Wayne : In The News

King of Prussia based NextDocs raises $10.3 million to provide Microsoft SharePoint to life sciences, according to TechCrunch.

NextDocs, a company that sells Microsoft SharePoint based software for the life sciences industry, has raised $10.3 million in a Series A financing from OpenView Venture Partners.

NextDocs helps life sciences companies of leverage SharePoint-based document and management software.The company actually customizes SharePoint for companies in the pharmaceuticals, medical device and biotech industries. NextDocs actually has over 100 customers across the life sciences industry (including five of the ten largest pharmaceutical companies in the U.S.).

Source: TechCrunch
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Last week we told you about the four suburban Philadelphia communities named to Money magazine's 100 Best Places to Live in America list. The New Republic looks at those same four hotspots as evidence of a shift in the way we live in post-recession America.

But Money is still wedded to the notion that our best places are “small towns,” without acknowledging the regional metropolitan economies--with distinctive economic clusters and amenities, unified housing and labor markets, and modern transportation networks--that determine their economic prosperity and popular appeal.

The magazine does implicitly recognize these metropolitan connections. Take the four new communities in this year’s list within in the resilient Philadelphia metro: West Goshen “gives residents a rural feel, yet good access to jobs,” given its proximity to Philadelphia; Horsham “lies with easy commuting distance of Philadelphia,” Ardmore is “just a few minutes from the city by rail,” and commuters from West Norriton “appreciate that it is 25 miles southwest of Philadelphia.”

It is time to acknowledge that these “small towns,” really suburbs and exurbs, are part of highly-connected and seamlessly-integrated metropolitan economies. The notion promoted by these kinds of “best places” lists--that “small towns” or “small cities” are self-sufficient islands--is fundamentally misguided. Families and firms choose these communities precisely because they benefit from the assets, attributes, and advantages of their broader metros.

Original source: The New Republic
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Berwyn-based nonprofit B Lab is growing social entrepreneurship nationally, reports Inc.

The B Corp movement was founded in 2007 by 81 companies seeking an alternative to the for-profit way of doing business. According to B Lab, the B community today comprises 422 certified companies throughout 54 industries including business services firms, telecoms, banks, venture capitalists, tech firms, apparel, and consumer goods manufactures. These certified B Corps have a combined total of $1.94 billion in revenues.

There are tons of certified B Corps that are profitable businesses, says Jay Coen Gilbert, a B Lab cofounder. "Some have been getting great valuations and attracting outside capital. And some have sold their businesses for a profit."

Original source: Inc.
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Fast Company writes about how First Round Capital has changed the way VC firms are run.

One example is that they introduced a program where their founders can pool together shares from their company and exchange them for a small portfolio of other First Round Capital companies. I'm a huge fan of this innovation.

What people don't know is how First Round got started and often people know less about the amazing background of one of its co-founders, Howard Morgan (everyone tends to know Josh Kopelman as one of the highest profile players in our industry overall).

Source: Fast Company
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A corporate career cut short leads one former Exton executive to franchise ownership, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Many would argue that fried chicken has nothing to do with healthcare. Reynolds Corea would beg to differ.

He's a former outsourcing expert who was making "easily" six figures, Corea said, when Accenture Ltd. cut him loose in January 2009 after nearly 20 years.

A layoff that has led Corea where so many corporate refugees have opted to go for a second career act: operating a franchise business.

The franchise market is growing at an annual rate of 2%, said John A. Pearce II, endowed chairman of strategic management and entrepreneurship at Villanova's School of Business.

Source: The Los Angeles Times
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Managing partner Josh Kopelman writes about the evolution of Philadelphia-rooted First Round Capital, which successfully closed on its third fund last week, in Business Insider.

Over the years, First Round Capital has evolved. We've become one of the most active seed-stage investors with the most visited VC website in the country. However, we have not changed our investment style or strategy. We still fund Powerpoints (though more Keynotes these days). We still fund pre-launch, pre-revenue ideas And, despite our growth, we have not really increased our average initial investment size. We still make investments as low as $50K. Our average initial investment size is still under $500K -- and we have never made an initial investment larger than $1M.

Over the last several years, First Round Capital has also grown our geographic footprint. Our investment team has grown from Howard and myself working in Philadelphia to an eight-person investment team working out of three cities. Our San Francisco office, led by my partner Rob Hayes, continues to be our most active office � with over half of our portfolio based in California. Rob is joined by Kent Goldman and with Christine's recent departure for Intel we are seeking to grow our west-coast presence by adding a SF-based Associate. (If you're interested in the position, please reach out to Rob Hayes with why you think you might be a good fit).

Original source: Business Insider
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One of entrepreneurs' most difficult but oft-taken for granted duties is actually collecting money for the work they've performed, and Paul Downs of Paul Downs Cabinetmakers in Bridgeport, Montgomery County writes about his challenges for the New York Times.

Let's take a moment to consider the U.S. Postal Service, our best example of 19th century technology in all of its glory. Now, I understand it's trying to catch up, that it has big problems, and that it's stuck with a legacy operating model. But I don't care. (On) Friday, Oct. 15, I received a check that was postmarked Oct. 8, mailed from Houston to Philadelphia--seven days from Houston to Philadelphia! Are we still using mules? I've found that mail coming from Chicago is the worst; it can take 10 days or more.

I now use United Parcel Service for anything of any importance. UPS collects up to 6:45 p.m., its Web site tells me exactly how long it will take for the package to arrive, and the information is accurate. Many of the samples we send can go via U.P.S. ground, and they still get there overnight.

Original source: New York Times
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Our sister publication Keystone Edge writes about Malvern biopharmacetucial startup Recro Pharma, among the new breed of companies presenting at the annual Biotech 2010 conference in Philadelphia.

There's no denying that the down economy has been rough for the life sciences sector. When industry news website FiercePharma listed the 10 companies that laid off the most workers in 2009, seven firms on the list had a presence in the Keystone State. But Chris Molineaux, president of the statewide advocacy group Pennsylvania Bio that is hosting its annual Biotech 2010 event next week, says the upheaval of Big Pharma represents a new model for the industry.

No longer will huge companies try to do every task under one corporate banner, Molineaux says. Already, it's increasingly common to outsource tasks like information technology, financing and the administrative aspects of clinical drug trials. Researchers remain in-house or come to a company through an acquisition.

"It's going to be more of a patchwork. We're not going to have 15 large pharmaceutical companies," Molineaux says. "We'll probably have 50 medium-sized pharmaceutical companies and dozens of these smaller contractors."

Original source: Keystone Edge
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Wildly successful entrepreneur Jassi Chadha has brought his expertise to TiE-NJ/Philadelphia, a newer chapter of the global entrepreneurship organization, reports SiliconIndia.

TiE NJ-Philly is an offshoot of TiE Tristate. New Jersey and Philadephia had quite a lot of entrepreneurs who would often find it difficult to make it to New York for various events of the Tristate. Hence the need for a chapter in this geographic area became a necessity. Today under the leadership of Chadha, the TiE-NJ-Philly Chapter is helping the budding entrepreneurs in this geography to realize their goals and dreams by conducting various events, providing mentoring, and networking opportunities.

"There are aspects of entrepreneurship like optimism, excitement, energy, and a sense of adventure that is inspiring to read and get excited. It also drives people to do more and pursue big dreams. However, the path of entrepreneurship is often lonely, hard, and the journey hectic with challenges of different sorts. That's why entrepreneurs need to be supported and find the right support in programs that TiE offers," says Chadha.

Original source: SiliconIndia.
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The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on two online news publications that have launched recently, including yours truly.

As the market for news fragments, new models for journalism are emerging. Two of those experiments, Flying Kite and Patch, launched in Philadelphia last month.

"This is a fresh way to get fresh content about all the innovative things happening in our city," said Danielle Cohn, (Philadelphia Convention and Visitors) bureau spokeswoman.

Original source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
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A new event from the gang at Technically Philly, Switch on Oct. 6, promises to sift through a handful of innovative companies that will give seven-minute demos and demonstrate Philadelphia's next buzz-worthy start-up, reports Philadelphia Magazine.

1. Packlate: If you can afford a bit of flexibility, Packlate can help save you hundreds on your next vacation. This West Conshohocken-based website help vacation home owners fill left over inventory while giving the rest of us a sweet deal. At Switch, Packlate plans to tell us how it all works as well as giving us inside tips about how we can snag the best deal possible. $140 a night in Costa Rica? Count us in.

Source: Philadelphia Magazine
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