VC Roundup: NuPathe IPO, no more DreamIt Ventures

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 READS

Later today, look out for the emerging details about Philly Mag’s story on Guggenheim Ventures.

Technically Philly wasn’t the only publication to write about DreamIt Demo Day, a handful of other publications also weighed in. In a guest post by DreamIt partner Mike Levinson, TechCrunch takes a very black and white approach offering short paragraphs about every company. PhillyInc looks at DreamIt in perspective of the larger economic climate and the Philadelphia Business Journal focuses more on Startl’s relationship with DreamIt. Of course, you can always look at our three-post Demo Day preview series, our awards post for Demo Day and our collection of videos and pictures from the big day. The DreamIt companies are packing up a leaving the Science Center this week.

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Friday Q&A: Novitas Capital and PACT’s Dean Miller, silobuster

When Technically Philly gave Dean Miller a ring yesterday, he admitted to spending the majority of the conversation staring out of the window.

“We have our summer celebration tonight, and I’m worried about this thunderstorm,” he says.

Miller, a partner at Novitas Capital, shouldn’t be worrying. For one, the event is inside. Two: Ealier this month Miller oversaw the merging of two of the regions high profile technology groups: Eastern Technology Council and Mid-Atlantic Capital Alliance. Both had the similar mission of helping foster technology entrepreneurship and investing.

“We knew that if you put them side by side you’d be hard pressed to tell them apart,” says Miller. As head of the MAC Alliance, Miller helped oversee the consolidation of the two groups into the Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technology, or PACT.

“We’re kind of a one stop shop and strategic hub now whether you are an investor or an entrepreneur,” he says.

We chatted with the local tech veteran about the roaring 90s, PACT’s new event strategy and Miller’s plans for world domination.

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VC Roundup: Gencast to invest in five startups this year, Lifeshield goes local

Welcome to the VC Round-up, 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 READS

Yardley-based secutiry company Lifeshield has raised $11 million from a handful of local sources, including Novitas Capital, First Round Capital, NewSpring Ventures and Nutrisystem’s (based in Horsham) former CEO Michael Hagan. The funds will be used to relaunch the brand after it changed its name from InGrid Home Security.

Gil Beyda has a fantastic interview with adxchanger.com about the sale of Invite Media (our coverage here). Beyda’s company, Gencast Ventures, was one of Invite’s investors and the company’s sale to Google gave Gencast its first exit. Beyada also says that he is looking to invest in four to five new startups this year, so get that pitch ready.

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VC Roundup: PACT emerges from ETC and MAC, Outplay wins Baiada

Welcome to the VC Round-up, 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.

Update: corrected ETC’s name, corrected Precision item.

DEFINITE READS

Remember when Eastern Technology Council and Mid-Atlantic Capital fund merged? We’ll the new entity has finally decided on its new name and branding. Last Wednesday the new group announced at its awards dinner that it will be called PACT, short for Greater Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies. Dean Miller of Novitas Capital will serve as the group’s CEO.

Outplay Technologies took first place at Drexel’s Baiada Center for Entrepreneurship Incubator Competition. According to the Inquirer’s Mike Armstrong, the company develops alternative video game controls  such as button-filled gloves. No comment, however, from the NES powerglove guy.

MIGHT BE WORTH YOUR TIME

Radnor-based QR Pharma has raised $2.4 Million in seed money, including $500,000 from Ben Franklin Technology Partners.

NextStage Capital portfolio company Moda technolgies sold to Swiss-based Lonza Group for $10 Million according to our good friend Joe Destefano. The group planned a party at a local steakhouse to celebrate. For the record, fellas, Technically Philly is offended we weren’t invited. You should see Chris Wink sing karaoke.

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VC Roundup: VCs that can kill and the carried interest tax moves along

Welcome to the VC Round-up, 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.

MUST READS

As we wrote about this morning, our pals at Phillymag wrote a detailed expose on Mike Burns of Guggenheim Venture Partners. The story details the military-like workflow of the under-the-radar firm that focuses on buying distressed assets. We’d link to it, but as of Monday Night it appears the story hadn’t made it online yet. When its up be sure to give a read for an inside look into the only local investment firm that could also kick your ass. The story also had a sidebar of prominent local VC funds including First Round, Gencast and DreamIt.

The National Venture Capital Association continues its fight against a Senate Bill that it says would discourage investment activity. The bill, which would increase taxes on “carried interest” barely passed the passed the House and observers expect the Senate to make significant changes to the bill.

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VC Roundup: Joe Biden visits BFTP

Welcome to the VC Round-up, 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 READS

Vice President Joe Biden visited the northeast branch of Ben Franklin Technology Partners last week. The Scranton native spoke at BFTP’s new clean tech campus in Bethlehem which received federal funds as part of the stimulus package. Be sure to read the Morning Call’s excellent write up.

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VC Roundup: MAC and ETC merge, MindSnacks accepted into DreamIt

Welcome to the VC Round-up, 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 READS
Peter Key reports that the Eastern Technology Council and MAC alliance are merging. Both organizations focus on connecting business owners with investors. Dean Miller, managing director at Novitas Capital will be the new organization’s CEO. The new organization will reveil its name June 3rd, during the MAC Alliance Awards Luncheon as reported in Key’s followup post.

Either someone is lying, or DreamIt Ventures has started to notify companies that have been accepted in the program’s Summer 2010 class. MindSnacks, a social game dev shop, claims it has been accepted to the University City-based incubator and has posted that it is looking for a “generalist developer” to possibly serve as a co-founder. A social media search by Technically Philly revealed no other companies coming forward.

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Venture Capital: BFTP wants to give you money, a new fund in Bala Cynwyd?

Welcome to the VC Round-up, 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.

Programming note: We skipped last week due to some technical troubles.

Update: looks like Franklin Park isn’t a straight VC fund.

DEFINITE READS

Ben Franklin Technology Partners is looking to award cash to clean energy companies that employ less than 500 people. The money comes from the federal government and companies must match the funds, which can be as high as $50,000. A notice of intent to apply must be filed by April 7th.

(see update, above) According to SEC filings, Bala Cynwyd-based Franklin Park Venture Fund has raised $50 million. We couldn’t find evidence of preexisting activity from these guys, so drop a comment a if you know anything.

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