Startup Roundup: Monetate hiring tear, Founder Factory to feature Invite Media

Technically Philly’s Startup Roundup parses out the small pieces that make our greater Startup ecosystem thrive. We want to keep you in touch with the innovations that we can’t quite get to covering, but that deserve highlight. Follow along with the Startup Roundup’s dedicated newsletter or RSS feed. If you’ve got news to share, get in touch.

Updated: Corrected Sam Decker’s new role at Monetate.

MUST READS

E-commerce firm Monetate has named former Dell marketting exec Sam Decker to the company’s Board of Directors. The company also posts a case study with local motorocycle retailer RevZilla.com, noting the former’s customer targetting technology and how its helped the retailer grow. In related news, the firm is hiring (and it has a full stock of Clif Bars).

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VC Roundup: Guggenheim’s weird year, DreamIt gets NYT shoutout

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.

This edition of the VC Roundup is sponsored by PACT. Check out their latest event “The Next Generation Architecture Summit: Cloud Computing on the Rise” on October 5th. For more details, including a speaker lineup, click here.

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VC Roundup: Get your Switch tickets, Safeguard invests $18 million

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
If you read this roundup, then we think you’ll really enjoy Switch, our latest event that has five companies demoing their products for 7 minutes each. So far, Packlate, Orpheus Media Research and P’unk Ave are set to show off their latest and greatest. Come see Philly’s next big thing and snag your tickets today.

First Round Capital has decided to follow on its initial investment of Backupify, a service that backs up cloud computing data. After contributing to the company’s original $900,000 angel round, First Round is one of four firms investing $4.5 million in the Series A.

MIGHT BE WORTH YOUR TIME

Safeguard Scientifics is hosting InvestorDay, an event to help investors learn more about the company. There’s just one problem: the event is in New York. We know, as a publicly traded company, Safeguard must handle some of its business in the 67th Ward. But would it kill New Yorkers if they took a 90-minute Amtrak ride?

Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeast Pennsylvania announced $480,000 in new funding today. Most of the companies receiving investment are in the environmental sector.

GIVE A GLANCE

GAIN Capital, portfolio company of Edison Ventures and Cross Atlantic Capital Partners has acquired the foreign exhcange business of MG Financial.

In other Safeguard news, the company recently closed an $18 million Series A round with Good Start Genetics. The Massachusetts-based company develops genetic tests for prospective parents.

It’s an oldie, but it just came across our inbox today. Last year, ChubbyBrain took a look at the business incubation community in Delaware. The most incubated sector? Healthcare.

The Wall Street Journal reports that despite the overall shrinking of the VC industry, many new firms are emerging. We’d guess that it’s because that investments are getting cheaper and cheaper these days.

VC Roundup: BFTP and Fed start fund for green companies

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

The city is using stimulus money to create The Greenworks Pilot Energy Technology Program, a new accelerator fund designed to house green startups. The companies will be vetted by Ben Franklin Technology Partners and the grants will range from $50,000 to $150,000. The deadline to apply for the funds is July 31st.

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Comcast Roundup: Stronger than expected Q1, what NBC means for Web startups and more

DEFINITE READS

• Business Week reports on Comcast’s better-than-expected first quarter, backed by rebounding advertising. paidContent reports that during the earnings call, CEO Brian Roberts said he remains “hopeful” about the NBC deal.
• The Los Angeles Times reports that Kevin Martin, a former chief of the FCC who is now a private lawyer, is representing clients that oppose the Comcast-NBC deal.
• Reuters has a piece on investor questions around Comcast’s various “regulatory run-ins.” H/T Philly Tech News

Below, what the NBC deal could mean for Web startups, a secret product launch and more.

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Startup Roundup: Philly Startup Leaders to reorganize executive roles

Update: edited PSL information

Introducing Technically Philly’s Startup Roundup. Here, we’ll parse out the small pieces that make our greater Startup ecosystem thrive. We want to keep you in touch with the innovations that we can’t quite get to covering, but that deserve highlight. Follow along with the Startup Roundup’s dedicated RSS feed. If you’ve got news to share, get in touch.

DEFINITE READS

Philly Startup Leaders wants new blood. According to a blog post announcing a reorganization, the startup support group is accepting applications for President, Vice President, and six other positions with in the executive-level staff.

“Now it’s time for more fresh blood to transform this city all over again. It’s time for each of us who has built PSL to make room for the people who will grow this community in ways we could never imagine,” the group wrote.

Folks can apply for the positions until May 14 to gradually phase into the positions over three to six months.

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VC Roundup: Diapers.com takes over the world, DreamIt’s largest class ever

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Updated: Clarified Osage Ventures partnerships.

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

PBJ reports that this year’s DreamIt Ventures class of 15 is its largest yet, thanks to a partnership with Brooklyn-based Startl. Five of the fifteen were from the New York fund. Last year Dreamit had 11 companies. Our buddy Peter Key also writes that Steve Barsh will be leaving the incubator to focus on Packlate.com. In a recent interview with Technically Philly, Barsh said he plans on “dedicating ten percent” to the incubator.

Diapers.com is having a hell of a month. The company just finished raising its Series E (!) round to help speed along its already-breakneck growth. The company, originally backed by MentorTech Ventures, is the largest online provider of baby care items in the country. The company has also recently received press in Forbes, TechCrunch and the Financial Times. Fellas, you can now add Technically Philly to your list. You’re welcome.

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Event Highlights for April 26-May 2, 2010

You can’t complain about the weather after this weekend. It was beautiful. So after today and tomorrow, as this morning’s showers taper off, we should see a return to a comfortable spring.

Yes, we realize that our roundup is becoming a weather report. Truth is, meteorology might have been a first calling if not for tech. With that off our minds, there shouldn’t be too much argument about hitting up some of the great events this week.

On Tuesday, designers will have a field day. There’s at least three events based on Web design around the city. Wednesday, Startup Leaders‘ hosts its seventh Entrepreneurs Unplugged. Saturday, MarketingCamp makes its first appearance in the city, a chance for marketers to talk shop about innovative new approaches to the topic. Local ad firm Red Tettemer keynotes.

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Thanks to our weekly sponsors

Technically Philly is made possible by advertisers and sponsors that are important to Philadelphia’s technology community. This week we’d like to thank:

Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce – Next week, the Chamber of Commerce will host an entrepreneurial event highlighting the fact that small businesses are the employers of the future. Join the organization Wednesday for a discussion about policy, funding sources and the future of the region’s entrepreneurism.

Nonprofit Technology Resources – Fairmount-based NTR refurbishes used computers and peripherals for families and individuals in Philadelphia who may not otherwise be able to afford to buy a computer. We urge you to donate to this great local cause.

Towerstream – Our newest advertiser is the leading fixed WiMAX service provider in the U.S. and is setting up shop in Philadelphia. Contact Towerstream to find out how, in less than a week, you can have first-class Wimax service for your business.

Gregory FCA – Public relations firm Gregory FCA will host on April 15 “The Art of News and Storytelling in the Age of Social and Digital Media,” an affordable panel about the changing landscape of news and social media with well-known attendees from the Associated Press, Forbes, New York Times, Columbia School of Journalism and more. Register here.

Mogo Media – Web and Graphic design event planner Mogo Media will host an Adobe InDesign training seminar May 5th. Use discount code “TECHNICAL” to receive 10 percent off the admission fee. We worked with Mogo on its successful Adobe Flash seminar in March. Register today.

Springboard Media – Springboard Media is a certified Apple Specialist and retailer based in Center City and now, in Exton. They’ve got a ton of accessories and a great trade-in program that can score you up to $1,500 when you’re ready to upgrade.

Interested in joining these organizations and individuals in supporting Technically Philly? Check out our ad packages and contact our Ad Sales Manager. Can’t find something that fits? We’ll customize a package for you.

Startup Roundup: Orpheus Media Research announces Myna, XIPWIRE officially launches

Introducing Technically Philly’s Startup Roundup. Here, we’ll parse out the small pieces that make our greater Startup ecosystem thrive. We want to keep you in touch with the innovations that we can’t quite get to covering, but that deserve highlight. Follow along with the Startup Roundup’s dedicated RSS feed. If you’ve got news to share, get in touch.

DEFINITE READS

Orpheus Media Research has announced Myna, its music marketplace search engine, which lets users upload a song—beit a long orchestrated piece or a two-bar guitar hook—and find similar matches based on parameters like mood and tempo. It’s designed for music buyers who are looking to connect, sans middle-man, with commercial composers. The engine looks extremely promising and as we’ve said before, we’re excited to see this one develop. As CTO Greg Wilder puts it in a press release, “after months of hard work, it was an absolutely incredible feeling to see Myna come to life, first hand.” In addition, OMR has received seed funding from two angel investors and it is still seeking strategic partnerships.

Watch a video preview of Myna, in all its slickness, after the jump.

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