AIEA News

Angel Investing: A Podcast with Sohl Posted: Sep 01, 2006 9:22 AM CDT Topic/Type: Finance & Accounting; Funding Sources

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 08:09:10 -0500

Author: Ken Berlack

Have a listen to this podcast (from the Capital Formation
Institute) featuring UNH's Jeffrey Sohl, the leading expert on angel investing. Sohl talks about latest trends he sees in the angel market, and goes into detail on the nature of angel groups compared with individual angels. This podcast gets a little choppy toward the end, but it's worth your time to check this out (especially if you're interested in looking for angel backing).

United Devices Inc. is opening an office in London to address the company's growing European business.

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 08:08:39 -0500

Austin-based United Devices provides software and services that link companies' computers and systems around the world to centralize control.
Company officials say the new office will allow United Devices to meet increasing demand from current and potential customers, particularly those businesses adopting grid solutions to consolidate large-scale data centers and manage high performance systems.

Nineteen Austin-area businesses recognized

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 08:07:48 -0500

Nineteen Austin-area businesses were recognized for outstanding business accomplishments during the Sixth Annual Greater Austin Business Awards held August 30 at the Hilton hotel. This year’s theme, “Summer in the City”, incorporated all that’s hot about regional businesses.
Thom Singer of Wells Fargo served as the Master of Ceremonies with award presentations by KVUE, KXAN, Univision, KEYE and News 8 news stations.

“What an evening!,” said Wade Cooper, Partner with Jackson Walker and the 2006 Event Chair. “All of the businesses nominated are outstanding. Our region would not be one of the best places in the nation to live and work without the wonderful accomplishments of our business community.”

Study: Austin No. 3 among innovative cities Austin Business Journal

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 08:06:48 -0500

Austin ranks high among U.S. cities when it comes to innovation, according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal.

The city had the third-highest number of patents in 2005 -- 1,705. That follows No. 1 ranked San Jose and No. 2 Sunnyvale, Calif., according to information gathered by Chicago-based intellectual property advising firm ipIQ.

The company went in search of places where American innovation was alive and well outside of Corporate America.
IpIQ's Reed Albergotti headed the analysis, which explored more than 12,000 U.S. cities ranking them by gross number of patents. Albergotti says the technological migration of companies and independent inventors illustrates the resilience of the national economy.

Austin is the only city outside of California in the top five. Among other Texas cities, Houston ranked No. 11 and Plano placed at No. 17.

Austin venture investing reaches a 2-year high

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 08:05:51 -0500

Heightened second quarter investing in semiconductors is believed to be one reason why Central Texas reported its strongest venture capital quarter in two years, said The Statesman. A 134 percent increase was achieved from a year ago, after $170.5 million was raised 21 companies.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thomson Financial and the National Venture Capital Association conducted the survey. It was the best performance since the second quarter of 2004, when 22 companies raised $188.9 million.

Chamber Announces Finalists for the Sixth Annual Greater Austin Business Awards

Fri, 1 Sep 2006 07:59:20 -0500

Austin – Do you know a business that could be a winner?
The Greater Austin Chamber announces the finalists for the Sixth Annual Greater Austin Business Awards event that will be held Wednesday, August 30 from 5:30-9 p.m. at the Hilton Austin, 500 East Fourth Street.

Created in 2001, the Greater Austin Business Awards continues to set the standard for business excellence in the Greater Austin area. In the past, the Awards recognized only Chamber members. This year marks the first time that the Chamber will recognize companies across the entire Greater Austin business community including businesses in Georgetown, Leander, San Marcos, Buda and all other cities within the Central Texas region.

UnWired Buyer Secures $6.1 Million in Series B Funding

Fri, 1 Sep 2006 07:58:43 -0500

AUSTIN -- UnWired Buyer, Inc., a provider of real-time, interactive mobile notification and transaction services, today announced it secured $6.1 million in Series B funding.
Gefinor Ventures led the round with participation from Accent Texas Fund I, LP, Aegis Texas Venture Fund, DFJ Mercury and other investors. The funding will be used for product development, marketing and customer acquisition for UnWired Buyer's voice- based e-commerce platform.

"We believe that UnWired Buyer will be a significant player in the global market for mobile commerce, which is expected to grow to $10 billion by 2010," said Wes Cole, principal at Gefinor Ventures. "UnWired Buyer combines unique VoIP-based technology infrastructure with widely adopted mobile phone technology. The company's proven solution brings the power of mobile e- commerce to the mass market, allowing Internet retailers to reach new and existing customer segments -- truly anyone who carries a mobile phone. This investment demonstrates our confidence in the exciting mobile e-commerce market opportunity, the Unwired Buyer product and the team's ability to grow the business."

Staples Turns to Inventors For New Product Ideas

Fri, 1 Sep 2006 07:58:09 -0500

By WILLIAM M. BULKELEY
Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal.

From The Wall Street Journal Online

Neil Grimwood once missed a meeting because a Post-it note he'd stuck on his computer as a reminder fell off. That inspired him to invent a small rubber disk with strong adhesive on the back to serve as a stick-anywhere, mini bulletin board to which lists, photos and other papers can be affixed with push pins or thumb tacks.

In 2004, after years of fruitlessly marketing what he called StickDots to large companies, the Marina del Rey, Calif., inventor entered a Staples Inc. contest for inventors called InventionQuest. Winners of the contest receive $25,000 and up to an 8% royalty. Mr. Grimwood didn't win, but the office-supply chain sometimes grants contracts to runners-up. In this case, the company agreed to carry the product under the Staples brand name, rechristened it TackDots and now sells packets of eight for $3.99.

BlabberMouth L.P

Fri, 1 Sep 2006 07:57:35 -0500

BlabberMouth L.P., the only public relations firm to offer its clients 100% representation by senior-level practitioners, announced today that it has been named agency of record by Austin Technology Council (ATC). Founded in
1992 by George Kozmetsky and IC2, ATC is Austin’s preeminent member-driven association that exclusively represents the interests of the technology community in Central Texas.

http://austin.dbusinessnews.com/shownews.php?newsid=84950&type_news=latest

Software company Surgient Inc. has raised $20 million in a series C round of funding.

Fri, 1 Sep 2006 07:57:02 -0500

Crosslink Capital and Goldman Sachs co-led with participation from existing investors Austin Ventures, BlueStream Ventures and MFI Austin.

Bruce MacNaughton of Crosslink Capital and David Campbell of Goldman Sachs will join the company's board of directors.
Boston-based investment bank Revolution Partners acted as the placement agent.

The new funding will be used for growth in the U.S. and in Europe.

Along with the funding, the company named Tim Lucas as its new chief financial officer. Prior to joining Surgient, Lucas served as director of financing for the Canadian, Latin American and government business unit of SAS Institute Inc., a software company based in North Carolina.

Wintegra backs out of IPO

Mon, 7 Aug 2006 07:53:02 -0500

Austin Business Journal - 11:58 AM CDT Wednesday

Wintegra Inc. has withdrawn its initial public offering, citing unfavorable market conditions.

Wintegra delayed its IPO last month after lowering the initial asking price for its stock price to $12 to $14 a share. The company was proposing to trade under the Nasdaq symbol WNTG.

Wintegra originally filed its IPO on Feb. 17.

Austin-based Wintegra is a semiconductor design and software firm. The company has about 100 employees and operations in the U.S., Israel, Canada and Scotland.

Winternals & Best Buy/Geek Squad Settle

Mon, 7 Aug 2006 07:52:30 -0500

Winternals & Best Buy/Geek Squad Settle Federal Lawsuit Austin - Austin -- Winternals Software® is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement to settle the copyright infringement lawsuit it filed in April against Best Buy and its subsidiary, Geek Squad.

As part of the agreement, Winternals and Best Buy have entered into a three-year business relationship whereby Best Buy's Geek Squad and other computer service and repair employees will be licensed to use a variety of Winternals’
and Sysinternals’ software programs, including Winternals’ flagship ERD Commander. The industry-leading software is a system repair and data recovery tool that boots a dead computer into a familiar Windows-like, point-and-click environment for rapid system recovery. It helps users restore deleted data, reset passwords, copy files to and from unbootable systems, edit the registry, and access restore points on a dead Windows computer.
Sysinternals is a web site dedicated to advanced utilities, technical information, and source code for Windows that is sponsored by Winternals.

Crossroads Systems Announces European Patent for Access Control Technology

Mon, 7 Aug 2006 07:52:05 -0500

AUSTIN -- Crossroads Systems, Inc. (Pink Sheets:CRDS), a leading provider of Business Information Assurance (BIA) solutions for guaranteed access, resiliency and security of enterprise information, today announced that the European Patent Office has issued the company a Certificate of Grant for European application EP 1 044 414 B1. This European patent is the equivalent to Crossroads U.S. patent 5,941,972 covering storage routers and a method for providing virtual local storage and access control -- a security feature for preventing unauthorized host access to shared storage devices.

Perficient, Inc.secured a $52 million credit facility with SVB Silicon Valley Bank and KeyBanc Capital Markets

Mon, 7 Aug 2006 07:51:14 -0500

AUSTIN -- Perficient, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRFT), a leading information technology consulting firm serving Global 2000 and other large enterprise customers throughout the United States, announced today that it has secured a $52 million credit facility with SVB Silicon Valley Bank and KeyBanc Capital Markets. The new credit facility, which replaces Perficient's existing credit facility with SVB Silicon Valley Bank and KeyBanc, will be used primarily for acquisitions.

Start Your Patent Process With A Good Lawyer Or Agent

Mon, 7 Aug 2006 07:50:49 -0500

By Cheryl A. Sweet
You've got an ingenious idea that nobody has thought of yet.
What next? Welcome to the patent process, a maze you must navigate to bring your invention to fruition.

"There are lots of misconceptions about patents," says Mary Sarao, co-author of The Everything Inventions & Patents Book, who strongly suggests hiring a patent attorney.
"Skimping on attorney fees would have cost us dearly in the value of our final patent," says Sarao, who invented a niche poster board with her sister and co-author, Barbara Pitts.
With retail sales topping $10 million, their invention is netting the sisters up to $300,000 annually in royalties.

Crossroads Systems Announces Settlement of Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Dot Hill

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 07:32:27 -0500

Agreement Includes $10.5 Million Payment to Crossroads, 2.5 Percent Ongoing Royalty for Certain Products Austin -

AUSTIN -- Crossroads Systems, Inc. (Pink Sheets: CRDS), a leading provider of Business Information Assurance solutions for guaranteed access, resiliency and security of enterprise information, today announced it has settled its outstanding patent litigation with Carlsbad, California-based Dot Hill Systems Corp. (NASDAQ: HILL), a provider of storage networking solutions. In the settlement, Crossroads will receive a one-time $10.5 million cash payment and a 2.5 percent ongoing royalty on net sales of products utilizing Crossroads patented access controls technology.

Originally filed October 17, 2003, the lawsuit claimed that Dot Hill sold solutions that violated U.S. patent Nos.
5,941,972 and 6,425,035 which cover the ability to control access between hosts and storage devices in a networked storage environment. Crossroads is the exclusive owner of these patents. In exchange for the one-time cash payment and running royalty, Crossroads granted Dot Hill a nonexclusive license to these patents and the parties settled all claims arising out of the litigation.

Manny Shulman of Infinity Acquisition Featured in Audio Interview at SmallCapVoice.com

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 07:31:51 -0500

AUSTIN -- SmallCapVoice.com, Inc. today announced that a new audio interview is available at SmallCapVoice.com. The featured guest is Manny Shulman, president of Infinity Acquisition Corp. Inc. (OTC:IFQJ). Mr. Shulman provides us with his personal insight into the recent reductions to the issued and outstanding shares and lets us know what we should expect from his company in 2006. The interview can be heard here at http://www.smallcapvoice.com/ifqj/index.html.

PulseWave snags $30M in venture funding

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 07:31:19 -0500

Austin Business Journal - 7:21 AM CDT Monday

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Austin's PulseWave RF Inc. has landed $30 million in venture funding, which ranks as one of the largest recent funding announcements in Central Texas.

The Series C funding round was led by Oak Investment Partners. In addition, existing PulseWave RF investors, including Austin Ventures, Bay Partners and Genesis Campus, also participated in the round.

ThinkKitchen Launches Website

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 07:30:22 -0500

Creatives Bring National Experience and a Women’s Point of View to Virtual Advertising Austin - Austin - ThinkKitchen, a newly-created virtual advertising agency, has just launched its new website www.thethinkkitchen.com.

Think Kitchen, based in Austin, Texas, is the brainchild of Pat Epstein and Jeanette Tyson. Each woman has more than twenty years of experience in agencies known for their creative flair.

"We wanted to be able to think outside the usual big-agency constrictions. For that matter, we just wanted to be able to think outside," says Pat Epstein.

How I Got My Funding: Trying Out Prosper

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 07:29:52 -0500

By ERICA R. DAVIS

Editor's Note: This piece is part of a series on how entrepreneurs secure financial backing to launch their new businesses.

When Ellen Carroll moved from Seattle to Kingman, Ariz., she says she knew the town's need for a speech therapist could work to her advantage.

Ms. Carroll, 27 years old, got a job in the Kingman school district as its second full-time speech therapist, working with students in preschool through junior high school. Ms.
Carroll says she has a "gigantic" caseload at the Kingman schools and that showed her that starting her own speech therapy business could be lucrative -- and helpful for the town of 26,000 people.

Presentation Tip: Making Statistics Understandable

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 19:24:03 -0500

from ©2003 Dr. Joseph Sommerville
Make statistics work for you rather than against you The use of statistics in a presentation is a double-edged sword. When used appropriately, statistics can make a presentation more credible, more persuasive and more authoritative. Used inappropriately, they can make the presentation less interesting, less effective and less audience-centered. It’s unlikely you’ll have a room full of statisticians, so you need to find ways to translate those numbers for a lay audience. Here are some tips on how to make statistics work for you rather than against you.

Offshoring Slows Startups

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 19:23:35 -0500

For the little guys, staying home may be a smarter strategy.
May 25, 2006

Giants like Intel, Oracle, and Microsoft may get a big bang for their bucks by offshoring research and development to India and China. But setting up operations overseas may not be the answer for smaller companies that need to cut costs and develop high-tech products at lightning speed.

Rising salaries, competition for talent, a high attrition rate, and a lack of senior-level engineers in offshore hubs like Bangalore may override the benefits of offshoring for startups, according to panelists at the Red Herring Spring conference in Monterey, California.

How to fund other startups (and get rich) Angel investors describe their paths from entrepreneur to financier.

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 19:23:00 -0500

FORTUNE Small Business Magazine
by Jeanne Lee,

(FORTUNE Small Business) - If you cash out of a flourishing small business, what's next? Another startup is likely to be all-consuming, yet retirement would probably bore you. For an increasing number of entrepreneurs, the middle ground is angel investing, in which wealthy individuals give financial backing to budding companies.

Five Tips for Succeeding As a Young Entrepreneur

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 19:22:34 -0500

By JAMES CAVERLY

If you've got a business idea you can't stop talking about, why wait to flex your entrepreneurial muscles? Here are five tips to get an idea out of your head and into the marketplace.

Big Tech Companies Shop for Tiny Ventures

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 19:22:07 -0500

By REBECCA BUCKMAN
Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal.

From The Wall Street Journal Online

Giants are on the prowl in Silicon Valley. The prey:
start-ups.

Two of the most formidable hunters are Microsoft Corp. and International Business Machines Corp., each aiming to forge ties with -- and sometimes acquire -- promising companies that make software and other products for big businesses.

At a big, closed-door meeting with Silicon Valley venture capitalists last month, Microsoft's chief executive officer, Steve Ballmer, boasted that the Redmond, Wash., company bought 22 companies over the past year, some of them Northern California fledglings. IBM made 16 acquisitions last year, including several referred to the company by a special, 20-person venture-capital outreach group that IBM set up in 2000.

Intrapreneur or Entrepreneur?

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 08:29:50 -0500

from Andrew J. Birol
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
When a company’s growth begins to dwindle, boardroom meetings grow strained and the finger pointing starts.
Executives cry out, "We need a new strategy! We need to hire better people! Our culture is to blame! Our compensation is wrong!" The founder, if he or she is still around, sadly states, "We have more people, resources, and money than ever. But now we are so big we can’t even get out of our own way!" Embarrassed, a politically perceptive staffer serves up a popular buzzword. "Intrapreneurs! What we need are Intrapreneurs!" The "hip" executive explains that Intrapreneurs are "Inside Entrepreneurs" who will follow their founder’s example. The Intrapreneur, he or she promises, will buck the corporate malaise, risk his or her career to get things done and, is willing to "do the right thing to serve the customer". __

Intellectual Property 101: Patents, Trademarks, Servicemarks and Copyrights From Scott Allen, Your Guide to Entrepreneurs.

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 08:28:47 -0500

Protect your idea, your brand and your creative work Ideas are a difficult thing to protect, because they are so easily imitated or copied. We don't yet live in the world of Star Trek where you can just have a replicator instantly make you an exact duplicate of physical things like a cup of coffee or some exotic alien delicacy, but we can easily duplicate the ideas of others, such as copying a piece of written material, using a similar brand name, or creating a product in imitation of someone else's product.

Trademarks and Service Marks 101

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 08:28:26 -0500

From Scott Allen,
Your Guide to Entrepreneurs.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!
What are they? What qualifies (and what doesn't)? And how do you file one?
What is a trademark?

Simply put, it's a brand name. More formally, it's "a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others." (USPTO) A service mark identifies a service rather than a product.

Trademark protection only applies to a particular category of goods or services, although a single trademark owner may use it in multiple categories. For example, Nike Inc. owns the mark on a variety of shoes, clothing, sporting goods, etc., but Sweden's Nike Corporation could not prevent their use of the name because Nike Corporation's trademark was for heavy machinery, including hydraulic lifting jacks, pistons and presses.

Patents 101

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 08:27:46 -0500

From Scott Allen,
Your Guide to Entrepreneurs.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!
What are they? What qualifies (and what doesn't)? And how do you file one?
What is a patent?

A patent for an invention is the grant of property rights to the inventor by the government. It is the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention in the country in which the patent is filed.
International treaty provides for patents to be recognized and protected in most countries, although enforcement often presents a major challenge.

$49M in venture funds brings Asuragen to life

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 08:26:50 -0500

Austin Business Journal
by Jonathan Selden Austin Business Journal Staff

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Asuragen Inc. -- the offspring of Austin biotech laureate Matt Winkler -- just ended its first round of investment funding with $49 million.

To be fair, $35 million of that came from the proceeds of the sale of Winkler's Ambion Inc. earlier this year, but the amount is still about $7 million over the company's own target of $42 million and well ahead of similar ventures'
first-round funding bottom lines.

Former Motive execs launch software firm

Sat, 17 Jun 2006 12:01:42 -0500

Austin Business Journal
Four former Motive Inc. execs have banded together to launch a new software company called Spiceworks Inc.

Based in Austin, Spiceworks was founded by CEO Scott Abel, a Motive co-founder; vice president of marketing Jay Hallberg, former vice president of product management at Motive, Francis Sullivan, former Motive vice president of technology and Greg Kattawar, former Motive vice president of development.

Austin's Intrinsity gets new investor Austin Business Journal

Sat, 17 Jun 2006 12:01:02 -0500

Intrinsity Inc., an Austin design technology company, has received an investment from Applied Micro Circuits Corp. in return for a stake in the company.

AMCC (NASDAQ: AMCC) is a supplier of embedded PowerPC devices, and is located in Sunnyvale, Calif.

The amount of the investment was not disclosed, but as a result of the deal, Intrinsity plans to increase its engineering staff by 20 to 30 employees and boost tool research and development efforts in order to advance its
Fast14 silicon technology.

Social Networks Attract Nearly Half Of All Web Users

Sat, 17 Jun 2006 12:00:30 -0500

By Antone Gonsalves
TechWeb.com Fri May 12, 7:54 PM ET

The number of visitors to the top 10 social-networking sites soared in April, attracting nearly half of all Web users, a market research firm says.
ADVERTISEMENT

The top 10 sites collectively grew 47 percent in the United States from the same month a year ago to 68.8 million unique visitors, Nielsen/NetRatings said. The sites reached 45 percent of active Web users.

How (and Why) to Read Your Web Statistics and Analytics

Sat, 17 Jun 2006 11:59:55 -0500

Many small business web site owners are not even aware that they have access to a variety of statistics and analytics about their web site. Many more have discovered them, but have no idea what to do with them. This article explains how the general and advanced statistics that web analytics packages generate can contribute to the success of your ebusiness.

Small Firms Try Out New Advertising Avenues

Sat, 17 Jun 2006 11:59:33 -0500

By SUZANNE VRANICA
Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal.

From The Wall Street Journal Online

The Internet is helping small businesses alter the way they sell themselves.

Some small-business owners are forsaking traditional advertising venues for online advertising -- including ads in search engines Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc. and free listings in online classifieds sites like Craigslist. Others are using Internet firms like Spot Runner Inc., which help small businesses create affordable commercials and buy air time for those ads in local television markets -- something that's usually too costly for smaller firms.

Google’s commitment to openness is also on display with Google Trends

Sun, 4 Jun 2006 19:23:33 -0500

Google’s commitment to openness is also on display with Google Trends, which lets users access data about the popularity of search terms over time and then filter that data by city, region, or language.

“We’re giving you the keys to Zeitgeist,” Mayer said, referring to the list of top search terms known as Google Zeitgeist that Google publishes.

Such access is sure to be welcome by anyone doing Internet-related research and by marketers in particular.

Zilker reaps $8M

Sun, 4 Jun 2006 19:22:39 -0500

Austin Business Journal
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Austin chip design company Zilker Labs Inc. raised $8 million in a third round of venture capital.

New investor HIG Ventures participated, along with previous investors Sevin Rosen Funds and North Bridge Venture Partners. John Kim, managing director of Miami-based HIG Ventures, has been named a "board observer" at Zilker.

What Were They Thinking? Goofs From the Web Era

Sun, 4 Jun 2006 19:21:58 -0500

By KATHERINE MEYER
From The Wall Street Journal Online

The Internet spawned so many weird gizmos and bad business ideas that mocking dot-com duds became something of a sport in the post-bubble era. But some ideas still stand out for pure silliness. These are products and services that attracted lots of publicity -- and, in some cases, millions of dollars in funding -- before folding.

In the earlier days of the Web, "nobody seemed to care if there was a real business there," said Alan Meckler, chief executive of Jupitermedia Corp. and Internet industry pundit.

Take CyberRebate.com, which thought it could make money by giving stuff away for free. The online retailer, founded in 1998, sold an assortment of goods at heavily marked up prices (some items going for up to 10 times their retail values), but promised customers a hefty rebate that often amounted to 100% of the purchase price.

Tokyo Electron launches venture capital program

Sun, 4 Jun 2006 19:21:20 -0500

Austin Business Journal
Tokyo Electron Ltd. is launching a new venture capital program to target seed and early-stage technology companies.

The new wholly-owned subsidiary, TEL Venture Capital Inc., will be based in California and plans to invest up to $10 million annually. TEL Venture Capital says it will invest in a "wide range" of areas worldwide.

Private Equity outperformed public stock market in Q4 San Francisco Business Times

Sun, 4 Jun 2006 19:20:34 -0500

by Mark Calvey
Private equity firms continued to outperform the Standard & Poor's 500 in 2005's fourth quarter despite a lackluster market for initial public offerings, according to Thomson Financial and the National Venture Capital Association.

One-year venture capital returns decreased to 15.6 percent in the fourth quarter from 17.9 percent in the third quarter.

IBM snaps up Austin's BuildForge

Sun, 4 Jun 2006 19:20:07 -0500

Austin Business Journal
IBM Corp. has agreed to buy Austin software company BuildForge Inc.

Financial details were not disclosed.
BuildForge's technology helps companies automate their software development processes, as well as meet audit and compliance mandates. Privately-held BuildForge, a former member of the Austin Technology Incubator, has been on an upward trajectory since moving out of the incubator. The company exceeded its fourth-quarter revenue expectations by
25 percent and was on track to double in size this year.

BuildForge has 50 employees.

Tips for Winning Those First Sales

Mon, 22 May 2006 08:20:55 -0500

By SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN

Generating initial sales is among the toughest challenges for new businesses. We asked Neil Platt, vice president of sales and business development at six-year-old CashEdge Inc., for tips on attracting customers and building a sales force. He faced this task in 2000 on joining the New York-based provider of online financial applications for banks, credit unions and wealth-management firms. The privately held company now has more than 450 customers and eight full-time sales professionals.od=RSS_Startup_Journal&sjrss=frontpage

Venture firm Polaris caps $800M fund Boston Business Journal

Mon, 22 May 2006 08:19:45 -0500

by Alexander Soule
Journal Staff

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WALTHAM -- Polaris Venture Partners is wrapping up a venture fund estimated to reach at least $800 million, the first closing of an estimated $8 billion that Boston-area venture capital funds are expected to raise this year.

[After the newspaper went to press, industry newsletter Private Equity Analyst reported on Friday that Polaris had closed the fund at $1 billion, though it did not cite a source for the information.]

Leveraging Social Networking Sites to Generate Business

Mon, 22 May 2006 08:19:11 -0500

from Michael Jones, President of Userplane Stepping into the conference room, I realize that I'm headed into an appointment with very little information on what's about to happen or with whom I'll be meeting. I know the names of the participants, but would not recognize them if I passed them on the street. Nonetheless, I'm pleased with the opportunity and eager about what may materialize from this gathering.

The Value of a Business Mentor

Mon, 22 May 2006 08:18:40 -0500

From Scott Allen,
Your Guide to Entrepreneurs.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!
Why every entrepreneur should have one
Your friends and family, the Web, periodicals, and even casual acquaintances can provide you with a steady daily flow of information regarding news, industry developments, and opportunities. Industry analysts, consultants, employees, and good networking contacts can share their expert knowledge with you regarding particular situations and needs you may encounter. But only a mentor can truly share wisdom with you on an ongoing basis.

The Ten-Step, One-Day Strategic Plan

Mon, 22 May 2006 08:18:20 -0500

from Erica Olsen, M3 Planning
The simple way to keep your business on track You don’t have to kill a tree or shut down the office for a week to create a successful strategic plan. In fact, you can create a successful plan for your business in just one day. It doesn’t have to be an overwhelming or a monumental task. It doesn’t have to be perfect or fancy. Just grab a few key people in your organization, turn off the phones and let’s get started.

Turning your hobby into a business

Tue, 16 May 2006 07:41:20 -0500

Carnival of Entrepreneurship #9 at MooreThoughts Attorney Nathan Moore hosts this week's Carnival of Entrepreneurship at MooreThoughts. You definitely need to check out his blog. The side-by-side dialog between Nathan and his wife Sarah is really fascinating, although it does take a bit of getting used to it. I've never seen anything quite like it.

This week's contributions include:

* Turning your hobby into a business
* Managing fear to lessen your risk and maximize the reward
* How to delegate without hiring anyone
* Making tax preparation as unobtrusive as possible to your business
* Which states have the best (and worst) tax laws in regard to business expansion

Next week's edition will be hosted at Just For Small Business. Visit the Carnival of Entrepreneurship Home Page for more information on reading, contributing to or hosting the carnival.

Thomas Frey on the Future of Entrepreneurship

Tue, 16 May 2006 07:40:42 -0500

U.S. News and World Report yesterday featured an e-mail interview with entrepreneur and futurist Thomas Frey, Senior Director of The DaVinci Institute, on the future of small-business start-ups. The interview talked about two major trends in entrepreneurship:

Confluence of Influence

"This has to do with the do-it-yourself-content movement, where bloggers, podcasters, and others have been given a voice. The single points of influence from the past have changed, and now several million people will have a voice in what's going on. The trick is to find the people who can influence your particular industry and figure out how to get them to say something nice about you."

Certainly major media outlets continue to carry a lot of weight, but there are more and more people who are "slightly famous", or, more accurately "niche famous". Within an industry or market segment, their opinions can carry as much or even more weight than major media. This makes it more important than ever to proactively network, because these people are best reached through relationships, not pitch letters.

Austin chamber creates new tech and investment groups

Tue, 16 May 2006 07:39:40 -0500

Austin Business Journal
The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce has created a new technology division and and angel investor network to help economic development activities.

The technology division will be led by Randy Baker, president and founder of Tuanis Technology. Baker is also vice chairman of technology for the chamber.

It will work with the chamber's economic development efforts to grow the local tech sector by: uniting technology related organizations, working with local entrepreneurs and young companies to grow their organizations and bridging the gap between the technology companies and the traditional business in the community, among other activities.

The new Central Texas Angel Network, or CTAN, will help local entrepreneurs gain access to capital to start their businesses. CTAN will work with the Central Texas Regional Center of Innovation and Commercialization (CT-RCIC), the Texas Technology Fund, and universities to identify opportunities in early stages of development.

"Angels are necessary to keep the start-up environment thriving in the region," says Jamie Rhodes, chairman of CTAN and CEO of Perceptive Sciences Corp. "With this group, businesses will no longer have to look outside Austin to find angel funding and central Texas angel investors will have access to quality deal flow without leaving town."

The chamber's Opportunity Austin initiative, now in its third year, is a 5-year, 5-county economic development plan to create 72,000 jobs and a $14 billion positive economic impact on the economy. In 2004 and 2005, 47,600 jobs were created.

Three Tips for Financing Your Franchise Purchase

Tue, 16 May 2006 07:38:55 -0500

By JULIE BENNETT

Now is a good time to borrow the money to buy a franchise, say small-business lenders. Banks and finance companies are "flush with capital," which puts start-up franchisees in a good position, says Reginald Heard, national accounts manager for CIT Small Business Lending in Livingston, N.J.
Many local bankers who shied away from franchise loans only a few years ago are granting them today.

Here are three tips for those seeking loans to fund a franchise purchase.

Solving the Million Dollar Mystery: 4 Steps to Create a Turn-Key Business

Tue, 16 May 2006 07:38:20 -0500

from Stephanie Frank, Author of "The Accidental Millionaire"
Learning to delegate gives you the freedom to enjoy your success You’re a smart, hardworking entrepreneur, and you’re moving fast. You are highly educated in your field and your business is growing and getting busier each day. But somehow, you find yourself stuck. You’re doing more tasks that take you away from your core business, you are working more and earning less. You need help. Wouldn’t it be great if there was someone, anyone out there who could help you take away some of the daily tasks so you could focus on the things you really love?

Maybe you’ve looked, tried to work with or even hired people to help you manage your business. But somehow, every time, things just didn’t go right, and there you were, left again with the mounds of paperwork, details and projects to manage. Alone.

How to Profit From Networking

Sun, 7 May 2006 08:13:39 -0500

from Kelley Robertson
Sales are frequently developed through the relationships we have created with other people. Networking functions provide the opportunity to expand our contact list, particularly when we create and nurture quality relationships. It is not enough to visit a networking group, talk to dozens of people and gather as many business cards possible. However, every networking function has tremendous potential for new business leads.

Intrapreneur or Entrepreneur?

Sun, 7 May 2006 08:12:58 -0500

Guide to International Business Costs

Sun, 7 May 2006 08:12:10 -0500

Topic/Type: Sales & Marketing; Operations; Competitive Analysis; Global Markets; Production
Author: Laura Paglione

From the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship - NDE-news April 3 - 9, 2006: www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde If you're looking for a low-cost location for a new business, you might want to think about Singapore. That nation ranks number one in terms of low business costs in the latest edition of KPMG's Competitive Alternatives survey of the cost of doing business in various global locations.
Singapore far outstrips the competition, with costs that are on average 22.3% cheaper than in the US. The KPMG research analyzes business costs in a wide range of key industries, including aerospace, biotechnology, telecommunications, electronics and precision manufacturing. Among G7 countries, Canada fares best (with 5.5% cost advantage over the US) and its cities rank as top North American cities in terms of low business costs. Within the US, the top three low-cost sites are Dothan, AL, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC, and Lexington, KY. Most major European economies also have a cost advantage compared to the US, with France and the Netherlands enjoying slightly lower costs than their European compatriots. Not surprisingly, Japan and Germany rank as the highest cost locations. To learn more about KPMGs' 2006 Competitive Alternatives survey, visit www.competitivealternatives.com

Motive may be delisted

Sun, 7 May 2006 08:11:25 -0500

Austin Business Journal - 2:55 PM CDT Monday
After months of financial troubles and layoffs, Austin software company Motive Inc.'s stock may be delisted from the NASDAQ Stock Market.

The possible delisting is a result of Motive missing NASDAQ's April 13 deadline to file restated financial results.

Austin Ventures invests $6.2M in Powered

Sun, 7 May 2006 08:10:40 -0500

Austin Business Journal
Venture capital firm Austin Ventures LP poured $6.2 million into online consumer educator Powered Inc.

Austin-based Powered says it will use the money to expand its sales and marketing and finance product development.

"Online consumer education allows companies to reach customers in an entirely new way, and Powered is a compelling investment because of the outstanding return on investment it delivers to marketers," says Chris Pacitti, a general partner at Austin-based Austin Ventures.

"We believe consumer education will experience rapid growth in 2006 and beyond, and we're confident that major brands will continue to invest in online education as a way to boost sales, increase customer retention, and drive higher [returns on investments] from their advertising campaigns."

The Entrepreneurial Mind

Sat, 29 Apr 2006 10:10:23 -0500

Carnival of Entrepreneurship #8 at The Entrepreneurial Mind
Jeff Cornwall, Director of the Belmont University Center for Entrepreneurship plays host to this week's Carnival of Entrepreneurship at his blog, The Entrepreneurial Mind.

This week's diverse topics include:

A lesson from the TV show American Inventor on why "cool" isn't sustainable
Why and how to use testimonials
How to sell yourself, not just to customers, but investors, employees, suppliers, landlords, etc.
The myth of the "self-made" entrepreneur and the power of networking
The importance of common courtesy in dealing with your customers
The basics of business budgeting
A lesson from the gym: what gets measured gets improved

Venture Capitalist Breaks The Silicon Valley Mold

Sat, 29 Apr 2006 10:09:39 -0500

By REBECCA BUCKMAN
Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal.

From The Wall Street Journal Online

As a brash executive at Apple Computer Inc. in the late 1980s and early 1990s, David Katsujin Chao sometimes slept at the office and worked in his pajamas. His ambition and quirky approach paid off: He helped launch Apple's aggressive growth plan in Japan, striking innovative software deals and even sponsoring a Janet Jackson concert. In just four years, sales in Japan jumped to $1 billion from about $70 million, former Apple Japan executives say.

How To Create a Great Business Name

Sat, 29 Apr 2006 10:09:00 -0500

From Scott Allen,
Your Guide to Entrepreneurs.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!

A great name is the beginning of a great brand. It should be memorable and create a certain feeling when heard. Here's a quick how-to on creating one and making sure it's not already used.

Choose the Right CPA for Your Business

Sat, 29 Apr 2006 10:08:28 -0500

from Copyright © 2000-2003 Maria Marsala, Business and Life Coach-Consultant What do you look for in a CPA? Start right here...
CPAs are more than just individuals who do your yearly taxes. They can advise you on a long list of other services, which may include advice on your accounting system, financial, retirement, estate and tax planning. CPAs are part of a business owner's professional team along with a banker and a lawyer.

Dell buys Alienware

Sat, 29 Apr 2006 10:07:41 -0500

Maker of high-performance computers will retain its name and keep using AMD chips.

By Dan Zehr
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, March 23, 2006

Dell Inc., long averse to acquisitions, is buying Alienware Corp., a small Miami company that builds high-performance computers often prized by gamers.

Dell said Wednesday that it would buy the company — only the third purchase in its history — to complement an existing portfolio of high-end machines often used by gaming enthusiasts. The companies did not release the terms of the deal, but Roger Kay, a longtime PC analyst, estimated the price at $500 million to $800 million.

Angel investors turn to Web to find promising startups Kansas City Business Journal

Tue, 11 Apr 2006 07:11:05 -0500

by Charlie Anderson Staff Writer
Now, entrepreneurs can shop for money online.

Organizers of a local angel investor group have launched a Web site (www.midamericaangels.com) that startups can use to submit business plans to its wealthy members.
The site is part of an aggressive start for Mid-America Angels, which the CEOs of the Enterprise Center of Johnson County and the Lawrence Regional Technology Center formed in early December.

Lawrence Regional Technology Center CEO Matthew McClorey said that 23 wealthy individuals have signed up to be members of Mid-America Angels. He said the group should have
25 members by its March 28 quarterly meeting.

"There's a lot of verbal commitments out there," McClorey said.

Venture Capital Swarms China

Tue, 11 Apr 2006 07:10:30 -0500

By JAMES T. AREDDY
Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal.

From The Wall Street Journal Online

SHANGHAI -- Foreign venture-capital firms are fueling an investment frenzy in China as they compete to fund tech companies. The flood of cash is raising questions about whether China's latest investment fad will turn into a speculative bubble.

The appetite for tech companies -- such as Yahoo Inc.'s investment last year of $1 billion for a 40% stake in portal Alibaba.com Corp. -- marks a new direction for foreign investment in China, away from the manufacturing sector.
Over the past decade, foreigners have pumped half a trillion dollars of foreign direct investment into China, much of that as manufacturers ramped up operations.

HyPerformix Names Osborne SVP Client Services

Tue, 11 Apr 2006 07:09:32 -0500

Shauna Osborne was named senior vice president of client services at Austin software company HyPerformix Inc. She previously was vice president of professional services.

Activant sold to buyout firms

Tue, 11 Apr 2006 07:09:03 -0500

Austin-based Activant Solutions Inc. (CCI Triad and Cooperative Computing Inc.) has agreed to be acquired by two private-equity firms, Hellman & Freidman LLC and Thoma Cressey, for an undisclosed amount.

Tips for Winning Those First Sales

Tue, 11 Apr 2006 07:08:28 -0500

Venture Capitalists Mentor Their Fledglings

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 10:39:08 -0500

By REBECCA BUCKMAN
Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal.

From The Wall Street Journal Online

As a first-time Silicon Valley chief executive, Jim Fowler needs all the nuts-and-bolts management help he can get.
These days, he's getting a lot of it from an unlikely
source: his venture-capital investors.

Mr. Fowler, an ex-U.S. Navy diver, runs Jigsaw Data Corp., a San Mateo, Calif., Internet start-up that allows salespeople to trade business contacts online. He chats with one of his venture-capital backers, Tom Peterson, about operational matters and other issues several times a week. Mr. Peterson also keeps in near-constant touch via email, dropping Mr.
Fowler messages about analyst reports and business referrals.

American Campus finishes $245M deal with Illinois company Austin Business Journal

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 10:38:28 -0500

American Campus Communities Inc. closed on the purchase of
13 student housing complexes from Royal Properties for about
$245 million.

The properties comprise 5,710 beds in 10 U.S. markets.
Austin-based American Campus Communities (NYSE: ACC) says it also will pay $9.8 million in closing costs, integration expenses and capital expenditures for renovations.
The company is taking out a $123.6 million mortgage for the deal.

"These assets have rental rates at a very attractive price point and have yielded strong historical growth due to their excellent location in major university markets," says Bill Bayless, CEO of American Campus Communities. "This portfolio meets our stringent investment criteria and fits well with our existing portfolio."

Michael Henneman, chairman of Champaign, Ill.-based Royal Properties, has joined the board of American Campus Communities.

Austin's ClearOrbit buys California firm's assets

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 10:35:21 -0500

Austin's ClearOrbit Inc., which makes supply-chain management software for major manufacturers and distributors, has acquired the software assets of California-based eBoomerang. eBoomerang is a six-year-old company, which had software that tracked product returns, reports the statesman.

Texas A&M seeking nominations for "Aggie 100"

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 10:34:46 -0500

Texas A&M University is seeking nominations for its second annual "Aggie 100," a list of the fast-growing businesses owned or led by its graduates.

The deadline for nominations is May 31. The school will honor this year's Aggie 100 inductees at ceremony Oct. 13.

The university's Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship, run from its Mays Business School, leads the program. It ranks companies based on the compound annual revenue growth rate from 2003 to 2005. Any A&M graduate is eligible.

For more information, visit (aggie100.com).

Management-level hirings and promotions in the Austin area March, 2006

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 10:34:20 -0500

Nan Matthews was named director of public relations for the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce. She previously was Main Street manager for the City of Luling.

Maelia Macin was named general manager for the Austin operations of Univision and Telefutura. She has spent the past 13 years at the Spanish-language television network in Miami and Los Angeles.

Shauna Osborne was named senior vice president of client services at Austin software company HyPerformix Inc. She previously was vice president of professional services.

Ray Longoria was named creative director at GSD&M. Longoria has been with the advertising agency for eight years and was most recently its associate creative director.

Austin Ventures proposes buyout of Canadian company

Sat, 18 Mar 2006 13:29:32 -0500

Austin Ventures LP wants to buy the rest of the shares of
724 Solutions Inc. that it doesn't already own.

Austin Ventures says it offered $3.07 per share in cash -- or nearly $17 million -- for the remaining 5.5 million shares of 724 Solutions. Austin Ventures is the largest shareholder of 724 Solutions.

Affiliates of Austin Ventures own 547,854 common shares of Toronto-based 724 Solutions (NASDAQ: SVNX, TSX: SVN) and hold about $8.9 million worth of notes that can be converted to another 2.9 million common shares. Furthermore, partners with Austin Ventures own 5,162 common shares of 724 Solutions.

The lowdown on leverage An examination of Bain's recent dealings reveals a private equity environment in which the big are getting bigger

Sat, 18 Mar 2006 13:29:02 -0500

Alexander Soule Journal Staff

Five years ago, Bain Capital LLC put down $18 million to pull off the $300 million leveraged buyout of KB Toys Inc.
With a fresh $3.5 billion fund at its disposal last year, Bain swung the buyout of Toys R Us Inc. and some 20 more acquisitions totaling $35 billion in value.

Think about what Bain might do with a $6 billion fund to play with. Bain has sent out the books to raise such a fund, Private Equity Week reports, even as it demonstrates a willingness to multiply its purchasing power by teaming up with other private equity firms to bring off mammoth deals like Toys R Us (NYSE: TOY).

VC fund geared to women set to unwind Axxon's Marshall blames dearth of opportunity; others disagree

Sat, 18 Mar 2006 13:28:22 -0500

Craig M. Douglas Journal Staff

Sheryl Marshall has one lingering question as she winds down her venture capital firm, Axxon Capital, after a disappointing six-year run: Where are all the women at?

Launched in 1999 with the mission of funding technology startups founded or managed by women entrepreneurs, Axxon's investment strategy has run aground. Specifically, Marshall says she is shuttering her operation amid a dearth in women-led businesses, particularly local ones in the high-growth information technology sector.