Fast-growing HasOffers raises $9.4M, promises to keep ‘bootstrapper spirit’ alive

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HasOffers built a pretty impressive business over the past four years, using the company’s revenue to fuel expansion as it grew to 79 employees and added profits to the bottom line. Now, after bootstrapping their way to success, the team is looking to supercharge efforts. HasOffers, which helps companies manage affiliate advertising programs, just scored… Read More…

You did what? Why we chose debt over venture capital

Photo via Keith Cooper

If you’re an entrepreneur, there’s a good chance that many of your conversations — and a good chunk of your inner dialogue — are consumed by thoughts of fundraising. You can’t open a web browser or email or Twitter without being bombarded by opinion pieces, research, case studies, and news on the topic. On this… Read More…

Apptio raises $45 million at a hefty valuation, plans to accelerate ‘on all fronts’

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Apptio is not playing small ball. Just 14 months after raising a $50 million venture round, Bellevue-based Apptio is back with a little more cash in its pocket. The company, which offers on-demand software and services for managing corporate IT departments, today is announcing that it has raised another $45 million in series E funding. It marks… Read More…

Startup valuations remain strong, but ‘down rounds’ increase to 28% of all VC deals

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It was a bit of a mixed message in the latest Entrepreneurs Report from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, as so-called “down rounds” increased at the same time that startup valuations in some categories went even higher. First, on valuations. The median pre-money valuations increased for series A and later-stage funding deals. For the fourth quarter, the… Read More…

Heralded UW computer science professor scores $6.75M for GraphLab, looking to make better online recommendations

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It was a major coup last summer when The University of Washington hooked computer science professor Carlos Guestrin, a leading data scientist and expert in machine learning. What wasn’t widely known at the time was that the Guestrin-led open source project, an ambitious undertaking known as GraphLab.org, would soon sprout into its very own startup. But that’s… Read More…

Former Microsoft CFO John Connors named to Midas List for top investors

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John Connors, a venture capitalist at Bellevue-based Ignition Partners who previously served as CFO of Microsoft, was named to Forbes’ 2013 Midas List that honors tech’s top investors. Connors has made a number of good investments in companies like Splunk, which went public last April, Heroku, XenSource and Parse, which was just acquired by Facebook. Connors, who… Read More…

Frazier Healthcare raises $281M for latest venture fund

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Seattle venture capital firm Frazier Healthcare has raised $281.8 million for its seventh fund, according to a SEC filing today. The company, which is targeting $300 million, has received the funds from 20 investors. Those funds include three percent from the “general partner,” according to the filing. The latest filing indicates that the firm —… Read More…

Virtual assistant startup lands $16 million to help sales pros cultivate hot leads

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A fast-growing Bellingham startup has landed $16 million in venture capital from Kennet Partners and named former NexTag president Mark Bradley as CEO. AVA.ai is the maker of an “automated virtual assistant”  — an online tool used by thousands of automobile dealers, insurance agents and other sales professionals to better track sales leads. “Kennet reviewed many… Read More…

Silicon Valley VC Bill Gurley: NYC needs more ‘iconic’ tech companies like Seattle

Bill Gurley. Photo via Wikipedia

I’ve been writing a lot in recent months about the technology communities in Seattle and New York City, pinpointing the strengths and weaknesses of both tech hubs. While New York has plenty of marketing buzz and financial might — not to mention Mayor Bloomberg — one of the things it lacks is an independent tech… Read More…

Tango Card raises $4.1M to shake up the gift card market

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Tango Card, the Seattle startup that’s looking to upend the gift card industry, has pulled in an additional $4.1 million in financing. The deal was led by Allegro Venture Partners, with Floodgate, Swan, Western Technology Investment and Google Chairman Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors also participating. Led by entrepreneur and former FiberTower executive David Leeds, Tango Card is a… Read More…

VoloMetrix raises $3.3M to help determine how workers spend their days

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VoloMetrix has raised $3.3 million in series A financing, money that the Seattle startup will use to continue developing an online service which helps make organizations more efficient by pinpointing where workers are spending their time. Total funding in the company, which is led by by former Bain & Company employee Ryan Fuller, now stands at $4.9… Read More…

Tech Moves: Changes at SEOmoz; Polaris picks CEO-in-residence; Microvision names CFO; etc.

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Jamie Steven has stepped down as chief marketing officer at SEOmoz, taking on the same role at Speedtest.net operator Ookla. “I’ve been flabbergasted by the amount of data these guys have and I’m thrilled to begin sharing it,” said Steven, noting that Ookla’s Speedtest is running about five million tests per day. “Put simply, broadband and… Read More…

Washington vs. Oregon: Here are the VC deals from Q1

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Last week, we reported on the new CB Insights VC report, noting that Oregon had overtaken Washington in terms of quarterly venture investments for the first time since 1993. The MoneyTree Report, being released today by the National Venture Capital Association, Thomson Reuters and PricewaterhouseCoopers, offers a slightly different picture. Washington just edged out Oregon, with… Read More…

Startup valuations rise even as VCs don’t get as many exits

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Valuations at startup companies continue to increase, even though venture capitalists aren’t cashing out on deals as frequently as they’d like. According to a new report out this week from PitchBook, valuations in angel/seed, early stage and late stage all increased versus 2011 levels. Meanwhile, deal flow declined and the number of venture-backed companies completing IPOs… Read More…

BeatBio gets $2.5M for new ‘super fuel’ that boosts pumping power of heart muscles

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BeatBio, a Seattle life sciences startup led by former Vulcan Capital managing director Michael Kranda and former VieVax CTO Gregory Mahairas, has raised $2.5 million in seed funding from CET Capital Partners, the W Fund and others. The new funds will be used to move the company’s gene therapy product into clinical trials, an experimental… Read More…

Jeff Bezos-backed Remitly announces free money transfers to the Philippines

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Seattle startup Remitly just announced pricing for its new international money-transfer service to the Philippines, and customers are probably going to like the price. Money transfers of more than $100 are free — if you’re willing to wait three business days. If the money needs to be wired immediately, Remitly plans to charge a flat… Read More…

Adapx lands $3 million to help remote workers more easily capture data

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Adapx has raised an additional $3 million in venture capital, money that the Seattle startup will use to continue to help mobile workers at large organizations capture data while working in the field. The company, which is led by former Microsoft vet Ken Schneider, develops software that works in conjunction with digital pens to make it… Read More…

VC investing tanks in Washington, overtaken by Oregon for first time since 1993

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I’ve been covering the venture capital beat for nearly 15 years in the Pacific Northwest, through good times and bad. And this marks the very first time I’ve seen this occur. Oregon overtook Washington in terms of venture capital investing during the first quarter. Venture capitalists invested $146 million in Oregon, compared to just $100… Read More…

AudienceScience scores cash, names former PopCap exec as CFO

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AudienceScience has raised additional capital and named former PopCap Games executive Bob Chamberlain to the role of chief financial officer. The marketing services company declined to comment on how much cash it raised in the most recent round, but a SEC filing indicates that it has reeled in $9.2 million of a $15 million round…. Read More…

Online education startup Treehouse raises $7M to teach geeks new tech skills

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Online education startup Treehouse has raised $7 million in fresh funding from Kaplan, Social + Capital Partnership and others. The money will be used to grow the Portland company’s team, which now consists of 52 employees. Total funding now stands at $12.6 million. Treehouse is competing in a super-hot area of online education, teaching students new… Read More…