Funding Archives - Page 13 of 14

Kansas Startups: Student Angels Is A Student Run Angel Fund

In most of the stories that we report on involving angel funds, venture capital, incubation, investment, or competition, the student is the recipient. We cover student startup challenges all the time. In Kansas, they’re doing things a little different.

At the University of Missouri in Columbia, fifteen students are running a $600,000 venture fund appropriately named “Student Angels”. The purpose of the fund is for the students to find, identify in and invest in potential high growth startup companies in Missouri. The fund is entirely student run and the money is real.

EternoGen was the first recipient of an investment from the Student Angels. The Student Angels invested $30,000 in the life-science/biohealth startup. EternoGen produces a product called Demelle which is a human tissue filter used in cosmetic, cardio-vascular and orthopedic procedures.

Student Angels isn’t a class, it’s more of an extra-curricular or a club. The students met twice a week in William Allen’s classroom. Allen serves as the faculty adviser for the program and is also the assistant professor of finance. The students in the program are a diverse mix. The team includes law students, MBA candidates, a journalism student, a biology major and a student from the psychology department, reports KansasCity.com

Even with their diverse roots though, the students unanimously decided to invest in EternoGen even though it’s not likely that the fund will see a return on that investment for a few years.

The seed money for the fund came from alumni donations as well as the Shelter Insurance Foundation. Allen is hoping to see the fund increase to a couple of million dollars so that the student run fund can invest in the six figure amounts that most startups need.

Missouri Student Angels aren’t alone there are similar programs at the University of Michigan as well as Washington University in St.Louis

Linkage:

Source: Kansascity.com

Nibletz is the voice of #startups “everywhere else” check out these new stories

We’re on a sneaker strapped nationwide road trip, check it out and support us here

Washington DC: Carlyle Group Founder David Rubenstein Gives $15M To Duke For Innovation

One of Washington DC’s top investors and philanthropists, David Rubenstein has given $15 million dollars to his alma mater Duke University for innovation.

Rubenstein recently donated $7.5 million dollars to repair cracks sustained in the Washington Monument during last years freak east earth quakes. Rubenstein’s $15 million dollar donation to Duke University makes it his largest single donation to one institution.

Duke University just recently completed a $50,000 startup challenge. A health and life sciences startup called Nanoly was the recipient of the $50,000 award. Their startup has found a way to chemically preserve vaccines outside of refrigerators, and make them easier to administer in developing and third world countries.

Another great startup emerged from the Duke University Challenge called Mobile Foods which is entering the food truck tracking space. Their technology will allow customers of their favorite food trucks to track their location and find them easier using existing mobile phone technologies.

Rubenstein is the founder of the Washington DC private equity from, The Carlyle Group, which recently went public.

Rubenstein said today that the money will fund courses, mentoring and an incubator for students and faculty to develop new startup ventures through Duke’s innovation and entrepreneurship initiative which is also the backbone to the annual startup challenge contest.

Linkage:

source: WGME

Nibletz is the voice of #startups “everywhere else” check out these new stories

We’re on a sneaker strapped nationwide road trip, check it out and support us here

Miami Startup: Senzari Raises $1 Million Dollars For Global Expansion

Miami music startup Senzari has just raised $1 million dollars for global expansion.

Leading the round was Dave McClure’s 500 startups. Other investors from both Miami and Silicon Valley also participated in the round for this unique global music service.

Move over Pandora, Senzari has over 11 million songs (compared to Pandora’s 900,000) and the best part is that it is available outside of the United States. The service is available in the United States as well as Spain (in a partnership with MTV) and Brazil (in a partnership with VH1).

Aside from it’s gigantic catalog of songs Senzari separates itself form other on demand listening services like Pandora, Spotify and Slacker Radio by partnering with music distributors instead of the record labels directly. Some of their partners include SoundExchange, and publishing companies ASCAP, BMI, and SEASAC.

“We are excited about joining the 500 family as it allows us to leverage its impressive mentor network and global relationships,” says Senzari COO Demian Bellumio to techcrunch.com. “As a matter of fact, we created a special section in Senzari with radios for each of the stops of the tour with music that represent current and classic hits.”

Senzari also offers a proximity based service called “Around Me” that allows users to use social media data to find songs that people in close proximity to them are listening to, very similar to Berlin startup wahwah.com

Linkage:

Check out Senzari for yourself here

Source: TechCrunch

Nibletz is the voice of #startups “everywhere else” check out these new stories

We’re on a sneaker strapped nationwide road trip, check it out and support us here

St.Louis Startups: Arch Grants Announces 15 Recipients of $50k Grants

If you’re been watching Nibletz.com then you probably know that St.Louis has a thriving startup scene. Square co-founder Jim McKelvey has been investing in some of the leading area startups. Tech.li CEO Edward Domain (no relation to Kim DotCom), moved tech.li’s operations to St. Louis as well.

St. Louis has a tight knit community of startups, entrepreneurs and investors, but at the same time we’ve found that they are really open and welcoming of any startup, extremely easy to talk to and just a great bunch of people. Heck if tech.li wasn’t already in St. Louis, we’d consider moving there :)

Yesterday Arch Grants announced 15 recipients of $50k in startup grants, the winners of their business plan competition. Arch Grants co-founder Jerry Schlichter said that the 15 recipients came out of a pool of 400 submissions.

In addition to the seed money, Arch Grants will provide business consulting, mentorship and big discounts on needed services like office space.

More after the break
Read More…

HealthTech Startup In California Attracts NFL Champion Investors

Former Denver Broncos Terrell Davis and Byron Chamberlain with Credential Protection co-founder Jeffrey Fricher (photo Andrew Foulk for the Californian)

Former Denver Broncos players Terrell Davis and Byron Chamberlain have invested in a health tech startup in Temecula California. The startup called Credential Protection LLC is taking a different stab at the doctor review space.

Credential Protection LLC is using a mix of on the ground, in the office data along with online data to build a more dependable review database for doctors. The Credential Protection system actually begins in the doctors office with surveys given to patients. Doctors can join credential protection in a variety of plans that range from $195 a month for surveys and assessments to $1495 per month for a package that includes overall social media management for the physician.

The need for services like this is what drove Chamberlain and Davis to invest in the company that was founded by Jeffrey Frichner.

As an ex-football player, people want to know where you get the best doctor because they assume we had the best in the NFL,” Davis said to North County Times.

Davis had a stress fracture in his shin, late in his football career that took to long to diagnose. Davis also said that he was looking for a doctor to help him diagnose memory loss, mood swings and headaches, conditions Davis feels may have come from his football playing days. Although he did suggest they just may be from getting older.

“I love the fact that Credential Protection not only protects the doctor, but the public,” Chamberlain said. Chamberlain had a ruptured tendon in his hand that never quite healed right

More after the break
Read More…

New Orleans Startup: Bioceptive Raises $385,000 For Safer Birth Control

A New Orleans biotech startup called Bioceptive has just raised $385,000 in seed money today.

The startup, which is based at the New Orleans BioInnovation Center downtown, is developing the idea of a young Tulane graduate which will hopefully lead to safer intrauterine birth control. This type of birth control, called IUD’s, currently requires to use multiple tools to insert the birth control device into a woman’s uterus.

While the procedure is relatively safe and performed thousands of times a day, the more tools involved the more likely there is a risk for puncturing the uterine wall. With Bioceptives insertion method it reduces the number of tools needed to insert the birth control.

The $385,000 in seed money came from private investors, venture capital funds, physicians and Tamara Kreinin. Kreinin is the former executive director of women and population with the United Nations Foundation in Washington DC.

The BioInnovation Center opened last fell. Bioceptive is the latest center tenant to receive funding. The center is an incubator for Biotech startups in the region.

Linkage:

Source: New Orleans City Business

Nibletz is the voice of startups “everywhere else” get your startup featured email us here

We’re on a nationwide sneaker-strapped startup road show, for more on that and to help click here

Mark Cuban: There’s A Bubble In SiliconValley…Nowhere Else

Self made billionaire, ABC Shark Tank Shark and Dallas Maverick owners Mark Cuban recently spent some time with the Wall Street Cheat Sheeet’s, Damien Hoffman. Of course the wonderful “Bubble 2.0” question came up, and Cuban’s response will be a-ok with the target audience of Nibletz, the voice of startups everywhere else.

“There is a bubble only in tech investing in Silicon Valley. Nowhere else in the U.S.” Cuban said in the interview. All of Cuban’s most recent interviews have suggested that valuations in the Valley are way over-hyped. Our West Coast Editor (and co-founder) Brent Fishman has no problem talking abut the wild and crazy valuation of Pinterest. Fishman loves to point out that Pinterest has no actual “business model” in place.

One of the things about Cuban’s assessment being so true for startups “everywhere else” is the fact that even if the playing field in the venture capitalist arena was marginally fair, startups everywhere else already have to work twice as hard from everything else.

More after the break
Read More…

Kansas City Startup: Cognovant Raises $500k For mPHR Pocket Health

A Kansas City startup called Cognovant launches last summer and has been working on a new, easy to use mPHR (mobile personal health record) application. Their application, called PocketHealth, is actually a suite of applications and is cross platform. The company has been saying for months that they will be launching on iOS and Android this month.

With the news that they just raised a $500,000 seed round, they should be that much closer to reaching their deadline.

Cognovant’s PocketHealth, will be free for individual users to download and use. The app captures data and allows users to manage their wellness. It’s built under the stringent medical industry standards. Cognovant has said that the application is based on international data standards and has the same foundation as a full electronic medical record.

Cognovant CEO, Dr. Joe Ketcherside, confirmed to SiliconPrairie today that they are still on track for a launch in about two weeks after final testing is complete.

Beyond the base, free app, users will be able to download a multi-user “family” version which will give users the ability to manage multiple health records. They will also have an upgrade called PocketHealth PHR which will allow users to manage more complex health issues.

More after the break
Read More…

Portland Startup: Churchkey Can Company Gets Tech Investors For Their Nostalgic Beer

This isn’t the first time that tech investors have backed a food and beverage startup. Tech Investors came out in droves to back Jonathan Kaplan, the creator/founder of the Flip video camera with his chain of grilled cheese restaurants called “The Melt”.

Entourage star Adrian Grenier and former Nike designer, Justin Hawkins have teamed up to found the Churchkey Can Company. Churchkey makes what’s being dubbed a “Pacific Northwest brewed Pilsner style craft beer”, however it’s not the beer itself that has everybody talking, but rather the can it’s packaged in. Churchkey Can Company is putting their beer into a flat topped churchkey opening can.

Before pull back lids you may remember having a can opener in the house that had a diamond shaped end on it. You would puncture the soup can on both sides and pour the soup our of one of the triangle shaped openings. The opposite opening made sure that the soup poured out smoothly. That’s the same idea behind Churchkey Can Company’s flat can. A style of beer can that dates back to the 1930’s.

ChurchKey Can Company’s flat top steel cans are made out of all recycled steel. Grenier and Hawkins turned to the Ball can company to manufacture the cans for them. According to some, the flat top can and the church key opening actually locks in the freshness.

“It’s about the joy of drinking good beer – from the people you drink it with, to where you drink it, and with this unique package, how you open it,” said Justin Hawkins, Churchkey’s co-founder and creative director. “We didn’t make these traditions, but are keeping them alive with Churchkey.”

More after the break
Read More…

Startup Quickbyte: Austin Startup: InView Technology Raises $2M For Compressive Sensing Technology

A two year old Austin based tech startup called InView Technology has announced that they’ve raised $2M in funding to further it’s research on compressive sensing technology. InView’s compressive sensing technology uses advanced mathematics to calibrate sharp photographic images.

InView Technology plans to start building prototypes of their technology in June and start production in August. Their compressive sensing technology will be important in surveillance, maritime navigation pollution monitoring and public safety. Their technology makes it easier to take sharp photographs in low light conditions and even detect images hidden by smoke of fog.

“Compressive sensing will revolutionize the architecture of cameras used in a wide range of applications, including surveillance, maritime navigation, materials research, medical imaging and pollution monitoring,” said InView CEO Bob Bridge.

InView just presented their technology at the SPIE Defense, Security and Sensing Conference in Baltimore Maryland this past week.

This $2 million dollar round was led by El Paso based Cottonwood Capital Partners. Q-Tel, which led the company’s first $4 million dollar round also participated as did Texas’ emerging technology fund.

Source: Austin Statesman

Portland Startup: Chifpify Raises $1.3 Million For It’s Twitter Commerce Platform

Imagine if one of your favorite online retailers was having a sale on a new cashmere sweater that you’ve been wanting forever. Imagine if they tweeted that sweater and all you had to do was reply to the tweet with the word “Buy” and in three days you’d have that sweater delivered to your home? Well that’s becoming a reality thanks to Portland Oregon startup Chirpify.

Chirphify’s founder and CEO Chris Teso, who started the company as “Sell Simply” plans on making buying things on Twitter that easy. “Everybody is trying to become that ubiquitous wallet,” Teso told website oregonlive.com.

It works pretty much as I described it above. A Twitter user registers both their Twitter and Paypal accounts with Chirpify. A Chirpify merchant solicits a sale on twitter for example “Red Cashmere Sweater $19.99 delivered” and those with Chirpify accounts can simply reply with “buy” and the transaction is initiated. Chirpify takes a small percentage from the vendor for facilitating the transaction.

Are people using it? Yes, in fact Nestle has been using it to sell PowerBars on Twitter. Teso is hoping to attract independent musicians who could sell downloads via Twitter to their Twitter followers.

Chirpify’s $1.3 Million dollar investment was led by Voyager Capital and included Ryan Holmes, Hootsuite’s CEO. Private investor Geoff Entress, BuddyTV CEO Andy Liu and Rudy Gadre a former Facebook executive participated as well. Angel investors with TIE Oregon also participated. Oregonlive reports that Portland incubator UpStart Labs provided Chirpify with an earlier backing of $50,000.

Linkage:
Find out more about Chirpify here

Nibletz is the voice of startups everywhere else, check out these new stories

We’re on a sneaker strapped road trip, check it out and support us here

Source: OregonLive

Houston Startup WhimseyBox To Take Up Residence At Excelerate Labs Chicago

Alicia DiRago, a Houston based entrepreneur is packing her bags for the windy city. Thank goodness it’s the spring and soon to be the summer as we’re not sure how well the climate change would effect a Texan. DiRago’s startup is Whimseybox. You’re probably thinking it’s another subscription box club. You are absolutely right, however the subscription box club keeps taking on different spins, this time the theme is crafts.

Every month Whimseybox (well Alicia) sends out a box of great craft samples. The box costs $15. Now she is careful to mention that the boxes aren’t “kits” in other words there are no instructions, just the samples and your imagination.

Now if you aren’t as creative as you’d like to be DiRago posts craft ideas on Whimseybox’s blog and at least 4 full tutorials every month in the project gallery.

But now it’s time for DiRago to focus on business and take Whimseybox to the next level. Admittedly she can’t send out as many boxes as she would like. Hopefully after her experience at the Excelerate Lab in Chicago she’ll have not only some capital but more know how to turn this great idea around.

DiRago and Whimseybox will join 9 other companies in this 2012 class. She will give up a small equity stake (last year it was 6%) in exchange for cash, working space, and mentorship. She will also get a convertible note from Chicago’s New World Ventures (last year candidates got a $50,000 note).

All of this will culminate with a DEMO day on August 29th where all the participants will show off their startups to Chicago’s thriving tech community.

Excelerate is moving this year to the swanky new 1871 startup center.

Linkage:

Find out more about Whimseybox here

Find out more about Excelerate Lab here

Nibletz is the voice of startups everywhere else, check out these stories

We’re on a nationwide startup roadtrip, check this out please

Source: ChicagoBusiness.com

New DC Accelerator Acceleprise Embracing Enterprise Tech Startups

Acceleprise is a new Washington DC based accelerator that is targeting new startups in the Enterprise space. TechCrunch recently said that Acceleprise wants to be the “500 startups for Entreprise”

Acceleprise has great DC based founders in Sean Glass, Allen Gannett and Collin Gutman. They also have some great mentors that include well known founders, executives, venture capitalists and experienced operators. Their mentor list includes Scott Case, head of Startup America, Katharine Weymouth CEO of Washington Post Media, Maria Thomas former CEO of Etsy, Sonny Ganguly CMO at wedding wire and many more.

Their website says they are “The Enterprise Technology Accelerator”. Enterprise was a natural sector to pursue, Glass told TechCrunch’s Sarah Perez that he started thinking about how he wanted to do his personal angel investing. He found while evaluating his portfolio that he had the most success with and was able to help the most in early stages, were all enterprise focused.

Washington DC is also the perfect location for an enterprise focused accelerator. Of course the federal government is the largest enterprise customer in the country. In their immediate surroundings you have most of the largest defense companies and contractors in the world. Accelleprise is also a quick 4 hour drive to New York City and not to far from Atlanta as well.

More after the break
Read More…

Chicago’s Lightbank Invests In Santa Monica Startup LifeCrowd

LifeCrowd is a Santa Monica based social startup that helps consumers participate in social events in their city. Lifecrowd users can browse activities ranging from a night full of board games, to rock climbing, band jamming, and wine tasting. They can then invite friends to join in the activities.

They’re different from other sites like Meetup. Meetup lets anyone create groups centered around one focus. LifeCrowd offers all kinds of singular events which strangers can join in on, and in effect be more social. LifeCrowd users create the events but LifeCrowd curates them to make sure only the best events show up.

This $5 million dollar round of financing was led by Chicago’s LightBank and included Bullpen Capital, Baroda Ventures and Prism VentureWorks. As part of the round Lightbank partner Paul Lee will join LifeCrowd’s board of directors. Lightbank is a venture firm formed by Groupon co-founders Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell.

More after the break
Read More…