Archive for the ‘South Carolina’ Category
Thursday, February 21st, 2013
 Need a reason why you should attend the Seventh Annual Southeast Venture Conference in Charlotte, NC, March 13-14? Here’s five:
First, you’ll make connections with the region’s top technology entrepreneurs and executives.
More than 50 presenting companies and hundreds of high growth company C-suite execs attending, you’ll have an unsurpassed opportunity to build partnerships and hear about the latest startup trends.
Second, you’ll have an unparalleled opportunity to network with investors and venture firms from throughout the United States, not just regional firms.
Whether you’re in venture fundraising mode or an investor looking to further relationships with fellow investors for deal flow, SEVC is the vehicle to make those connections.
We’ve interviewed several of the participating venture capitalists at the TechJournal, with more to come. Here’s a sample:
 Brian Rich, managing director, co-founder, Catalyst Ventures.He’s participating in the Southeast Venture Conference in Charlotte, NC, March 13-14. How to pitch a venture capitalist (interview with Brian Rich of Catalyst Ventures).
SecondMarket turns dead equity into productive equity (interview with SecondMarket’s Matt Shapiro).
The bar is higher for startups seeking first round financing (interview with Intel Capital’s East Coast Director, Mark Rostick).
Will there be an app economy in five years? (interview with Ron Shah of the Stripes Group).
Seven lessons from the dark side (interview with Grotech’s Don Rainey).
What does it take to build a startup to successful IPO? (interview with Bob Hower, general partner at Advanced Technology Ventures).
Also see: Startups aim to put Charlotte on the map (Charlotte Observer story focused on Terry Cox, founder and CEO of BIG (Business Innovation Growth) in Charlotte. It includes background on how Charlotte was chosen to host the event.
And three more reasons SEVC can kick up your chances for success:
3. You’ll gain market insight and success strategies from innovation and technology community’s brightest starts.
From the CEO of SAP to the Publisher of Forbes - SEVC will feature over 40 speakers discussing the latest trends, best practices and strategies relating to technology and entrepreneurial growth. You’ll learn from them not just during roundtable discussions, but in one on one situations through hours of networking.
 The Southeast Venture Conference is headed to Charlotte, NC, in March 2013. The event offers firms a chance to present to top national venture capitalists and angel investors. Panel & Presentation topics include:
- State of Venture Capital
- Early Stage Fundraising
- Value Creation: Company/Investor Relationship
- Growth Stage Funding
- M&A Outlook and Strategies
- LP Viewpoint
- SaaS Investment Trends
- Getting to Market
- IPO & Secondary Market Outlook
- Entrepreneur’s Roundtable
- International Health Care Trends
4. To make networking and private meetings even easier, there is an online pre-event networking platform for attendees.
At SEVC, the online networking platform allows attendees to connect with one another prior, during and after the conference. Attendees can see other attendee’s interests, request and setup meetings and connect helping to maximize the lasting connections you’ll make at this year’s conference.
5. Even more CXO and Venture Partner networking to create relationships that can last your entire career.
Networking is center stage at SEVC. Over one and a half days there are 3 separate open bar networking receptions, a networking breakfast, lunch networking and 7 additional networking breaks.
The event sells out, so it’s a good idea to Register today.
Tags: 2013, Advanced Technology Ventures, Bob Hower, Brian Rich, Catalyst Ventures, Don Rainey, Events, Grotech, Intel Capital, Mark Rostick, Ron Shah, SEVC, Southeast Venture Conference, Startups, The Stripes Group, venture funds
Posted in Arkansas, Carolinas, Ecommerce, entrepreneurship, Events, Georgia, Internet/New Media, IPOs, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Other SE, Potomac, social media, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, DC | No Comments »
Thursday, January 31st, 2013
 Even though this year’s flu virus is infecting people throughout the nation and New York and Boston even declared citywide health emergencies – you might not guess that Huntsville, Alabama is the city most concerned about it.
MaxPoint, a company that helps retailers and brands drive local in-store sales with its Digital Zip technology, announced its latest Interest Index, which reveals the cities most interested in flu-related remedies.
While that may or may not concern your company or your advertising clients specifically, MaxPoint notes that it is crucial for advertisers to dive deep into neighborhood and audience data when building campaigns.
For instance, New York and Boston did not even make the top ten list of cities most concerned about the flu this year.
By analyzing billions of in-store purchases and online data points, MaxPoint found that the 10 cities most interested in all things flu-related are the following:
1. Huntsville, AL
2. Knoxville, TN
3. Greensboro, NC
4. Greenville, SC
5. Des Moines, IA
6. Rochester, NY
7. Birmingham, AL
8. Boise, ID
9. Augusta, GA
10. Milwaukee, WI
nterest Data in Action
Using the data from this Interest Index, MaxPoint ran several digital advertising campaigns, including the following:
- A global pharmaceutical company with a diverse healthcare portfolio — including pharmaceuticals, eye care products and vaccines — wanted to drive adults over the age of 65 to select pharmacy locations to receive flu shots. Using MaxPoint’s hyperlocal advertising approach, the company achieved 164 percent lift in awareness of its flu vaccine at participating pharmacies.
- A manufacturer of analgesics wanted to increase brand awareness and drive sales of its products. By running digital ads with MaxPoint, the manufacturer achieved 3 percent sales lift in mass merchandise stores.
Tags: AL, August, Boston, flu, GA, Greensboro, Greenville, Huntsville, Knoxville, Marketing, MaxPoint, NC, New York, SC, TN
Posted in Alabama, Analytics, Carolinas, Georgia, Marketing, North Carolina, South Carolina, Studies, surveys, reports, Tennessee | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 8th, 2013
The Southeast Venture Conference is headed to Charlotte, NC, in March 2013. The event offers firms a chance to present to top national venture capitalists and angel investors. If you’re a high growth innovative company looking for funding, you still have a chance to present your business plan in front of top national venture capitalists and private equity professionals at the 2013 Southeast Venture Conference March 13th and 14th at the Ritz-Carlton in Charlotte, NC.
Applications to present at the event are still being accepted.
The event seeks high growth, innovative companies from diverse technology industries including Software-as-a-Service, New Media, Bio-IT, Clean-Tech, Medical Devices, Mobile, Security, among others.
You’ll meet hundreds of the region’s leading entrepreneurs and high growth company executives (from startups to pre-IPO), National Venture Capitalists and Private Equity Professionals, M&A facilitators and other leading professionals serving the high growth technology community.
SEVC highlights both early and later stage investment opportunities from: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington DC.
Last year’s SEVC Average Presenter Profile:
- Average Annual Revenue: $5.9 million
- Average Capital Raised to Date: $6.7 million
- Average Number of Employees: 35
While the presenting companies are from the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, the investors fly in from all parts of the country, including California, New York, and Massachusetts, as well as those that are regionally focused.
Exclusive panels, speakers, programming
The SEVC features market relevant investor and executive panels, exclusive networking opportunities, featured speakers and dozens of the region’s top private technology firms presenting to a national audience of venture capitalists, investment bankers and private equity investors.
As a TechMedia company and sponsor of the event, the TechJournal has reported on many firms that subsequently landed angel or venture backing. Venture capitalists tell us, they find new firms to put on their radar and track at each year’s event and many have returned year after year to spot hot Southeast opportunities.
SEVC is also an unparalleled networking event in which innovative firms meet potential partners, customers, and employees, in addition to making invaluable contacts within the venture and angel funding community.
Additional information on presenting and registration can be found at seventure.org andyou can view a list of past presenters here.
Tags: 2013, angel investors, Charlotte, financing, fund raising, March, NC, networking, pre-IPO, presenting companies sought, Southeast Venture Conference, Startups, Venture Capitalists
Posted in Alabama, Arkansas, Carolinas, entrepreneurship, Events, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Money, North Carolina, Other SE, Potomac, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, DC, West Virginia | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 17th, 2012
The Southeast Venture Conference is headed to Charlotte, NC, in March 2013. The seventh annual Southeast Venture Conference, a major event for investors and entrepreneurs, is headed to Charlotte, NC, March 13-14 at the Riz-Carlton.
The conference features presentations by 60 of the region’s high growth investment opportunities.
They will include both early and later stage companies from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington DC.
The conference offers an unparalleled opportunity to Network with hundreds of the region’s leading Entrepreneurs and High Growth Company Executives, National Venture Capitalists and Private Equity Professionals, M&A facilitators and other leading professionals serving the technology community.
We’ve covered many startup and later stage firms that presented at previous SEVC’s and later landed multiple financing rounds.
SEVC is also teaming with the Internet Summit in Raleigh Nov. 6-8 this year to present the two-day Startup Summit focused on entrepreneurs.
ttendees and speakers include leading incubators, venture capital firms, and innovative companies. We’ll feature 16 presenting startups that will showcase their companies and concepts. You’ll have the opportunity to meet them one-on-one in our demo pit.
Speakers at the Startup Summit include influential entrepreneurs and leaders from the investment community:
- Angus Davis, Founder & CEO, Swipely
- Paul Singh, Partner & Master of the Hustle, 500Startups
- Sarah Lacy, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, PandoDaily
- Scott Maxwell, Founder, OpenView Venture Partners
- Michael Doernberg, CEO and Co-founder, Reverbnation
- Laura Witt, General Partner, ABS Capital
- Rob Go, Partner, NextView Ventures
- David Morken, Founder & CEO, Bandwidth.com
- Jonathan Perrelli, Founding Partner, Fortify.vc
- Dayna Grayson, North Bridge Venture Partners
- Neil Kataria, Founder & Chairman, newBrandAnalytics
- Greg Cangialosi, Managing Dir, Nucleus Venture Partners
- Jason Caplain, General Partner, Southern Capital Ventures
- Robbie Allen, Founder & CEO, Automated Insights
- John Burke, Founder and General Partner, True Ventures
- Joe Velk, Contender Capital
- Chris Heivly, Managing Partner, Triangle Startup Factory
- David Jones, Partner, Southern Capital Ventures
- Joe Schmidt, CMO, Cafepress
- Tom Lotrecchiano, Sr Vice President, Cafepress
- Matt Williamson, Founder & CEO, Windsor Circle
Tags: Charlotte, entrepreneurs, Internet Summit, investors, NC, Raleigh, SEVC, Southeast Venture Conference, Startup Summit, Startups
Posted in Alabama, Carolinas, entrepreneurship, Events, Florida, Georgia, Internet/New Media, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, DC | No Comments »
Thursday, June 14th, 2012
By Allan Maurer
 So, you think you have a great idea for a hot iPhone or iPad app but don’t have the wherewithal to make it happen? There’s a new company for that. Columbia, SC-based 52apps plans to create a new app every week from ideas submitted by the public and share download royalties.
The company, which is holding its first “App Idea Day” and launch party at 11:30 a.m tomorrow in Columbia, is the brainchild of two seasoned technology entrepreneurs and two young coders who built their first apps while still in High School in Arkansas.
The 52apps story began with a phone call to Stephen Leicht from his friend Bill Kirkland, fomerly CEO of Collexis Holdings, and entrepreneur in residence at the University of South Carolina. A woman sitting next to Kirkland in church saw him taking electronic notes and told him her son had created an iPad app for that.
Kirkland wanted Leicht to meet with the woman and her son at a Lexington, SC Starbucks. Initially, “I told him I didn’t have time to meet with a lady and her son with an iPad app,” he says.
Leicht, CEO of 52apps, was previously executive vice president and COO of Collexis Holdings Inc., a developer of knowledge management and discovery software, acquired by Reed Elsevier in July 2010.
While at Collexis, Leicht had a leadership role in more than $18 million in private operational fundraising, two company acquisitions, and the company’s initial public offering. He also held several positions with IBM and prior to that started, ran and sold International Telecommunications Distributors.
Started building apps at 17
But eventually, Kirkland convinced him to meet with the woman and her son, Christopher Thibault, co-founder and an engineer with 52apps, in January this year.
“He explained that when he was 17 and still in high school, he and his friend Brendon Lee (now co-founder & lead developer at 52apps), had built an app called “Algebra Solver,” essentially an advanced calculator, as a tool for their own use in math classes.
 A smartnote screen shot. “In their freshman year in college, they converted it to the iPad and built another app, “Smartnote,” intended to eliminate the need to carry notebooks and texts to classes, and Chris carried only an iPad for the rest of his undergraduate career.”
Half a million downloads later
That was all nice, but Leicht wanted to know the nitty-gritty business details. Did they try to sell it?
Yes, they had put it in the iTunes store.
Did it get any downloads?
Yes, Thibault said, “We had some moderate success.”
H’mmm, thought Leicht. What is “moderate” success?
Smartnote, Thibault said, had been downloaded more than half a million times.
Half a million times? “That got my attention. Now I was interested,” Leicht says.
He asked, “Do you know how often it’s used?”
The real kicker
On an average day, he was told, it’s opened 250,000 times. Not only that, the two students had built a store inside the app allowing users to buy other features and were seeing 40,000 to 50,000 downloads a day there.
And then came the real kicker. The two had created a library of tools and modules for creating mobile apps that meant they could build a fully-functioning product in two or three days.
After some testing the verified they indeed could create an app in days, Leicht and Kirland were sold and along with Thibault, Lee, and CFO Mark Murphy, another former Collexis Holdings exec, they created 52apps.
Now, the company wants to create an app a day for the next year using ideas generated by the public (compensating idea generators with shared royalties).
The company was recruited to the USC Columbia Incubator by Kirkland after the launch.
App Idea Day
What: 52apps App Idea Day & Company Kick-Off Party
When: Friday, June 15, 11:30 a.m. EDT
Where: First Floor Theater, IT-oLogy, 1301 Gervais Street, Columbia, SC 29201
Why: Introduce new company, provide opportunity for people to make money from their app ideas
RSVP: www.52apps.com
Tags: 52apps, app a day, Arkansas, Brendan Lee, Christopher Thibault, Columbia, entrepreneur story, iPad, iPhone, iTunes store, Lexington, mobile apps, South Carolina, Stephen Leicht, University of SC, William Kirkland
Posted in Apple, Carolinas, entrepreneurship, Internet/New Media, IT, Mobile, smartphones, South Carolina, Startups, Tech life/Culture, Telecommunications | 2 Comments »
Thursday, May 24th, 2012
By Allan Maurer
 So, did Google’s Penguin update affect your website traffic positively or negatively?
Penguin updated again Friday (May 25) but Google says the refresh affects only a very small percentage of websites.
Google said the first Penguin update was expected to affect only a small percentage of spammy websites, but it apparently was more aggressive than that if Internet response is any guide.
We saw an initial drop at the TechJournal, which may have been due to using previously approved and always white hat SEO techniques – which are no longer a good idea. We saw traffic not only bounce back, but rise about three or four weeks after the Penguin update. It could have just a temporary glitch, but we did alter our SEO techniques.
A little extreme in the beginning
That’s what Matt McFadden, director of marketing at Merge, a Greenville, SC-based digital strategy agency, told was likely to happen if we actually were using legitimate SEO techniques.
McFadden is responsible for making Merge its own best success story. He designs winning strategies for Merge and its clients (which include Clemson University, Erskine College and Seminary, McMillan Pazdan Smith, Michelin NA and many others).
He directs all search marketing strategies: paid and organic search; content strategy and creation; lead generation and nurturing campaigns; and social media management.
McFadden, who spoke at TechMedia’s recent Digital Summit in Atlanta, told us, “These algorithms are sometimes a little extreme in the beginning. They probably went over the edge on it. They’ll dial back on that.”
Google, he noted, is likely to hear from the folks who lost up to 30 percent of their traffic. “They won’t hear from those who benefited from it (the Penguin update).
Predicted a traffic return
He predicted, accurately, that we would see traffic return, especially if we focused on some of the same things the Penguin update does: no over-optimization (we had some duplication of key words due to a wordpress setting – which could be interpreted as over-optimization).
“Tactics we’ve been using for years now can ding you,” McFadden said. “But there are things you can do to combat that.”
One difficult area he mentions is that of back-links. Google wants “quality” back-links, but that’s a subjective idea, he notes.
“In the past, we had a lot of success getting things reblogged,” McFadden said. “Sometimes even by other agencies. Now you have to be wary of that. Google might think you’re trying to outsmart the system and a reblog or repost might actually hinder you.”
And getting original content up above the fold (on top of the site) on a daily basis. That means doing a bit less curating and somewhat more writing of original journalism.
Do quality posts
McFadden says Merge focuses on doing quality posts and doesn’t even think about SEO at first. ”We would rather produce really good content once a month than produce like a content shop.”
He says his agency landed two of its biggest accounts from blog posts “We weren’t even trying to rank for keywords.”
Some sites might see less but better traffic following the update, McFadden says.
Overall, McFadden said, “We think the Penguin ding is a shorterm issue. You can’t change the core of your business. You’re trying to get in front of a human being who, ultimately, is going to buy something or consume your content. Search engines never bought anything.”
So, he suggested, “Take the time to do your content right and ultimately, you’ll be rewarded for it. The ranking is not the golden goose. It’s who sees it.”
TechMedia’s next two events are the Digital East event in Tysons Corner, VA, and the Internet Summit in Raleigh, NC. Both attract speakers and participants from major brands.
See also: Recovering from Penguin
7 Penguin findings
Living With Google Penguin
How WPMU recovered from the Penguin update
Here’s another infographic you may find useful:
http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/10242-what-s-your-content-marketing-plan-of-attack-infographic
Tags: Allan Maurer, Best Practices, Content, Digital Summit, Google Penguin update, Greenville, Matt McFadden, Merge, NC, optimization, SEO, site ranking
Posted in Best Practices, Business advice, Events, Internet/New Media, IT, South Carolina | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 5th, 2011
 Tower Cloud Inc., a wireless backhaul services provider, has secured $49 million in additional equity to fund its expansion into new markets throughout Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama.
The latest round of funding was led by two of Tower Cloud’s existing investors, The Burton Partnership and Knology Inc. Tower Cloud’s other existing institutional investors include: Sutter Hill Ventures, El Dorado Ventures, Ballast Point Ventures, Kinetic Ventures, ITC Partners Fund and Noro-Moseley Partners.
For this round, two new investors joined the consortium, The Florida Growth Fund and CLR Investors. The funding was done in two phases with $13 million completed in January and $36 million completed in July. This funding follows a $20 million equity commitment by the same investor group in October 2009.
Tags: Ballast Point Ventures, CLR Investors, El Dorado Ventures, financing, Florida, Florida Growth Fund, ITC Partners Fund, Kinetic Ventures, Knology Inc, Noro-Moseley Parnters, SC, Sutter Hill Ventures, The Burton Partnership, Tower Cloud, wireless backhaul services
Posted in Alabama, Cloud, Florida, Georgia, Mobile, Money, South Carolina, Telecommunications | No Comments »
Monday, September 19th, 2011
 Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina are viewed as having the best business climates among the 50 states, according to a new survey of U.S. corporate executives.
The poll pinpointed California, New York and Illinois as the U.S. states with the least favorable business climates.
Conducted by Development Counsellors International (DCI) every three years, the “Winning Strategies in Economic Development Marketing” survey has tracked trends in economic development since its inception in 1996.
“With the battle for business more intense than ever, states and their economic development organizations need to pay close attention to the results of this survey,” said DCI President Andrew T. Levine. “Whether accurate or misguided, perceptions about a location’s business climate often play a crucial role in site selection decisions and where companies invest money and create jobs.”
Half the firms to make relocation decisions
Nearly half (46%) of the 322 corporate executive who responded to the survey indicated that their firm would make a location decision in the next 24 months – whether a move, expansion or consolidation of a manufacturing plant, offices, distribution center or other facilities. More than half (51%) said that they would outsource a portion of the site selection process to a real estate broker or site selection consultant.
Texas was the clear-cut favorite among the respondents to the survey, with 49.4% naming the Lone Star state as having one of the most favorable business climates in the nation. North Carolina ranked second with 27.8%; South Carolina has 14.3% of the votes.
Texas and North Carolina have consistently landed in the top spots since the survey began more than a decade ago.Texas has held the #1 ranking since 1999, while North Carolina has been #2 since 2002. South Carolina, Tennessee andFlorida have frequently traded top positions in the survey and 2011 marks the return of South Carolina to the #3 slot.
Low operating costs a top concern
When asked why they selected the states they did as being best for business, the corporate executives frequently cited low operating costs and a pro-business climate. In the 2008 survey, more executives pointed to the availability of a strong workforce than they did in 2011.
For the fourth consecutive time, California was deemed as having the least favorable business climate, with 70.5% of the responses. New York was named second most frequently with 46.5%, followed by Illinois (24.4%) Taxes, high costs and “anti-business climate/regulation” spurred most of the negative opinions.
The comprehensive survey also asked a series of questions to divine the most effective economic development marketing tools, the leading sources of information that influence executive perceptions of a community’s business climate and the most important factors in business location decisions.
DCI conducted the survey online, polling a random selection of C-level executives at U.S. companies with annual revenues of$25 million or more. The survey was augmented by 250 location advisors/consultants.
For a free copy of the full “Winning Strategies” survey report or an executive summary, see: www.aboutdci.com/winning-strategies.
Tags: best staes for business, California, corporate execs see Texas, Illinois, low operating costs, NC, New York, SC, SC best for business, state business environments, Texas, workforce development
Posted in Carolinas, Economic Development, North Carolina, South Carolina, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Monday, May 9th, 2011
 SC Launch, an SCRA affiliate, today announced that three client companies will receive investments in undisclosed amounts for their continuing projects. Greenville-based Dannar, Columbia-based Senex Biotechnology and Charleston-based Madeira Therapeutics will each receive SC Launch funds after presentation to and subsequent approval by the SC Launch Board of Directors.
Based in Greenville, SC and developed by Gary Dannar, Dannar’s technology offers hybrid/battery-electric systems to reduce emissions in transportation vehicles. The Dannar – Mobile PowerStation (MPS) is a leading edge OEM of purpose built vehicles for the government roadside and “Right-of-Way” management market.
A company formed by recently-named USC Endowed Chair Dr. Igor Roninson and Dr. Lawrence Friedhoff, Senex Biotechnology develops novel therapeutics for the treatment of major diseases. Target technologies include the treatment of cancer, viral diseases and age-related diseases by targeting damage-inducible signal transduction pathways involved in cellular aging.
Located in Charleston, SC, Madeira Therapeutics was founded to develop new pharmaceutical products for unmet medical needs in the pediatric population. Currently the FDA does not run separate clinical trials for pediatric applications; doctors simply apply adult approved drugs at smaller doses for children. Madeira Therapeutics strives to ensure drug safety and efficiency for intended patients in the pediatric setting.
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: Biotech, Charleston, clean energy, Columbia, Dannar, financing, Greenville, Maderia Therapeutics, SC, SC Launch, Senex Biotechnology
Posted in Carolinas, Economic Development, Energy, Money, South Carolina | No Comments »
Thursday, May 5th, 2011
 CHARLESTON, SC – PeopleMatter, a talent management software provider for the service industry, has raised $7.2 million in a second round of funding led by Noro-Moseley Partners. Previous investors, C&B Capital, Intersouth Partners, and Harbert Ventures, participated.
“We’s done extensive market research on the talent mangement industry,” said Mike Elliott, Noro-Moseley Managing Partner, who joins the company’s board. “PeopleMatter’s unconventional platform integrating the consumer, employee and employer in targeted, service based vericals is poised for substantial growth.”
The company sells a comprehensive talent management solution delivered on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform. It includes tools to hire, schedule, learn, and egnage the hourly workforce for the hospitality, retail and food service industries.
The company says it plans to use the funding to expand its sales and marketing in North America and to fuel an active product pipeline. That sounds as if they’ll be doing some hiring. That’s one plus that doesn’t get mentioned often enough when companies up their funding: it generally also means more people are going to be landing jobs.
The company launched its product in September 2010. Customers include Flash Foods, Noodles and Co., Boloco and Pap Gino’s.
The company began in the incubator offices of Charlston’s Flagship in 2009.
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: C&B Capital, Harbert Ventures, Intersouth Partners, Mike Elliott, Noro-Moseley, PeopleMatter, service industry talent management software
Posted in Carolinas, Georgia, IT, South Carolina, TechJobs | No Comments »
Monday, April 11th, 2011
 GREENVILLE, SC -SCRA affiliate SC Launch has made a second investment in an undisclosed amount in Greenville-based VidiStar.
VidiStar provides physicians with a solution for their clinical practice. VidiStar’s online reporting system conforms to the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine structure reporting standard which auto‐populates complex data from imaging devices, such as ultrasound machines, into customized reports for efficient processing and reporting.
The technology allows physicians and health care providers to quickly review and interpret diagnostic studies, such as echocardiograms or fetal ultrasounds scans, from their office or anywhere in the world using a secure Internet connection ‐ regardless of a physician’s location.
The company has numerous customers throughout South Carolina and has also launched international operations from an office in Poland.
The VidiStar management team has more than 18 years of expertise in medical imaging technology, regulatory affairs and government regulation, and includes board‐certified medical professionals, including a practicing cardiologist with experience in echocardiography, nuclear cardiology and cardiovascular technology. The team brings more than 30 years of international and domestic sales experience.
“VidiStar’s novel technology and management expertise continue to prove that home grown knowledge-based companies can bring economic benefit to South Carolina,” said Bill Mahoney, SCRA CEO.
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: Bill Mahoney, Greenville, online medical reporting system, SC, SC Launch, SCRA, second investment, VidiStar
Posted in Carolinas, Internet/New Media, IT, South Carolina | No Comments »
Monday, March 14th, 2011
 CHARLOTTE, NC – Premier Alliance Group, (OTC.BB:PIMO), a professional services company focused on business and technology consulting, has closed a private placement of its securities resulting in gross proceeds to the company of $5 million.
The company sells business consulting services and human capital solutions to customers with a focus on core areas of business processes used throughout the corporate world including project management, business analysis, business consulting and strategic consulting.
Typical initiatives in which Premier provides services include compliance and regulatory, merger and acquisition, and business process reengineering efforts.
In the Southeast, it has a presence in South Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia as well as Raleigh and Charlotte, NC.
The Charlotte-based company disclosed the financing in a news release earlier this month.
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: Atlanta, Charltote, financing, NC, Premier Alliance Group, Raleigh, South Carolina, tech and business consulting
Posted in Carolinas, Georgia, IT, Money, North Carolina, South Carolina | No Comments »
Monday, January 24th, 2011
 GREENVILLE, SC – Care Cam Innovations a video healthcare documentation system, has received a $200,000 investment from SC Launch.
The company’s first product, the CareCam System’s ICan, is a patient-issued video documentation system. This patented invention creates a specific and complete electronic point of care health record whose interoperability will save time and money for caregivers. The technology ensures safety while benefiting and protecting both patient and health provider.
The company President and founder, registered nurse Shannon Pierce said, “As a nurse I have seen firsthand the advantages that a technology like the CareCam ICan can provide,” stated Pierce. “As electronic medical records are established in the healthcare market, the addition of our technology can provide and improve advancements in patient care. The current focus tends to be on being paperless and not the patient.”
She added, “Electronic medical records (EMRs) have led to improvements; however, the data entry distracts clinicians from care. Our solution simplifies accurate record keeping with video. Events are tagged by the care providers while care is administered. CareCam documentation will be integrated as a part of the patient’s health record and provide real-time video documentation that gives healthcare providers a visual record rather than just written, typed, and inefficiently organized descriptions.”
Pierce founded the company in 2004 with Dr. Michael Bucci, chief medical officer, and Ray Schroeder, the president and CEO of Interim Healthcare.
. Bo Aughtry and Russell Smart of Windsor Aughtry Company began mentoring Shannon in 2008. As a result of the collaboration, a business plan was complete and both men joined the founders as partners in CareCam Innovation in 2010.
SCRA has provided funding and support, through its SC Launch program, for 188 qualified entities since its inception in 2006. The SC Launch program has attracted more than $104 million in add-on, private equity investment funding in South Carolina knowledge-based, start-up companies.
Tags: Carecam Innovations, financing, SC Launch, SCRA, video healthcare documentation
Posted in Carolinas, IT, Money, South Carolina | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 12th, 2011
 GREENVILLE, SC - Perceptis, which sells help desk and support services to the higher education market, is investing $1.2 million and creating at least 220 new jobs in a new support service center in Greenville.
The company expects to start operations at the new facility by March 31. Founded in 2004, Perceptis has grown rapidly to service more than 100 institutions and 1.5 million end users.
“Perceptis sought out a competitive advantage in their next location and what they found in the Upstate of South Carolina is a pro-business trifecta: a top-ranked business climate, a world-class research environment and a superb quality of life,” said Hal Johnson, president and CEO of the Upstate SC Alliance.
Frontier Capital, a private equity firm providing growth equity to technology enabled business services companies, provided $6 million in expansion funding to Perceptis in September 2010. Frontier Capital is one of the four funds involved in the SC Venture Capital Authority/InvestSC program and initiated the recruitment effort to bring the company to South Carolina.
Tags: education support facility, Greenville, Hal johnson, new jobs, Perceptis, SC, Upstate SC Alliance
Posted in Carolinas, Economic Development, Education, South Carolina, TechJobs, Telecommunications | 2 Comments »
Monday, January 10th, 2011
 CHARLOTTE & RALEIGH, NC – Duke Energy says it will buy Progress Energy in a stock deal worth about $26 billion, resulting in a combined utility with 7.1 million customers, largest in the United States.
The merged firms will operate under the Duke name, headquartered in Charlotte while keeping “substantial operations” in Raleigh.
Bill Johnson, CEO of Progress Energy will take the helm as CEO of the merged companies. Duke CEO Jim Rogers will chair the merged firms.
Johnson called the combination of the two utilities “A perfect fit.”
While the merger may result in some job losses, according to reports, it could also result in lower utility rates.
The merger gives the combined utility increased financial clout.
The combined company will have:
• Approximately $65 billion in enterprise value and $37 billion in market capitalization
• The country’s largest regulated customer base, providing service to approximately 7.1 million electric customers in six regulated service territories North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida,Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio
• Approximately 57 gigawatts of domestic generating capacity from a diversified mix of coal, nuclear, natural gas, oil and renewable resources
• The largest regulated nuclear fleet in the country.
“This combination of two outstanding companies is a natural fit,” said Johnson, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Progress Energy. “It makes clear strategic sense and creates exceptional value for our shareholders. Together, we can leverage our best practices to achieve even higher levels of safety, operational excellence and customer satisfaction, and save money for customers by combining our fuel purchasing power and the dispatch of our generating plants.”
Tags: Bill Johnson, Duke Energy, Jim Rogers, Mergers and acquisitions, Progress Energy
Posted in Acquisitions, Carolinas, Energy, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, Other SE, South Carolina | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 15th, 2010
 RALEIGH, NC – The Triangle Game Conference today unveiled a new name and logo for the annual East Coast event serving professionals working in the interactive entertainment and serious game industries. To better align with its growing audience and reach, the conference is changing its name to the East Coast Game Conference (ECGC).
ECGC also today announced its call for speaker submissions to lead panels, lectures and roundtable sessions at its third annual conference April 13-14, 2011 to be held at the Raleigh Convention Center. The call for submissions will close Friday, January 21, 2011.
The inaugural 2009 conference featured more than 40 participating companies and over 700 attendees for the two-day conference. TGC 2010 proved just as strong with double the space and more than 50 participating companies and over 900 attendees.
Speaker topic areas include: game development; advanced learning and virtual stimulation; and the business of games and media convergence.
North Carolina has become a hub for game development, one of several in the Southeast.
Tags: call for speakers, East Coast Game Conference, Events, Triangle game conference
Posted in Carolinas, Florida, Georgia, Internet/New Media, IT, North Carolina, Potomac, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, DC | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 14th, 2010
By Allan Maurer
 The InZero security device RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – Cybersecurity still seems to be an afterthought among everyone from McDonald’s to Gawker Media, not to mention the U.S. government and military. Too many entities worry about digital security only when it is breached.
Great business strategy that. Apparently, even giving your email address to a publication such as Gawker or to McDonald’s during one of its promotions, can expose your private data these days. Both admitted to serious security breaches as 2010 ends, while many Twitter accounts – including mine – were hacked by someone selling Acai for weight loss this week. Probably because I used the same password for both sites (see: Spammers Exploit Gawker) on Gawker, where I commented maybe once.
TechJournal South had its own problems with a hacked ad server a few months back and had to shift to another. Two major ad networks were hit with a similar problem this week.
And most of those security breaches were relatively minor in the scheme of things. Many more serious ones have already occurred and we have little doubt are to come.
But coming on the heels of the WikiLeaks fracas, these breaches all show a laxness about cybersecurity that I think is increasingly dangerous on the part of commercial enterprises, government agencies and the military, not to mention to each of us personally.
The problem is partly inherent in the open, accessible nature of the Internet. The very ease with which we swim the Internet’s electron sea makes us vulnerable to sharks. Still,the bad guys, be they foreign hacker crews backed by their own governments, malware creators, spammers, scammers or plain old crooks, actively hack away at us, while credit card companies, government agencies, and businesses remain all too often re-active.
We can’t win the cybersecurity battles that way.
It is absolutely necessary – probably for all of us, but certainly for government and commercial entities – to actively combat this problem. Harden passwords, be careful about what we put on thumb drives or pick up on them, shred documents with sensitive data, and find and use security systems not so easy for cyber criminals to break through.
I’ve noted one approach that seems to be powerful, that of using a security device separate from other equipment that acts as a lockbox preventing suspicious or actual malware and other intrusions from ever reaching operating systems. See: Herndon-based firm grabbing media attention for security device. And: NZero keeps the bad guys out.
Meanwhile, Panda Security of Orlando, which provides antimalware software in the cloud rather than on individual machines, has listed the top ten cyber security threats it sees for 2011.
See also: WikiWars: The Face of future conflicts.
There are contrary views. Over at InformIT, Gary McGraw & Ivan Arce explain how the current climate of exaggeration and FUD surrounding cyber attacks does not ultimately serve the best interests of computer security research in Cyber Warmongering and Influence Peddling.
Email TJS Editor Allan Maurer: Allan at TechJournalSouth dot com.
Tags: Allan Maurer, cyber crime, cyber security, cybersecurity, Gawker, twitter, Wikileaks
Posted in Alabama, Arkansas, Carolinas, Columns, Florida, Georgia, Government/Defense, Internet/New Media, IT, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Other SE, Potomac, Security, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, DC, West Virginia | 2 Comments »
Friday, November 19th, 2010
 COLUMBIA, SC - SC Launch has invested an undisclosed amount in Vitasol, a life science company focused on improving therapies in emergency medicine and critical care.
SC Launch typically invests $250,000 or less in South Carolina start-ups.
Vitasol’s first product, Resuscinex, a patented multi-component IV fluid for the treatment of hypovolemia (blood and/or fluid loss from the vascular system). Resuscinex works by drawing fluid out of the microscopic spaces between cells and into the vascular system. This restores blood pressure, which often drops sharply in shock victims who have lost blood, and also restores normal heart rate.
In addition, the formula provides anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatory agents and intermediate energy to cells while increasing blood flow in capillaries, the tiny vessels that are critical for supplying oxygen and nutrients to tissue.
The company was founded and advanced by several researchers at the University of South Carolina (USC) School of Medicine. Trauma surgeon Stephen Fann, MD, FACS is the Chief Medical Officer of Vitasol. Fann, a School of Medicine faculty member, has long wanted a better alternative to the IV fluids traditionally used to stabilize victims of severe blood loss.
Together with his colleagues, Michael Yost and John Propst, he soon might have it. Michael Yost, PhD is Director of Research in the Department of Surgery at the USC School of Medicine and Chief Operating Officer of Vitasol. John Propst, PhD, MBA, the company’s President and CEO, earned his doctorate from the USC School of Medicine while researching biomedical science with Fann and Yost. Passionate about the business implications of cutting edge biotechnology, he also earned his MBA from the USC Darla Moore School of Business.
“We started this company hoping to solve a major problem for trauma victims and improve treatment outcomes in critical care situations,” stated Vitasol CEO John Propst. “The domestic market is quite large and the global implications are significant. Our initial test results are very encouraging, and with this investment from SC Launch we will be able to secure follow on investments and move our research discoveries that much closer toward improving patient care.”
Vitasol plans to begin human trials in coming months and is currently seeking FDA approval. The company hopes to ultimately establish manufacturing of its Resuscinex product in the South Carolina.
SC Launch, an SCRA collaboration, assists entrepreneurial start-up companies with up-front counseling, seed-funding, and access to a powerful resource network.
Tags: Columbia, emergency medicine, financing, SC, SC Launch, SCRA, Vitasol
Posted in Carolinas, Economic Development, Money, South Carolina | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 10th, 2010
 GREENVILLE, SC – Acumen has named G.T. “Toby” Stansell president and COO. Acumen is one of the largest technology companies in the Carolinas, providing industry-leading IT managed services, data storage solutions and business applications for companies of all sizes.
Prior to joining Acumen, Stansell was the president of Oobe, where he helped the company grow over 700 percent and achieve unprecedented levels of profitability during his five years there.
Stansell has an extensive technology background. He began with IBM in the role of key account executive in the 80s and has held more recent executive roles with aerospace and automotive ERP software companies that were sold to industry leaders Manugistics and SAP, respectively.
In addition, he established the first international office of Right Source Inc. in Maastricht, Holland, where he served as managing director for all of Right Source’s operations outside of North America. In that role, Stansell hired and led multi-national teams that produced and executed executive-level technology briefings and seminars across Europe and Asia on behalf of IBM, Computer Associates and PTC, among others.
Tags: Acumen, COO, Greenville, SC, Toby Stansell named president
Posted in Carolinas, IT, People, South Carolina | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010
FLORENCE, SC – MIT-RCF, a Lake City, SC-based carbon fiber technology company, has received a $200,000 investment from SC Launch at an event hosted by SCRA at the Southeastern Institute for Manufacturing and Technology.
At the event, SCRA also presented a Knowledge Economist Award to the President of Francis Marion University Dr. L. Fred Carter, and led a panel discussion to explore future technology development opportunities and challenges in the region.
MIT-RCF was formed by and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Materials Innovation Technologies (MIT), an advanced materials company focused on developing innovative technical solutions for the manufacture of composite parts. The MIT-RCF manufacturing facility which is located in Lake City represents the commercialization of MIT’s proprietary 3-DEP™ technology, a revolutionary and disruptive process for molding that pre-forms and manufactures finished parts.
“MIT-RCF is essentially creating a new industry based on their state-of-the-art recycling technology and composite manufacturing of carbon fibers,” said SCRA CEO Bill Mahoney. “The company shows tremendous promise to not only be an industry leader by filling a current carbon fiber technology gap, but to also bring economic impact to this region with quality, high-tech job creation.”
The investment award was presented prior to a technology and economic development focused panel discussion during the event.
Also during the event, SCRA presented a Knowledge Economist Award to Dr. L. Fred Carter for his individual efforts that support the development of the Knowledge Economy in South Carolina.
Tags: Bill Mahoney, Dr. L. Fred Carter, Florence, Francis Marion University, investment, Lake City, MIT-RCF, SC, SC Launch, SCRA
Posted in Carolinas, Economic Development, Money, South Carolina | No Comments »
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