VC Deals

Ballast Point Ventures, a St. Petersburg, Fla., firm affiliated with Raymond James Financial, Inc. closed a $3 million growth equity investment in MolecularMD Corporation, a West Palm Beach, Fla., molecular diagnostic company. BPV was the only investor in the financing. Press release: Ballast Point Ventures (BPV), a venture capital firm affiliated with Raymond James Financial, […]

Layoffs are coming fast and furious, with at least four major employers announcing cuts today. AOL (a unit of Time Warner), Boeing, SAP and Starbucks said they collectively plan reductions totaling 22,000 positions. The moves follow a NYT story on Monday that said Caterpillar, Home Depot, Nextel, Sprint and eight other companies that they would […]

I recently read Malcolm Gladwell’s new book, Outliers, with great interest and delight. Gladwell is a fantastic author: always thought-provoking on human behavior and a quick, entertaining read. But I confess this book did not resonate with me or strike me as relevant for the VC-entrepreneur dance in the same way his previous book, Blink, did (see: VCs Blink). It was intellectually interesting, but not professionally illimunating. Instead, I have been even more taken by another book, which also analyzes human behavior in a thought-provoking way called Sway. Written by Ori and Rom Brafman, Sway was recommended to me by my friend and co-investor Howard Morgan at First Round Capital. It is a fascinating analysis of why human beings naturally fall into irrational behavior. The book has very relevant implications for venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, particularly in today’s environment, as VCs are likely to allow irrational behavior to seep into their portfolio management decisions in the coming years.

Kewego, an internet video company based in Paris, raised $6.2 million (4.7 million Euros) from Banexi Venture Partners and CDC Entreprises. Press release: Kewego, the European leader in management, broadcasting and monetisation solutions for videos on the Internet, intranets and screen networks, announces fundraising of 4.7m Euros subscribed by the company’s historic shareholders: Banexi Venture […]

7TM Pharma has during 2008 achieved a number of important milestones, including the completion of cliniacal Phase I studies and initiation of a Phase I/II study for TM30339 for treatment of obesity, and the pre-clinical development of TM38837 for treatment of obesity/diabetes. To support the further development of its pipeline, the company announced today the […]

Hydra Biosciences, a Cambridge, Mas.-based developer of novel ion channel drugs, raised $22 million in Series D financing led by MedImmune Ventures. Prior investors contributing follow-on commitments include Advanced Technology Ventures, Abingworth, Polaris, BioVenture Investors, Biogen-Idec Ventures, and Lilly Ventures in the Series D round. Hydra Biosciences has raised $47 million in previous rounds of […]

ZEO Inc, a Boston-based sleep education and coaching start-up, received $8.3 million in a Series C financing by Trident Capital and iD Ventures America. Press release: BOSTON, Mass. (January 16, 2009) — Newton-based Axon Labs, a leading innovator in sleep education and motivational sleep coaching technology, has announced its name change to Zeo Inc. on […]

One of our portfolio companies is raising money this year. It’s a great company, run by a great CEO, and it will get funded in a competitive process. The CEO was briefing our partnership the other day and listed the firms he is talking to. In another startup a number of years ago, he had been backed by […]

The subprime investment tactics by venture capitalists have had a damaging impact on the returns provided to limited partners, and on the technology asset class as a whole. We predict that as a result — and within 2 years, when the gestation period of the post-911 VC funds has expired — LPs will dramatically reduce the inflow of […]

To paraphrase Warren Buffett: As prices fall, a huge amount of financial folly is exposed. You only learn who’s been swimming naked when the tide goes out — and the financial shrinkage we’re witnessing is uglier than George Constanza’s worst nightmare. It was in 2007 that adjustable-rate, subprime mortgages issued during the boom years began […]