VC roundup: How does PA stack up?

Welcome to the VC Roundup, where we’ll parse through venture capital news related to Philadelphia-based private equity firms and the companies they fund. Subscribe to the roundup as an email newsletter. If you have any VC-related news to pass along to us, please drop us a line.

DEFINITE READ

It was a slow week in local venture capital, so how about we take a step back and observe the big picture?

Our friends at FormDs put together this handy map, a state-by-state breakdown of fundraisings per million people.

Click to see entire map.

As you can see PA is right in the middle of the pack and Colorado is absolutely killing it. Maybe its that Boulder startup scene which, while growing, is operating quietly under the radar.

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State launches interactive broadband map

After nearly a year of research and development, the Commonwealth has launched an interactive map to detail broadband access across the state in an effort to support broadand stimulus projects.

Mapping was part of $7.3 million federal broadband stimulus grant to show wireline, cable and wireless networks and to identify anchor institutions like schools, hospitals and government buildings, as we reported in January.

The information will be used to help business owners and residents identify places to locate their operations or families, according to a press release. It will also be used in a national map to be launched in February, which will additionally serve to inform broadband accessibility projects funded by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

The maps compliment unreleased prelimary documentation efforts performed by the City of Philadelphia when it applied for several broadband grants last year, a process we detailed in our Digital Philadelphia series.

The City applied for more than $35 million in federal opportunities, as we reported last September.

In July, the City was awarded a $6.4 million grant to fund public computer centers in the city, which will bring 800 new computers to 48 centers at city rec centers, homeless shelters, public housing and community-based organizations.

In coming months, Technically Philly will be investigating the economic impact of broadband accessibility in three distinct Philadelphia neighborhoods, as a winner of a grant provided by J-Lab’s Enterprise Reporting Fund, a William Penn Foundation-funded endeavor.

Event Highlights: November 29th – December 5th, 2010

Good morning, Philadelphia.

We hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful and that you look forward to eating turkey sandwiches all week as much as we do. But between all of those leftover lunches is a calendar chock full of technology events. Ready?

This week: Learn what this HTML5 thing is all about, get the lowdown on mobile and hack away with your .Net pals.

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Links: QVC online, Invite Media backstory and More

DEFINITE READS

• Can QVC Translate Its Pitch Online? [New York Times] — On just how the West Chester-based TV sales network turned the Internet friend from foe
• PhillyInc: Deconstructing Invite Media’s success story [Inquirer] — The back story of the big exit
• This 16 Year-old Built a 100 MPG Hybrid Sports Car (Video) [Treehugger] – On Azeem Hill, who spoke at the last Ignite.

MIGHT BE OF INTEREST

• Hacking away at the Next Big Thing [Baltimore Sun]
• Hilton Inn @ Penn to Get iPad Treatment [Geekadelphia]
• Chirp up: Students participate more in class when using Twitter, study finds [Daily Orange] H/T Keystone Edge

GIVE A GLANCE

• Chamber Honors the Best of the Region’s Small Businesses [Chamber of Commerce blog]
• Second Issue of Tek Lado Hits Honor Boxes Today [Geekadelphia] — New edition of the bilingual technology, Latino-culture magazine, edited by Liz Spikol
• Philadelphia U. plans College of Engineering, Design and Commerce [Philadelphia Business Journal]
• Aramark’s full-year sales up 2 percent [PhillyInc: Inquirer] — Growth for one of the city’s largest companies.
• Former Inquirer publisher Tierney buys one firm, forms another [Philadelphia Business Journal]

Every Friday morning, we make sure you didn t miss anything with Friday Tech Links.

Allan Frank: Philadelphia CTO is leaving, pointed city “the way to the promised land,” he says

Allan Frank

City of Philadelphia Chief Technology Officer Allan Frank is leaving government life, a press release announced and Frank confirmed Wednesday night.

As recent as this month, Frank spoke at a government employees meet up group about his forthcoming plans for the city’s IT direction. Frank will maintain some ties, serving as chair of the newly formed Mayor’s Advisory Board on Technology, in which he will remain involved in these projects.

“In actuality, there is no perfect time to leave,” Frank told Technically Philly. “I am confident in the new DOT leadership and talent I have attracted to continue the momentum.”

His last day, before returning to the private sector, will be Feb. 1, 2011 and, pending a national search for his replacement, Tommy Jones, the city’s first Deputy Chief Information Officer, will serve as interim CTO.

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Comcast Roundup: NBC executives named, the fallout and more

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

DEFINITE READS

• Comcast, NBC argue against sharing with Internet TV [Post Tech: Washington Post] — “Comcast and NBC Universal executives met with senior officials at the Federal Communications Commission this week, urging the agency against conditions to their proposed merger that would require the new company to provide shows and movies to Internet video distributors.”
• Sanders Tells Regulators to Block Comcast-NBC Deal [Media Decoder: New York Times] — Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders: “The sale of NBCU to Comcast would create an enormously powerful, vertically integrated media conglomerate, causing irreparable damage to the American media landscape and ultimately to society as a whole,” he wrote.”

Below, Comcast announcing NBC executives, is criticized by some for doing so and much more.

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DreamIt eyeing further expansion, has no plans to leave Philly

The folks at DreamIt Ventures want to make one thing clear: they aren’t going anywhere.

The early-stage technology incubator that has called the University City Science Center home for the past three years announced last week that it will be opening a second incubator in New York City. However, DreamIt’s partners are adamant that the Philly incubator will remain the program’s headquarters.

“The applicants are getting stronger every year,” says managing partner Steve Welch. “We felt we were turning away good companies.”

DreamIt believes that the New York startup community is growing quickly so an expansion to the 67th Ward is natural fit. Despite the presence of TechStars, DreamIt isn’t worried about being an also-ran.

“Every accelerator represents just a fraction of the total companies out there,” says Welch who added that many DreamIt alums currently live in New York City.

The incubator is expanding despite not seeing returns from its current crop of portfolio companies. While there are several cash flow positive DreamIt grads, none has reached an exit other than Scribnia (sold a few months into the program by the team that went on to create SeatGeek). So is DreamIt taking a risk by expanding before seeing any returns?

“That’s what entrepreneurship is,” says Welch.

After the jump we run down some facts about the incubator’s move:

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DreamIt Ventures is expanding to New York

Welcome to the VC Roundup, where we’ll parse through venture capital news related to Philadelphia-based private equity firms and the companies they fund. Subscribe to the roundup as an email newsletter. If you have any VC-related news to pass along to us, please drop us a line.

The 100 percent must read edition:

DreamIt Ventures will be opening up an incubator in New York City. The 67th Ward version of the Philadelphia-born incubator will run during the summer and the Philadelphia edition will be pushed back to the Fall. DreamIt hasn’t found mentors, office space or an entrepreneur to run the new incubator yet.

At Technically Philly, we’re torn over this news. On one hand, it’s good to see Philadelphia companies and tech entities expanding their sphere of influence. However, as Forbes points out, the New York early-stage technology community is bordering on saturation. Why play second fiddle to TechStars? We’ve reached out to DreamIt this morning and will follow up.

Speaking of First Round Capital and Philadelphians feeling for New York, the firm has promoted entrepreneur-in-residence Charlie O’Donnell to principal. Meanwhile, Phineas Barnes, who worked out of the firm’s Conshohocken office is moving to New York.

First Round Capital was included in a $1.85 million seed round for recipe search engine Yummly and in a $10 million round for Plastic Jungle.

Ben Franklin Technology Partners has invested $2.3 million in nine local companies. The investment was mostly in energy and healthcare companies. Neat Receipts received $60,000 in addition to the $687,500 they have already received from BFTP. Wizehive (founded by DreamIt’s Michael Levinson) also received $250,000.

How GetRaised earns its users an average of $3,000

A salary breakdown for a zookeeper in Philadelphia for GetRaised.com

One of the lasting effects of the current recession is the dip in wages for new graduates. Your first paycheck has a lasting impact on your lifetime earnings, so getting a high starting wage is important.

To help arm young workers, Churnless has created GetRaised, a service that will help users determine if they are underpaid while creating custom raise requests to help make sure users are getting the salary they deserve.

“A lot of times people make an emotional appeal rather than a data-driven approach,” says Dave Clarke communications strategist at Churnless. The company is scattered around the country with Clarke setting up shop here in Old City.

Users have to provide the service their job title, experience and other information and GetRaised will use government data, job listings, as well as the data from other users to produce a salary range.

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Event Highlights: November 22 – 28, 2010

It’s a short week Philadelphia, but there are still two events that you should keep your eye on.

Before you take off for Thanksgiving, there are a few tech events that we recommend. Two, actually. Unfortunately, they are at the same time. After the jump, get social with PhillyCHI and the Social Media club (but not both).

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