Donuts raises more cash in quest to control hundreds of domain name extensions

We think Donuts Inc. is baking something different than sweet treats (Photo: Arnold Gatilao)

Donuts appears to have a pretty big appetite for fresh cash. The Bellevue startup, which emerged last year with more than $100 million in a series A funding round that was the largest in the state, has pulled in even more cash as it looks to gobble up domain name extensions. And the CEO of the 11-person… Read More…

Chart: Venture capital fundraising off to a ‘slow start’

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This shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who follow the industry. Venture capital funds are having a harder time raising money. A new report out from the National Venture Capital Association indicates that 35 funds raised $4.1 billion during the first quarter. That compares to 53 funds that raised $4.7 billion in the first quarter… Read More…

After series of pivots, Haiku Deck scores $3 million to make presentation tools fun

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Haiku Deck has reeled in $3 million in fresh funding, money that the Seattle startup will use to continue to build out its easy-to-use presentation tools. Trilogy Partnership led the round, with Madrona Venture Group, Founder’s Co-op, entrepreneur Sarah Leary and others also participating. The TechStars Seattle grad, led by former Cranium executive Adam Tratt,… Read More…

Ignition Partners raises $150M fund, opens new Silicon Valley office

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It’s a new era for Ignition Partners. The Bellevue venture capital firm has a new fund, new offices and a new direction as it celebrates its 13th year. Today, the firm — an investor in companies such as Glympse, DocuSign and Splunk — is announcing that it has closed on a $150 million fund. Ignition’s… Read More…

Ex-Microsoft exec lands $4.5M to help make life easier for product managers

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We’ve been wondering what former Microsoft vice president Sanjay Parthasarathy has been building ever since we discovered his startup, Indix, 18 months ago.  Parthasarathy, who spent 19 years at Microsoft, including a stint running the company’s Startup Business Accelerator program, still isn’t saying much about Indix. However, he did just score $4.5 million in fresh funding from Nexus Venture… Read More…

Welcome to the Northwest (where startups are cheaper than the Valley)

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I got a call last week from a Bay Area venture capitalist who was gathering intel on the Pacific Northwest, wondering what the region was all about and how they might be able to make a mark in this mossy land. Part of the discussion turned to valuations, and we discussed how a VC’s dollar… Read More…

Maveron to plant a seed each month, unveils plan to sprout early-stage consumer startups

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Maveron struck gold a few years ago when it provided the initial seed funding to a young e-commerce startup by the name of Zulily, housing the startup at its offices as entrepreneurs Darrell Cavens and Mark Vadon got the idea off the ground. Of course, that’s proven to be a very, very good investment for Maveron,… Read More…

Yes, it really is harder to land that series A round from VCs

Photo via Images of Money

A lot has been made about the so-called “series A crunch” — the idea that it is increasingly challenging for early-stage companies to continue to raise financing as they move beyond the idea stage. That’s always been the case in the startup arena with more carnage in the earliest of stages of development. But a… Read More…

Theraclone raises $14M to ID rare human antibodies that could be used to fight disease

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Seattle biotechnology company Theraclone Sciences has raised an additional $8 million in equity financing and $6 million in debt, bringing total investment in its series B funding to $50 million. Investors in the round included ARCH Venture Partners, Canaan Partners, MPM Capital, Healthcare Ventures, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Amgen Ventures, Versant Ventures and Zenyaku Kogyo. “Theraclone… Read More…

No more coupon clipping: This startup wants to transform how we shop for groceries

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For years, savvy shoppers have turned to the newspaper to find the best deals at the local grocery store. But new technologies are taking a bite out of the printed coupons, and a Kirkland company by the name of Visible Brands wants to accelerate that trend. The company is developing a new digital coupon system,… Read More…

Q&A: Seattle super angel Geoff Entress talks valuations, missed deals and why the state should support startups

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Seattle angel investor Geoff Entress has backed about 100 startup companies over the years, from social media powerhouses like HootSuite to storage companies like Isilon to software startups like LiquidPlanner. Heck, he’s even an investor and board member at a Redmond soup company, which he jokes not many VCs would have taken a look at. A… Read More…

Kleiner Perkins says VC fund performance is weak, and they’re going to fix it

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Here’s a sign of the changing winds in the venture capital business. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, one of Silicon Valley’s top venture capital firms, recently told a group of its limited partners that fund performance has not met expectations. Citing people familiar with the discussions, Reuters reports that partners at the firm recently told… Read More…

Avado lands $1M to transform healthcare in the same way Mint upended personal finance

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Avado has reeled in $1 million in seed funding, money that the company will use to continue to eradicate paper-based inefficiencies in the healthcare industry and make it easier for patients to connect with health care providers. Founded by former Microsofties Dave Chase, Avado plans to announce the funding today at the HIMSS conference in New… Read More…

Andreessen Horowitz, Jay-Z’s VC firm invest $10M in cosmetics startup Julep

Julep founder Jane Park

Julep founder Jane Park pauses near the end of our interview, and just lays it out straight when it comes to her recent venture capital fundraising efforts. “There’s nothing like talking to a roomful of men about nail polish,” says Park with a laugh. Obviously, the men were paying close attention to Park, who is… Read More…

Seattle super angels sink cash in shopping app Zoomingo

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Some of Seattle’s top angel investors are tossing their support behind Zoomingo, the mobile shopping application developed by serial entrepreneur Shirish Nadkarni. Investing in the new round are former Facebook general counsel Rudy Gadre, former Smilebox CEO Andrew Wright and former Twango CEO Serena Glover. Total funding in Zoomingo, which raised $1.3 million from Benaroya… Read More…

Blaze Bioscience raises $8.5M to help surgeons pinpoint cancer cells with ‘tumor paint’

Jim Olson

Seattle biotechnology startup Blaze Bioscience has raised $8.5 million to continue developing technologies that  are designed to help surgeons more easily identify cancer cells in the body. Total funding in the company, with operations in the South Lake Union area of Seattle, now stands at $9.8 million. Blaze said that the money came from individual… Read More…

Startup nightmares: Help, my VC won’t re-invest

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I recently met with two very experienced CEO’s who ran into the one of the most challenging startup situations: their current venture capital investors would not re-invest in an upcoming round of financing.  Both CEO’s had previously attracted financing from venture capital firms. After several years of operations, the CEO’s knew that additional financing was… Read More…

This startup just raised $1M for an algorithm to help employers fill engineering jobs

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Everywhere you go in the tech industry these days companies are struggling to find smart engineers, designers and developers. Enter Group Talent. This Seattle/San Fran/NYC startup, which just scored $1 million in seed funding, has developed a matching engine that’s designed to pinpoint the perfect fit for your engineering jobs. Since Valentine’s Day is in… Read More…

Madrona backs Mobilewalla, team relocates to Seattle

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Mobile analytics startup Mobilewalla has raised $4 million in new funding, including a cash infusion from Madrona Venture Group and several angel investors. As a result of the financing, the founding team behind Mobilewalla are relocating to Seattle, setting up temporary offices in the venture capital firm’s downtown Seattle offices. A spokeswoman for Madrona describes… Read More…

Startup valuations remained red hot in 2012, but are things cooling?

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Even though venture capital investing fell last year on a national basis, it still remained a good time to raise cash when considering startup valuations. At least that’s the latest from a report by law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, which analyzed valuations of deals in which it played a role as counsel either to… Read More…