Scynexis reaches $11.5 M in funding round

Drug discovery and development company Scynexis, which is in midstage clinical development of a novel hepatitis C treatment, is getting closer to reaching its $15 million fundraising target.

Scynexis, a CED member, has raised nearly $11.5 million so far, according to an amended securities filing.
The fundraiser, a mix of equity, debt, options and warrants, launched in December. Sycnexis has raised money from 11 investors to date, according to the filing.

Capitol Broadcasting invests in Atlanta-based ScoutMob

Scoutmob, an Atlanta-based mobile application developer that delivers location-based deals in real time, just raised an additional $3.25 million in new financing. Capitol Broadcasting, a CED Member, is one of the investors participating in this round.

I've long been a supporter of Scoutmob--originally launched in 2010 in Atlanta, they quickly expanded operations in San Francisco, New York, and DC. There's three main reasons I enjoy the Scoutmob experience:

CED Wins Full Steam Ahead Award for Expert Mentorship in the Triangle

CED, the Southeast's largest entrepreneurial support network, received the "Steward" Award at the Full Steam Ahead Awards presented by WRAL Tech Wire on Thursday evening. The Steward Award honors the individual or organization that serves as the best mentor or advisor to startups in the Research Triangle region.

Accepting the award on behalf of CED, Joan Siefert Rose acknowledged the importance of mentoring relationships to the many startups in our region, noting that "mentors or a mentoring team often help entrepreneurs and their companies focus on their core mission, helping them streamline their businesses for maximum success."

North Carolina Companies to Watch – Where Are They Now?

The North Carolina Companies to Watch Awards recognize second-stage companies that demonstrate success in their market. What exactly makes these companies “worth watching?” We spoke with a few companies that received this prestigious award in the past two cycles to find out just where they are now, and what exactly made them a company to watch.

Innovative Products

DryCorp, based in Wilmington, NC, is creating and manufacturing a few incredibly innovative products, which, as the name suggests, are designed to keep things dry. Founded in 1998, DryCorp originally produced DryPro, a line of waterproof products that protected casts, PICCs and prosthetics from being damaged by water while swimming in the pool or ocean, hanging on the beach, or in a bath or shower.

            And then they created DryCase, a line of products that use vacuum seal technology to ensure that electronic devices stay dry in casual and extreme circumstances. Ever been to the beach with your smartphone, tablet, or e-reader? How did you protect it? Or were you too afraid to use it? Well, people need no longer fear sand or water ruining their devices. DryCase uses innovative technology to ensure the devices you use stay clean and dry.

Due to their innovative product line and continued growth through an expanding merchant network, DryCase was selected as an award recipient for the 2011 North Carolina Companies to Watch, presented in September. In the short time since, DryCorp has expanded their workforce, and completed an intense trade-show circuit. Experiencing their second-straight year of ~300% revenue growth, DryCorp is in a great position to continue their expansion. Later this month, expect two incredible new products, DryBuds and the DryCase Waterproof Backpack. DryBuds, a set of headphones that are 100% waterproof, meaning that you can go surf at Kure Beach whilst rocking out to your favorite surf rock jams. The DryCase Backpack is more ideal for the kayak or canoe trip you’ve been meaning to take, protecting all of your gear from the elements. Now that’s some innovative technology!

High Performance

Recognized as a North Carolina Company to Watch in 2010 for high performance in the marketplace, the aptly names file-sharing company ShareFile has seen tremendous growth and expansion. Started in 2003 by Jesse Lipson, the company grew to 30 employees by the time of the company’s nomination in 2010.

            ShareFile allows businesses to create a custom-branded and password-protected internet portal to exchange business files with teammates, clients, and collaborators easily and securely. Boasting an initial client list of prominent brands and Fortune 500 companies, ShareFile was a great nominee and award recipient for 2010.

            In October 2011, ShareFile was acquired by Citrix Systems for an undisclosed amount. The ShareFile offices are still based in Raleigh, NC, and the team is now more than 150 employees. In addition to their exit event, ShareFile was recognized on the Inc.com 500 list as the 241^st fastest growing company in the nation. ShareFile is now used by 99% of Fortune 500 companies as a data-storage, collaboration or file-transfer tool. Now that’s an impressive performance!

Rapid Growth

DataChambers, based in Winston-Salem, NC, is a full-service IT and managed services company that specializes in data storage. Named a 2010 North Carolina Companies to Watch recipient due to their successful expansion and economic impact in Winston-Salem, the company has continued to grow under the careful leadership of Nicolas Kottyan, CEO.

            In addition to receiving numerous awards for fast growth and employee performance, DataChambers attracted attention from many of its large corporate clients, eventually agreeing to an acquisition by North State Communications, one of the top 15 largest communications companies for an undisclosed amount. DataChambers retains their office space in Winston-Salem, and recently doubled the size of their office, taking over the second floor of their office park office building. Kottyan still serves as CEO, and plans to continue to grow the business, as evidenced by their office expansion.

The 2012 Recipients – Where Will They Go?

This year, we honor 25 additional North Carolina companies with the 2012 North CarolinaCompanies to Watch award, to be presented at an Awards Dinner on Thursday, June 7, 2012 in front of esteemed members of the entrepreneurial community of the Triangle and the state. We invite you to join us to meet the winners and make predictions about what the future will bring for these highly-successful and innovative companies.

What are your predictions for where these companies will be in one year? In two years? Leave us a comment or tell us in person on June 7^th! 

Silicon Valley Bank Releases Startup Outlook 2012

CED Member Silicon Valley Bank released "Startup Outlook 2012," a report based on survey responses from 207 executives from U.S. based startups yesterday. The report finds that startups continue to plan on expanding, showing that 82% of the companies surveyed plan on making additional hires this year. 

Silicon Valley Bank has released an infographic along with the report. We have received permission to share the infographic. Keep reading to see the highlights from the report.

CED Honors 13 FastTrac Tech Participants at Graduation Ceremony

In front of more than 80 members of the entrepreneurial community, 13 local entrepreneurs pitched their business, marking the completion of CED's business-basics program FastTrac. 


FastTrac is a comprehensive business planning program that addresses the needs of startup entrepreneurs who are refining their business ideas, writing their business plans and seeking to grow sustainable high-impact companies. We recently interviewed triangle entrepreneurs about their experience in FastTrac. 


Other notable FastTrac graduates include: Spoonflower (2008), Motorstats (2008), GeoMagic (2006), TransLoc (2006), Precision Biosciences (2005), SciMetrika (2005), Humacyte (2005), Advanced Liquid Logic (2004), Affinergy (2003), BioResource International (2000), Glaxo Wellcome (2000), Hughes Pittman & Gupton (1999), and SciQuest (1997).


CED is proud to congratulate the following companies on their successful completion of the Spring 2012 FastTrac class:

Forbes Columnist Highlights Why the Triangle is Awesome Place to Work and Live

I have been here all my life.  By here, I literally mean in the Triangle of North Carolina.  I grew up outside of Raleigh, spent four of the best years of my life in Chapel Hill and now work at CED, located in downtown Durham.  I could not control where my parents raised me, true, but I've chosen to stay in the Triangle and have absolutely zero intentions of leaving.  

3 Tips for Triangle Entrepreneurs From Triangle Entrepreneurs

Last week, I talked business with two local entrepreneurs, Jayson Humphrey, founder and CEO of LoveItPromoteIt (LiPi for short) and Brad Powell, co-founder of GiftWhen. More accurately, we talked business basics, and the lessons learned through CED’s FastTrac® program, a business-basics course designed to help entrepreneurs rapidly prepare to grow, teaching them valuable skills in the process. 

Humphrey started LiPi, a web and mobile application that helps consumers like you and me support local merchants, in 2010. “I was not sure it would work,” said Humphrey. “The last year and a half, we spent all our time testing the market, learning from consumers, learning from merchants, and trying to identify the needs of the clients and the niche that LiPi could carve out.” Eighteen months in, Humphrey had completed a proof of concept, and was prepared with a few potential paths to take the business. “It was no longer a question of will this work,” said Humphrey, “but a question of which direction do we choose now.” Feeling the need to receive professional feedback on this question, Humphrey began searching the Triangle for answers. And then he found FastTrac®.

Powell only recently co-founded GiftWhen, an online platform which allows people to support and advocate for outcomes through conditional giving campaigns. Think Change.org meet Kickstarter. “When we first came into FastTrac®,” said Powell, “our pitch included broad overtones of ‘influence market’ and letting donors have a real say in the organization’s use of the donated money.” He admitted that he and his co-founder had a few “catch phrases,” sometimes using phrases like “we’re going to democratize influence,” and had “a very broad idea and concept.” They were operating with an incredibly large scope, and knew they needed to become more focused. FastTrac® was that opportunity for the co-founders to streamline. 

 Humphrey and Powell, along with 11 of their peers, will graduate on Wednesday, May 16, 2012, from the spring semester of FastTrac®, and celebrate their businesses.

Here are a few key takeaways from our conversations:

Know Your Market and Narrow Your Focus

Both Humphrey and Powell continually stressed the importance of defining and understanding your target market. Essentially, each entrepreneur needed to understand who would use their product, when they would use it, and how they would engage with it. 

“One of the immediate, and strongest, takeaways that FastTrac® offered us is that it behooves us to have more conversations with anyone and everyone who may be relevant  about the idea, our business model, about the market, about how to set up campaigns, about who to talk to,” said Powell, “And FastTrac® has supported us in that effort.” The third and fourth week, where businesses learn how to take a product to market effectively, were crucial for GiftWhen, said Powell. “As we continued to go through the program, we found ourselves doing a lot of work on this front,” reported Powell, “and understanding the major tasks to build a business was and is critical for us to understand as we develop.”

 

The Community Matters, Particularly Your Mentors

“One thing that FastTrac® provides that might be a ‘make or break’ scenario for entrepreneurs is the connection to mentors,” said Humphrey. Time and time again, we hear that mentoring relationships are the most vital relationships that successful entrepreneurs develop. “CED helps entrepreneurs by ensuring that when mentors are needed, they become available. We’re talking mentors who have been in the industry for years, seen and built successful companies, and can provide extremely valuable feedback and advice. The mentors get to know you and understand your business deeply, and this is vital in providing valuable and actionable feedback on your startup,” said Humphrey.

The Triangle is a GREAT Place to Be an Entrepreneur

“For us, joining a network like CED and completing a curriculum like FastTrac®, especially as a young company, was an extremely smart decision,” said Humphrey, adding that he is continually impressed with the efforts to build the entrepreneurial community of the Triangle. Powell agreed, stating “I can’t reiterate how helpful FastTrac® has been, both for the content of the course and for the networking opportunities.” Powell will be moving into Groundwork Labs, a Durham-based incubator, in a few short days, and is quite excited to do so. 

Humphrey and Powell are right—the Triangle is an excellent place to be an entrepreneur. Whether you’re based in Durham, like Powell, or in Raleigh, like Humphrey, there’s a lot of entrepreneurial activity occurring. We’re building startup communities, and neighborhoods to support them. Our universities attract and train top talent, and though we may fight about the blues and red, ultimately, we’re fueling our local area with the talent and innovative spirit needed to start and grow something big. “It’s time for us to all embrace the Triangle brand of entrepreneurship,” said Humphrey. “Let’s face it—people like to start stuff here—it’s time for us to accept that it isn’t Durham or ATC or NC State or Raleigh, it’s the Triangle that brings us all the attention.”

FastTrac® is a comprehensive business planning program that addresses the needs of start-up entrepreneurs who are refining their business ideas, writing their business plans and seeking to grow sustainable high-impact companies. The next FastTrac® program begins September 27, 2012 and runs through December 6, 2012. Applications are now being accepted.

3 Reasons to Become an Angel Investor

Entrepreneurship is exciting; investing in entrepreneurs is exhilarating. And the press has started to notice. Now, local communities are pushing their success stories, and in many cases, there’s a bit of a frenzied market to run programs or support services for entrepreneurs. In short, we’re in an up-cycle. Entrepreneurship is occurring, and the environment into which entrepreneurs are launching their businesses welcomes them to the game and encourages their ideas, growth, and products. And this is excellent.

This is one way innovation occurs. We need entrepreneurs to go out and start something, to build a company and to innovate new products, services, and technologies. Entrepreneurship is happening. It’s incredible to see the investment so many regions are making in their entrepreneurial communities. The Triangle isn’t different. Our community is evolving, growing, and innovating. 

Entrepreneurial communities require three fundamental items—beyond the entrepreneurs themselves—in order to grow and expand. First, they require the support organizations, like CED, to facilitate connections, provide mentorship, provide training, and host community events. Second, they require talent. A community cannot grow without constantly attracting and retaining talented individuals. Third, they require a funding environment. This is what we’ll discuss today. 

It’s Never Been a Better Time to Become an Angel Investor

With the economy on the rebound and entrepreneurship a central focus for growth within small, medium and large cities, angel investment is a fantastic way to create additional wealth. An angel investor provides early-stage or seed-money to entrepreneurs and their startups in order to facilitate early growth. Angels choose to invest as little as $10,000 in promising companies, generally before the company is wildly successful. It’s a gamble, sure, yet angel investments can, and often do, yield high returns on the initial investment. Why would you want to become an angel investor?

Angel Investments are a Profit Opportunity

Here’s how this works. An investor finds a startup or entrepreneur in which they are interested in the product, the service, or the people running the company. Assuming the investor believes in the future success of the startup team, a deal is negotiated. In this deal, there are two numbers that matter: the amount of the investment, and the valuation of the company in which the investment is made. This determines the total amount of equity stock the investor will receive. If you put $50,000 into a company at a pre-investment (sometimes called ‘pre-money’) valuation of $1 million, the company is worth $1.05 million post-investment (or ‘post-money’) and you now own .05/1.05 x 100 percent of the company, or 4.76% of the company’s stock.

Now suppose that four years later the company has an exit, either through IPO or an acquisition, of $10 million. Your 4.76% of the company is now worth $476,000. This is the simplified version, of course, because of dilution of stock which occurs if the company takes on any additional investors after your initial investment. Dilution is normal, and even if your stake in the company dropped to 4%, you are still returning eight times your investment. That’s a great return on your initial investment. Of course, nothing is guaranteed, which is why it makes sense to diversify your investments across an angel portfolio rather than betting big on one company. The opportunity for profit is large.

Joining the Angel Investing Community Makes You a Better Investor

My father always told me that the most important part of an investment decision is being positioned to make a quick and decisive decision about the investment. That means being prepared to identify an opportunity or to make a call when an opportunity presents itself. One can’t make a good decision if one isn’t prepared to decide.

Joining an angel investing group allows the whole to be more efficient than the sum of its parts, thus yielding better identification of potential investment targets, a quicker and more comprehensive due diligence process where the startup is considered, and access to potentially larger deals. The community of angel investors is a lot like you: smart, lucky, passionate, persistent and capable. An angel I often work with describes the angel community as “a positive interaction off the golf course,” by which he means that business gets done, and market knowledge is shared. Angel investing is, in many cases, an educational opportunity. Who wouldn’t want to become a better investor? The power of the group helps clarify investment decisions, strategies, and portfolios. Sure, there are successful angels who operate on their own, yet the value of an angel investment community is in interacting with your peers.

Angel Investing is Tons of Fun

What are you passionate about? In what areas or industries are you an expert? Angel investing gives you an immediate tie-in to the emerging innovations within that area or discipline. Your active involvement in the startup community yields first-looks at new and emerging technologies, local entrepreneurs, and potential deals. And this is really quite fun.

In addition, once you make an investment, you get to be a part of the development process for that company. You’re involved—maybe not in the day-to-day, yet you get to work with the technology or innovation about which you are passionate, and work beside a team in which you fully believe. If you’re only considering angel investment because it is an opportunity to earn revenue, you may want to reconsider. The most successful angel investors are the ones who truly enjoy the companies in which they invest, love and use the products or services that the company develops, and takes an interest in the successful development of the people on the team (particularly the entrepreneur).

Successful angel investing is a vehicle for continued revenue growth. The key word in that sentence was “successful.” Angel investors who perform well are prepared, trained, and connected to the community. They are, as my father may say, positioned well to quickly make an investment decision. They’ve put the work into understanding their investment strategy (might I recommend “invest in what you know well”), the types of companies in which they are interested, and how to diversify their angel portfolio to maximize potential results. How do you become successful? An investor becomes successful by doing many of the items that put them in the position to become an accredited angel investor in the first place:  working hard, networking, learning new skills, building a community, and staying involved.



Have you considered angel investing as a mechanism for revenue growth? Intrigued by the discussion points in this article and want to learn more? CED is offering an introductory seminar on angel investing on May 23, 2012, which will teach you how to become a successful angel investor and introduce you to the angel investing community. You made it this far in the article—you’re clearly interested—why don’t you register today?

Love Startup Communities and Entrepreneurs? CED is Hiring.

It's true, we're expanding our team! See below for more details and position descriptions

Associate Director of Programs for Business Basics

Update: this position has been filled. CED is pleased to announce Jay Bigelow as our new director of entrepreneurship, who will take over the programming role for Business Basics.

The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED), the nation’s oldest and largest entrepreneurial support organization, based in Durham, NC, is seeking an Associate Director of Programs for Business Basics.  The Associate Director is responsible for creating and implementing programs and services for high-growth, high-impact early and growth-stage entrepreneurs in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina to help them succeed in building and growing their companies.

The preferred candidate will be an experienced program officer with deep understanding of the needs of early and growth stage entrepreneurs and those in the network who support them. The candidate will have excellent interpersonal skills and a demonstrated history of working with mentors and entrepreneurs.  A position description and application information is available online.  First review of candidates is scheduled for May 24, 2012.

Senior Programs Manager, Technology

The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED), the nation’s oldest and largest entrepreneurial support organization, based in Durham, NC, is seeking a Senior Technology Programs Manager. This position is responsible for creating and implementing programs and services, working with advisors and experts, to meet the changing needs of technology entrepreneurs.

The preferred candidate will be an experienced program officer with deep understanding of the needs of technology entrepreneurs and those in the network who support them. The candidate will have broad knowledge of the technology industry, including sources of capital, talent, and market intelligence, and will enhance CED’s role as an essential resource for technology entrepreneurs. A position description and application information is available online. First review of candidates is scheduled for May 31, 2012.

Senior Programs Manager, Life Sciences

The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED), the nation’s oldest and largest entrepreneurial support organization, based in Durham, NC, is seeking a Senior Life Sciences Programs Manager. This position is responsible for creating programs and services, working with advisors and experts, to meet the changing needs of life sciences entrepreneurs.

The preferred candidate will be an experienced program officer with deep understanding of the needs of life sciences entrepreneurs and those in the network who support them. The candidate will have broad knowledge of the life sciences industry, including sources of capital, talent, and market intelligence, and will enhance CED’s role as an essential resource for life sciences entrepreneurs. A position description and application information is available online. First review of candidates is scheduled for May 31, 2102.


CED is an equal opportunity employer that offers a comprehensive benefits package and competitive salaries.

CED Announces 2012 North Carolina Companies to Watch Award Recipients

 25 recipients created 936 jobs and represent $191M in revenue for North Carolina

Durham, N.C., May 7, 2012—CED, the Southeast’s largest entrepreneurial support organization, today announced the 25 recipients of the third annual North Carolina Companies to Watch award. The award honors growth oriented, second-stage companies headquartered in North Carolina that demonstrate high performance in their market, exhibit innovative products and display other unique qualities that make them “worth watching.”

The 25 recipients collectively added jobs at an annual rate of 35 percent between 2008 and 2011, totaling 936 new jobs, and grew revenue by an annual rate of 41 percent during the same period, totaling $191 million in revenue.

Liquidia Founder Elected into National Academy of Sciences

Liquidia Technologies today announced its founder, Dr. Joseph DeSimone, was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for his excellence in original scientific research in the field of chemical engineering. Membership in the NAS is one of the highest honors given to a scientist or engineer in the United States. Among the renowned NAS members are Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Orville Wright, and Alexander Graham Bell. Nearly 200 living Academy members have won Nobel Prizes. Dr. DeSimone will be inducted into the Academy next April during its 150th annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

Brad Feld and Thoughts on Startup Communities

Fresh off a 90 minute conversation with popular Boulder-based entrepreneur-turned-VC Brad Feld, 150 people, many of them entrepreneurs, chat about the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Durham. Yes, there is a buzz about Durham, and we've all known it for far longer than the outside world. And Brad says that's just fine and dandy. Or, in his more exact words, "who gives a $#!7." What matters are the results and how the community views itself. Those of us that live and work here know that this region has results.

Durham is building an entrepreneurial community. Yes, many folks have taken note. Our friends with Downtown Durham, Inc. and at the Durham Chamber launched the Smoffice (which, by the way, opened its doors yesterday on Main St.) which was picked up by Fast Company, the NY Times, and TechCrunch. Last October, The Atlantic stopped through Durham last summer on their search for the next Silicon Valley. We have the buzz. We also have our own identity, our entrepreneurial neighborhoods, and our culture.

Durham isn't Silicon Valley. Neither is the Research Triangle region (though we do have a significant number of recent exits). We never will be, and what's more, we don't need to be. We're Durham, we're Raleigh, we're a startup community with our own network, our own connections, and a ton of extremely valuable assets. We're also not 100% self-reliant, and we don't need to be. Our startups do business locally, nationally and globally. Our entrepreneurs travel to Atlanta, Boston, New York, Boulder, Seattle, and yes, the Valley to engage with investors, peers, present at conferences and events, and to feel the entrepreneurship vibe in those cities. What we feel is that entrepreneurship is back. It's once again "cool" to be an entrepreneur, and to work in the entrepreneurial community. (Here's a secret: for many of us here in Durham, entrepreneurship never left.)

Feld, though, cautioned his audience. The nation seems, at times, to be obsessed with entrepreneurs, said Feld, but it means nothing without solid entrepreneurial communities. All the press means nothing without action, without results. As entrepreneurship continues its upswing and rising popularity, we can't sit back in our chairs, patting ourselves on our back. We've got to do the opposite: act.

The following is a brief summary of Brad Feld's 4 critical steps to form a startup community. I've added some commentary from his conversation at Square 1 Bank. In laying this out, I'm assuming that enhancing and accelerating the startup community in Durham and in the Research Triangle is valuable for the region and those that live and work within it. This is how it is, and here's the proof.