Innovation Economy

Boston-Power founder Christina Lampe-Onnerud joins hedge fund firm Bridgewater Associates

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:00:02 GMT

One of Boston's highest-profile energy entrepreneurs, Christina Lampe-Onnerud, is moving to Connecticut to join one of the world's biggest hedge fund managers, Bridgewater Associates. Lampe-Onnerud is a former Arthur D. Little scientist who in 2004 founded Boston-Power, a maker of lithium ion batteries for laptops and electric vehicles. The company attracted customers like HP and Saab. But Lampe-Onnerud dialed down her involvement with the company in 2012, after it raised a big new funding round and shifted much of its operations to China.

TechStars Boston Demo Day, Spring 2013: Your scorecard for the 14 startups presenting

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:00:03 GMT

The spring "demo day" for the TechStars Boston accelerator program takes place on Thursday at House of Blues on Landsdowne Street. Founders of 14 startups from the U.S. and Europe will deliver short pitches for an invited audience of investors, TechStars mentors, and community members. The founders usually talk about the problem they're solving; early customers; and the amount they're hoping to raise (including any funding commitments they've received prior to demo day). There's also an after-party Thursday evening at Storyville, but looks like that is sold out.

Interactions Corp. collects $40 million in new funding to make customer service calls less frustrating

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:30:34 GMT

Big new round of funding being announced today by a Franklin-based startup, Interactions Corp. And its being led by Steve Murray, a venture capitalist based in the Newton office of Softbank Capital.

Departing Zipcar CEO Scott Griffith signs up as CoachUp director

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:13:25 GMT

CoachUp founder Jordan Fliegel has been on a pretty hot signing streak when it comes to adding advisors and directors.

CoUrbanize wants to bring the conversation about urban planning and real estate development online

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:30:32 GMT

If something new is being built in your neighborhood, the chances are pretty good that you don't get sufficient information about how it will affect you or a chance to voice your opinion about it. Unless, that is, you have enough time on your hands to attend community meetings regularly.

HubSpot signs lease to keep growing in East Cambridge

Wed, 15 May 2013 20:34:13 GMT

One of Cambridge's fastest-growing companies just inked a deal to stay put in a former furniture factory built in 1860.

Alternative medicine directory Jill's List acquired by California-based Mindbody

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:00:56 GMT

How's this for crazy timing? Jill Shah had just sold her Back Bay startup, Jill's List, on April 15th. The money had just hit her bank account. She hadn't even had a chance to tell her ten employees about the sale yet when two bombs went off on the street below; Shah's company is on Boylston Street, in between the first and second blasts.

Dropping in on Julia Austin, VP of innovation at VMware's Kendall Square office

Mon, 13 May 2013 13:00:48 GMT

Four things I didn't know about VMware's Cambridge office before visiting it recently:

Law firm Foley Hoag plans to close Emerging Enterprise Center in Waltham

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:00:01 GMT

Over the past few years, many of the venture capital firms that once populated Boston's western 'burbs have relocated to the city to be closer to entrepreneurs. Now, it seems like the professional services firms are also pulling up stakes.

Campbell Soup CEO Denise Morrison talks corporate innovation in Boston

Wed, 08 May 2013 17:26:45 GMT

Campbell Soup Company CEO Denise Morrison was in town yesterday for the annual Front End of Innovation conference at the World Trade Center, offering a glimpse at how one Fortune 500 company does innovation.

Construction tour: Workbar's new shared office in Central Square, slated to open in late May

Tue, 07 May 2013 14:40:40 GMT

I stopped by the future home of Workbar in Central Square yesterday to get a look at the construction progress. The shared office space is scheduled to open by May 20th, according to founder Bill Jacobson. It'll be the second Workbar location; the first is in Boston, across the street from South Station.

Terrafugia unveils TF-X concept vehicle: A plug-in hybrid that takes off like a helicopter and (almost) flies itself

Mon, 06 May 2013 16:00:31 GMT

Isn't there an old saying about learning to fly before you can fly?

Winners of the 2013 New England Venture Capital Association Awards

Thu, 02 May 2013 01:44:53 GMT

The New England Venture Capital Association held its first-ever awards party tonight in Harvard Square. These were the winners.

A cardboard 'bot from Cambridge makes it big at the Tribeca Film Festival

Wed, 01 May 2013 17:10:09 GMT

At the DIY Days conference last Saturday in Manhattan, I ran into MIT Media Lab alum Alexander Reben and his little cardboard buddy, BlabDroid.

Startups and venture capital firms organize #BackToBackBay drinkup, for cocktail hour Tuesday

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 02:23:49 GMT

Sometime during the course of Lockdown Friday, I suggested that once Boylston Street was open again, we should all head over to hoist a few drinks... ... To honor the victims... Express our gratitude to the first responders and the healthcare professionals who helped the city get through a pretty horrific week... And to help Back Bay businesses get back on their feet.

Highlights from today's Betaspring investor showcase: Companies to watch, new services to check out

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:28:44 GMT

Can a bus trip to Boston help startups from the Providence-based Betaspring accelerator program raise money?

New reality show 'Big Brain Theory' features Somerville robot builder Gui Cavalcanti

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:55:46 GMT

Could reality TV's next big star be an Olin College-educated robotics engineer who lives in Davis Square? Here's hoping...

10 insights into the challenges of corporate innovation, from this week's Innovation Leaders Forum in Boston

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:25:15 GMT

Corporate innovation executives from companies like Covidien, Chubb Group, and the Mayo Clinic got together earlier this week at the Harvard Club. The occasion was the 2013 Innovation Leaders Forum, organized by Imaginatik, a British software and consulting firm that has its main U.S. office in Boston.

In Google's Ingress augmented reality game, a ceasefire at MIT and a memorial to slain officer Sean Collier

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:37:59 GMT

Most people haven't yet heard of Ingress, an augmented reality game currently being beta-tested by Google. But think of it as a digital version of capture-the-flag, in which players from a blue team and a green team use their mobile phones as they move around the real world, trying to find and claim ownership of "portals" to another dimension.

From Cambridge's The Tap Lab, a visual timeline of location-based games

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:45:11 GMT

Just posting a nifty graphic that Dave Bisceglia shared last night at the "Mothers of Invention" show focused on gaming...

Israel's Gizmox picks up $7.5 million to help companies convert existing apps to HTML5; will set up U.S. office in Cambridge

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:00:44 GMT

An Israeli company founded in 2007, Gizmox, is getting new funding from Cambridge venture capital firm Atlas Venture. Atlas is leading a $7.5 million funding round for Gizmox, and local tech executive Eugene Kuznetsov is joining as chief executive. Kuznetsov had previously been the founder and president of DataPower, a maker of networking equipment that was acquired by IBM for about $100 million; it was also backed by Atlas. More recently, he'd been co-founder of Abine, a startup focused on online privacy.

Over the course of Boston's most challenging week, hospital workers have been a shining light

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:35:14 GMT

If this had been an ordinary week in Boston, the workers who hustle down the hallways of our city's hospitals would've been doing all the things they ordinarily do: drawing blood, tending to patients, handling heart attacks, performing MRIs.

Tech community aims to raise $50,000 for victims of Boston Marathon bombs

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:41:54 GMT

As I said last night on Twitter, Boston is a city that fights injustice, promotes enlightenment, and celebrates athletic achievement. Yesterday's attack on the innocent people who stood cheering on the runners of the 117th Boston Marathon changes none of that.

Moo.com, online printing company headquartered in London, picks Boston for U.S. marketing office

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 14:20:07 GMT

British online printing business Moo.com think VistaPrint, but with a hipper aesthetic is hunting for office space in Boston to serve as its U.S. headquarters. And Moo has already hired a former Zipcar executive, Stephanie Shore, to run marketing in North America.

Electronics reseller Gazelle on track to hit $100 million in revenue for 2013

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:50:36 GMT

Gazelle CEO Israel Ganot made two pretty dramatic decisions last year. His Boston startup, which helps consumers resell their old electronic gadgets after they've upgraded, had grown to about $35 million in sales for 2011.