CarWoo Steps on the Gas Pedal
CarWoo CEO Tommy McClung shared some numbers last week that would make any startup founder proud. The deal-finder site, which we first profiled in October 2010, is on pace to facilitate 50,000 car purchases this year, with an aggregate value of $1.2 billion. That represents 600 percent growth over both figures from one year ago. … Continue reading “CarWoo Steps on the Gas Pedal”
Cloudant, Born from Big Science, Looks to Build Big Database Business
Big science and big technology work hand in hand. Without the World Wide Web, an idea conceived by scientists at CERN (the European Center for Nuclear Research), we wouldn’t have technologies people use every day, like social media, e-commerce, or Internet cat videos. And, as my colleague Wade argued, without the Web, scientists probably wouldn’t … Continue reading “Cloudant, Born from Big Science, Looks to Build Big Database Business”
Is Mobile Photo Sharing Still Broken? Kicksend Thinks So
It’s really, really hard for people immersed in the technology world to remember a day when they weren’t so savvy about gadgets and software and the Interwebs. To you and me, the idea that someone might have trouble e-mailing the vacation photos on their smartphone to a friend or family member seems snicker-worthy. But to … Continue reading “Is Mobile Photo Sharing Still Broken? Kicksend Thinks So”
Data, Analytics, & Finding Your OKM: Mixpanel Goes Beyond Page Views
What’s the true measure of success for a startup? That depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. If you work at Path, the San Francisco-based mobile social network, it’s probably not useful to obsess over how many people have downloaded your iOS or Android apps, or even how often the apps are opened or how … Continue reading “Data, Analytics, & Finding Your OKM: Mixpanel Goes Beyond Page Views”
13 Reasons to Be Optimistic About Healthcare, Courtesy of Rock Health
There are many reasons to fear that the healthcare crisis in this country is going to get worse—a lot worse—before it gets better. More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, with costly knock-on effects from heart disease to diabetes. The overall cost of care seems to be spiraling upward unstoppably. The FDA is … Continue reading “13 Reasons to Be Optimistic About Healthcare, Courtesy of Rock Health”
FlightFox Obtains $800,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3f6c62bb-c217-4920-ab29-7604f524201a&Preview=1 Date 6/5/2012 Company Name FlightFox Mailing Address Undisclosed Mountain View , CA 94041 Company Description Flightfox is a platform for crowd-sourced (or human-powered) flight search. That means our registered flight experts, from all over the world, compete to find you the best flights. Website http://www.flightfox.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount … Continue reading “FlightFox Obtains $800,000 New Funding”
Leftronic Turns Any Startup Office into a Command Center
Walk into a network operations center for an electrical utility or an ISP, or the command center for a space or military agency, and what do you see? Displays. Lots and lots of displays, showing all sorts of data visualizations. The people who design command centers obviously think this data is mission-critical, or they wouldn’t … Continue reading “Leftronic Turns Any Startup Office into a Command Center”
PlanGrid Receives $1,100,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=49680a61-c7cc-4a70-8044-842727c40765&Preview=1 Date 5/30/2012 Company Name PlanGrid Mailing Address 475 E. California Avenue Sunnyvale, CA 94086 Company Description PlanGrid was created to save contractors time and money. Our app is easy to use, easy to setup, and can benefit every project big or small. Sign up for a free account and see why … Continue reading “PlanGrid Receives $1,100,000 New Financing Round”
Medigram Offers a Safe, Legal Alternative to Texting While Doctoring
Three years of medical school and hospital rotations at Stanford was enough to convince Michael Chiu that the methods doctors and nurses use to exchange updates about patients are archaic, inefficient, and sometimes illegal. Most hospitals, he explains, still depend on old-fashioned pagers to send doctors urgent alerts and other messages. But these systems can … Continue reading “Medigram Offers a Safe, Legal Alternative to Texting While Doctoring”
Twitter’s Former CTO Talks About Joining CornellNYC Tech
Greg Pass is bringing more technology “street cred” to the team that is establishing the applied science and engineering campus on Roosevelt Island in New York. The former chief technology officer of Twitter on Wednesday was named the founding entrepreneurial officer for CornellNYC Tech, a $2 billion school to be built in the city. The … Continue reading “Twitter’s Former CTO Talks About Joining CornellNYC Tech”
Can Facebook’s New Millionaires Save the World?
From everyone to whom much is given, much shall be required. Regular readers know that I’m not in the habit of quoting scripture. But this line found in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke has a bit of new relevance this morning, as Facebook’s initial public offering—valuing the company at $106 billion at the … Continue reading “Can Facebook’s New Millionaires Save the World?”
Quirks & Perqs: YC Startups Woo Employees with Unusual Benefits
It’s old news that tech startups in San Francisco and Silicon Valley are locked in a fierce competition for the most talented engineers, product managers, and business development staff. But you might be surprised how far some companies are going these days to portray their workplaces as virtual Disneylands for employees. At a Tuesday night … Continue reading “Quirks & Perqs: YC Startups Woo Employees with Unusual Benefits”
N Reduce Opens Up As Alternative to Ultra-Elite Startup Incubators
Maybe getting rejected by Y Combinator isn’t such a bad thing. For Jacques Crocker, Ash Bhoopathy, and Rich Lengsavath it turned into the beginning of a new adventure: alongside their own startup, called Lizi, they’re introducing a new, more open startup accelerator called N Reduce. Announced on May 10 and known for less than a week as N … Continue reading “N Reduce Opens Up As Alternative to Ultra-Elite Startup Incubators”
Priceonomics Garners $1,500,000 Seed Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8a16ad49-2be8-4993-b19a-b945a0fd53c1&Preview=1 Date 5/7/2012 Company Name Priceonomics Mailing Address Undisclosed San Francisco, CA 94105 Company Description The company creates rrice guides, which are helpful for buying and selling used things. Website http://www.priceonomics.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,500,000 Transaction Round Seed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor … Continue reading “Priceonomics Garners $1,500,000 Seed Funding”
Xconomist of the Week: Michael Greeley Dissects the VC Data
Michael Greeley is no pessimist. Eeyores don’t get picked to run the New England Venture Capital Association, as Greeley did from 2005 to 2008, and they don’t win gubernatorial appointments to state entrepreneurship boards. But he’s more willing than most VCs to talk about troubling trends in the innovation economy. So we paid attention earlier … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Michael Greeley Dissects the VC Data”
Sparkology Puts Elite Spin on Dating and Competes to Enter Y Combinator
As more dating websites chase the same customers, it gets harder to see the differences among these companies. Most promise lots of dates, but that does not always translate into successful matches. New York’s Sparkology believes its strategy of only accepting men educated at renowned universities sets it apart from its rivals—and might win the … Continue reading “Sparkology Puts Elite Spin on Dating and Competes to Enter Y Combinator”
E-Commerce Startup Material Wrld Opens up Fashionistas’ Closets
For Jie Zheng and Rie Yano, the options for selling used clothing were just not cutting it. Consignment stores were picky, thrift shops paid virtually nothing for their wares, and eBay was complicated. Both were working as marketers for big fashion brands, buying a lot of clothes for office days and work events, and trying … Continue reading “E-Commerce Startup Material Wrld Opens up Fashionistas’ Closets”
The Most Interesting Y Combinator Winter 2012 Startups
The signs that Y Combinator‘s winter 2012 demo day yesterday was going to be packed began with the traffic jam on the Highway 101 offramp in Mountain View. Simply turning left to cross the Shoreline Avenue overpass to the Computer History Museum in Mountain View took me about 25 minutes. By the time I arrived … Continue reading “The Most Interesting Y Combinator Winter 2012 Startups”
Boston’s Deal News: Tracelytics, Tesaro, & A New Innovation Center
This week’s New England dealmakers included a venture capital firm, an e-commerce site, a biotech startup, software makers, and even the city of Boston. —Boston-based OpenView Venture Partners announced it had closed $200 million for its third investment fund, after three months of courting its limited partners. —Shoptiques, a New York-based fashion tech company whose … Continue reading “Boston’s Deal News: Tracelytics, Tesaro, & A New Innovation Center”