phillytechnews twitterfeed 8/15/2012

phillytechnews: RT @seattletimes: Felix Hernandez has taken his place in the halls of baseball immortality after pitching a perfect game against the Tam ... Posted: 15 Aug 2012 03:39 PM PDT phillytechnews: RT @seattletimes: Felix Hernandez has taken his place in the halls of baseball immortality after pitching a perfect game against the Tam ...

phillytechnews: New PTN Post: MoneyTree VC report: Which startups really are based in Philly area? http://t.co/GfLOKR2A Posted: 15 Aug 2012 03:33 PM PDT phillytechnews: New PTN Post: MoneyTree VC report: Which startups really are based in Philly area? http://t.co/GfLOKR2A

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MoneyTree VC report: Which startups really are based in Philly area?

Tom Paine

In sorting through the Q2 2012 PricewaterhouseCoopers/National Venture Capital Association MoneyTree Venture Capital report (free registration) based on ThomsonReuters data, you can often come across some confusing information.

For instance, be wary of startups shown as being based in Delaware. Often they have nothing more to do with the state other than being registered there. For instance, Speaktoit, a Siri-like app for Android, is shown in the report as being based in Newark, DE, but CEO Ilya Gelfenbeyn told me by email when the funding was first announced in May that "we are in DC and now opening an office in Sunnyvale, CA", and only has a registration office in Delaware. Speaktoit recieved funding from Intel Capital. Another example is Roqbot, a social music service for businesses, which is shown as being based in Dover, DE, but is actually based in California. Google Ventures is among its backers.

Also, there are a number of startups listed as being located in Conshohocken. which happens to be the current location of First Round Capital's office until it moves to Philadelphia (as Josh Kopelman announced today). So it is no surprise that First Round is an early stage investor in each of them, although they won't be located there or in the Philly area at all in some cases. One, crowdfunding VC site FundersClub, lists three UPenn alumni as its top principals, although I haven't been able to determine yet where it is they call home. Another crowdfunding startup, Upstart, which lets investors back individuals rather than companies, is located in Palo Alto according to FormDs.com. Grokker looks like it is a reincanation of a visual search engine of the same name that shut down in 2009. which was also located in the Bay area. Another, Perceptual Networks, may have bi-coastal roots in terms of its founders, but Kopelman confirmed in his post today that it will have a Philly presence in that it will have space in FRC's new offices. I have no information on what Perceptual Networks is out to do yet.

Another interesting investment is that of Norwest Venture Partners in Media-based Alarm Capital Alliance, which provides home security systems through a network of third party dealers. The size of the investment wasn't disclosed. I know little about ACA, but I do know that Norwest usually invests in fairly sizable amounts of a few million or more. If I understand correctly, part of what ACA does is to provide dealer financing, so the Norwest investment could be related to that.

In all, it was a weak quarter for IT and digital-related investments in the Philly area. The total of all investment was less than $58 million, according to MoneyTree, but a quick glance indicates at least $44 million of that was in Pharma ventures and even some of remainder included the report was for companies not actually located in the area.

Philly Tech News' own database tracking Philly area (IT-related) VC investments doesn't exactly match the MoneyTree data, often because of timing differences. Some partial rounds often appear in different quarters. For example, MoneyTree shows a $3 million investment in InstaMed for the quarter, while my report includes the entire $14 million round the company announced in May.

Philly Tech News Philly VC Investments Database (Updated 8/15/2012)



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Daily Links 8/15/2012: First Round Capital moving from Conshy to Philly

Hello Philly! (Redeye VC)
First Round Capital moving from Conshohocken to Philadelphia.

SevOne P2P Sharing and Big Data Clusters For Monitoring On A Massive Scale (TechCrunch)
SevOne is based in Newark, DE.

Verizon, Comcast Agree to U.S. Demands on Airwaves (Bloomberg)

Here's Comcast's Coming Speed, Pricing Lineup
Competitive (FiOS) Areas to See Changes First (Broadband Reports)

Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and others team up to create new mobile wallet solution (The Verge)

OLED displays to hit sales of $44B by 2019, with growth in TVs and mobile devices (VentureBeat)
If accurate, would be promising news for Ewing-based Universal Display.

Astea Reports Profitable Second Quarter 2012 Results (PR Newswire)
Horsham-based provider of field service management solutions grows revenue 32% and swings to net income of $885,000 from a loss of $839,000 a year ago.

USA Technologies Enters Mobile Acceptance Market
ePort Mobile Brings Turn-key ePort Connect Service Platform to Smart Phones and Tablets for Business Customers (Business Wire)



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Highlights last week on Philly Tech News (8/6/2012 to 8/12/2012)

I looked at how HostMySite, the Newark, Delaware-based small business-oriented web hosting service that was folded into the more enterprise-oriented Hosting.com, has been broken out as a separate division and given increased emphasis.

Liberty Interactive reported that revenue at its QVC unit grew 4% in the 2nd quarter, and that QVC's joint venture in China had been approved by Chinese officials.

SAP expert watcher Dennis Howlett discovered that there were some significant accounting issues at SuccessFactors prior to its acquisition by SAP.

Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania announced it had invested $1.375 million in seven early stage ventures.

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts discussed his vision for the company in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek.

The latest Philly newspapers ownership group, Interstate Media General, told staff in a memo that the papers are still losing millions and it wants more cuts. Apparently, its capital may not be as "patient" as thought.

The city of Philadelphia named its first chief data officer, Mark Headd.


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Daily Links 8/14/2012: Verizon Wireless spectrum deal near regulatory approval (WSJ)

Verizon Wireless spectrum deal near regulatory approval - WSJ (Reuters)

Talks Falter Between Stacey Snider, Comcast (Hollywood Reporter)

New York Surpasses Boston as Tech Hub says First Round Capital’s Howard Morgan (Startup Grind)

Conshohocken-based New Horizons Enters into Definitive Agreement to Be Acquired by an Investor Group Led by Camden Partners (Business Wire)

Salesforce’s Answer To Facebook? Communities: A Private Social Network For You And Your Customers (TechCrunch)

Considering mobile POS? How URBN (Urban Outfitters) leverages apps for a streamlined in-store checkout (National Retail Federation Blog)

Drexel law professor creates a virtual venue for getting real-world experience (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Uber Hit With Cease And Desist In Boston, Promises To Continue “Full Speed Ahead” (TechCrunch)

RevitasNOW™ Brings the Power of Enterprise Revenue Dynamics to the Cloud
Revitas introduces a powerful cloud solution for optimizing and managing complex contracts, pricing, and compliance scenarios (Business Wire)

S4 Worldwide Receives Investment from Ben Franklin Technology Partners (Business Wire)

phillytechnews twitter feed 8/12/ to 8/13/2012

phillytechnews: Daily Links 8/13/2012: Google cuts 4,000 at Motorola, but says impact at Horsham "minimal" http://t.co/rF9AdSIJ Posted: 13 Aug 2012 03:00 PM PDT phillytechnews: Daily Links 8/13/2012: Google cuts 4,000 at Motorola, but says impact at Horsham "minimal" http://t.co/rF9AdSIJ

phillytechnews: RT @ScottMAustin: Groupon's sequential revenue growth for past 6 quarters reads like this: 72%, 97%, 10%, 14%, 14%, 2%. Not exactly high ... Posted: 13 Aug 2012 02:14 PM PDT phillytechnews: RT @ScottMAustin: Groupon's sequential revenue growth for past 6 quarters reads like this: 72%, 97%, 10%, 14%, 14%, 2%. Not exactly high ...

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Daily Links 8/13/2012: Google cuts 4,000 at Motorola, but says impact at Horsham "minimal"

Motorola Set for Big Cuts as Google Reinvents It (New York Times)
It sounds as if this round might be mostly aimed at the handset business. Reports have suggested that Google may have decided to sell the Horsham-based home business, but this article doesn't clarify that.
Update: Some cuts at Motorola Home, but company says "the impact on Horsham is minimal", Light Reading Cable reports.

Google Faces a Big Set-Top Overhang With Expected Sale of Moto Home (Multichannel News)


Pay TV should be “afraid, very afraid” of Google Fiber, SNL Kagan says (paidContent)

Dish Network's Ergen predicts a pay TV provider will launch a sports-free service (FierceCable)


Study Examines “Clubby” World of Venture Capital (Wall Street Journal: Venture Capital Dispatch)
Study by RJMetrics' co-founder Robert Moore finds that some VCs such as First Round Capital often co-invest with certain firms, while others like Edison Ventures frequently go solo.

Stick a Fork In It: Dell Is Done (PandoDaily)

Dell Is Done? Just a Little Premature (PandoDaily)
An alternative view.

Salesforce.com Just Landed Its Biggest Deal Ever, But Can’t Brag About It (All Things D)

T-Mobile USA Said To Be Target Of Trujillo Buyout Attempt (Bloomberg)

Echo Therapeutics Announces $20 Million Financing with Platinum-Montaur Life Sciences (PR Newswire)


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Philly Tech People News 8/12/2012: Quintiq deepens finance management team

Quintiq Announces Four Key Additions to the Financial Team (Quintiq website)

Ad Executive Makes Leap to Comcast’s El Rey Network (New York Times: Media Decoder)

TAGSYS Expands Team for RFID Deployment in Retail, Apparel, Luxury Goods Sector (Business Wire)

WVT Communications Group Announces Brian H. Callahan as CFO (Marketwire)

QVC CFO Dan O'Connell Announces Retirement After 25 Years (PR Newswire)

QVC EVP John Hunter Retires After 20+ Years of
Driving World Class Customer Service (QVC Press Release)

Digital First Media Announces New Editorial Structure in Support of Project Thunderdome
James McClure Named Company's East Editor (Marketwire)
Journal Register parent.

Harte-Hanks, Inc. promotes Jeannine Falcone (Philly Ad Club News)

D4 Creative Group adds 5 new hires
(Philly Ad Club News)

Rajant Adds Two Key Directors to Sales Team (Business Wire)

COLDLIGHT NAMES NEW CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER (ColdLight Website)

Veris Associates, Inc. - New Team Member (PR Newswire)

FieldView Solutions Hires Marketing Veteran for DCIM Offering (Marketwire)




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The Friday WTF Awards – Oracle Not The Only One Who Deserves Calling Out (Alex Williams/TechCrunch)

Salesforce.com to debut Work.com at Dreamforce
Analysts expect an initial product launch will be followed by a broader strategy for HR software (Infoworld)

As Google Fiber rollouts begin, here’s what cable will watch most closely (Gigaom)

phillytechnews twitterfeed 8/9 to 8/10/2012

phillytechnews: @EugeneKemp Well, I exaggerate a bit. Shouldn't make light of what is a serious issue for some http://t.co/qSKRQEmy Posted: 10 Aug 2012 06:27 PM PDT phillytechnews: @EugeneKemp Well, I exaggerate a bit. Shouldn't make light of what is a serious issue for some http://t.co/qSKRQEmy

phillytechnews: Entire state of Louisiana said to be threatened by giant sinkhole Posted: 10 Aug 2012 04:12 PM PDT phillytechnews: Entire state of Louisiana said to be threatened by giant sinkhole

phillytechnews: New PTN Post: http://t.co/PhLDSEJp places renewed emphasis on HostMySite brand; expands Newark operations http://t.co/68fyz424 Posted: 10 Aug 2012 04:10 PM PDT phillytechnews: New PTN Post: http://t.co/PhLDSEJp places renewed emphasis on HostMySite brand; expands Newark operations http://t.co/68fyz424

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Hosting.com places renewed emphasis on HostMySite brand; expands Newark operations

HostMySite President John Enright

Tom Paine

Many in Philly's tech community are familiar with or may be/have been a customer of HostMySite, the Newark, DE web hosting service founded in 1997 by Lou Honick and Neil Heuer. It was acquired in 2008 by Charlotte-based Wachovia Capital Partners, now Pamlico Capital, which was spun off from Wachovia acquirer Well Fargo, though Wells Fargo is still listed as a limited partner on Pamlico's website. In making the investment the PE firm was backing two experienced data center entrepreneurs, Art Zeile and Joel Daly, who it had backed previously when they built a company called Inflow, which was eventually acquired by SunGard Availability Services. Zeile and Daly's strategy was to use HostMySite as a base around which it could integrate other acquisitions and build a larger web hosting and cloud services business.

After the acquisition, HostMySite moved its headquarters to Denver, though the bulk of its operations remained in Newark. In 2009, HostMySite acquired Louisville, KY-based Hosting.com, creating what was said at the time to be a $50 million (revenue) business. The combined entity took on the Hosting.com name, and also built a new data center in Denver. It now has data centers in Louisville, Dallas, and San Francisco and Irvine, CA, in addition to Newark and Denver. The data center footprint in Newark is now 18,500 square feet. Hosting.com is focused more on serving enterprise customers, while HostMySite mostly serves small "mom & pop" type businesses or individuals trying to build their own web presence. One of HostMySite's objectives is to give its customers the tools to help them grow their websites or online businesses, and in the process hopefully become larger customers.

Hosting.com data center in Newark, DE

Despite Hosting.com's expansion, Newark has remained the central base for Hosting.com in terms of operations and headcount. The HostMySite name never went away, but did not receive much emphasis as a brand; at least I can say I've rarely heard that name used over the past three years until recently. About a year ago I did hear complaints on some area message boards claiming that Hosting.com had dramatically increased its pricing on some of the old HostMySite plans, effectively making them cost prohibitive for some small customers.

But in a phone interview, the company tells me that while it never went away as a brand name, HostMySite was relaunched last year as a separate division of Hosting.com, focused on maintaining, building, and enhancing the small business hosting experience. In this segment, HostMySite competes against companies like GoDaddy, Web.com and Chesterbrook-based 1&1 Internet USA, although it is tiny in comparison to those in terms of numbers of customers. HostMySite has about 35,000 customers who pay on average $20 per month. HostMySite President and web host industry pioneer John Enright says that "our goal is to make the process of building and managing a website as easy as installing and using applications on an iPhone".

HostMySite plans a series of new product introductions and enhancements over the next several weeks. One of them is an upgraded control panel, of which one of the key features is an “application catalog that makes it easy for customers to install a variety of different web applications – from popular content management apps like Wordpress and Joomla to complex e-commerce platforms like Magento. The installation and configuration process is entirely automated so a customer can jump right in and start using the app, rather than spending time trying to figure out how to get it up and running", Enright says.

Hosting.com has over 200 employees in Newark and says it is hiring there in tech support, operations, and engineering. Newark supports enterprise level Hosting.com operations, in addition to the HostMySite service. I recall HostMySite once being very visible in the Philadelphia developer community, and they say they hope to revive that presence.

Although the enterprise side of Hosting.com employs VMware for virtualization, HostMySite primarily uses Parallels' offerings to provide VPS (virtual private server) environments to its customers. HostMySite recently announced the availability of ColdFusion 10 hosting services.

Hosting.com had an outage incident in Newark two weeks ago. The outage began after an engineer performing maintenance accidentally cut power to the facility. Although power was restored within minutes, it took some time to get all the servers back up. The average site down time was an hour, although some sites were down for several hours. 1,147 customers were affected, Hosting.com CEO Zeile told the Wall Street Journal. Many customers pass on a backup option that adds about 30% to their total cost, Zeile said.

HostMySite co-founder Honick, who stayed on for a while after the acquisition, started a new business, Newark-based Host Merchant Services, which provides low cost credit card processing services to small ecommerce merchants. Host Merchant Services has partnered with HostMySite to offer its solutions to HostMySite customers.



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