CED's Entrepreneurs Community News

Inc. Magazine Names iContact Fastest Growing Software Company in NC

Number 85 on Inc. Magazine's 2008 Inc. 500 list is Durham-headquartered iContact, a leader in email marketing solutions. That designation makes it the fastest growing company in the Triangle on the Inc. 500 list and the fastest growing software company in North Carolina-with a 2,114.3% growth rate since 2003.

iContact has been a CED member since 2005 and has continued to increase its support of the organization since. In addition to headline sponsorships for CED's Venture 2009, Venture 2008 and CED's 2008 Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards, CEO Ryan Allis is a member of CED's Board of Directors.

NC IDEA Now Accepting Grant Applications

NC IDEA, an organization that assists entrepreneurial companies with pre-venture stage funding via a grant program, announced the commencement of its fall 2008 grant cycle. Interested companies are invited to submit an online "pre-proposal" application through September 12.

Approximately 20 companies submitting "pre-proposal" submissions will be selected to participate in a subsequent full proposal submission and review period from September 29 through October 24. This process will include submission of a more in-depth proposal and budget for use of grant proceeds, and potentially a presentation from the company to a NC IDEA Grants Program review panel. Notification of grant recipients is scheduled for December 2008.

NC IDEA plans to award grants to 3 - 6 companies, with a maximum of $50,000 per company, in December 2008. North Carolina-based companies focused on information technology, medical devices, material sciences or green technologies are invited to apply, with preference given to those that have not received equity financing. An entrepreneur who has not formed a company may apply, but company incorporation will be required prior to the award of grant funding.

Arbovax recieves $150,000 loan from Biotechnology Center

Arbovax, Inc., recently in the news for closing a $1.43 million Series A round, announced that it has augmented its operating budget with a $150,000 loan from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. Arbovax is developing technology designed to help produce vaccines against insect-borne viruses.

Malcolm Thomas, president and CEO of Arbovax, Inc. has been a CED member since 2005. He participated in the Angel Retreat at CED's 25th Anniversary Venture Conference. The North Carolina Biotechnology Center is a long time CED member and partner. The RTP biotechnology center hosts CED's Biotech Forums, and company representatives regularly participate in CED program development.

13 CED Members Honored for Commitment to Wellness

Long time CED member and perennial program sponsor, Business Leader, honored area companies for being the "Healthiest Companies in the Triangle". The winners were chosen for their commitment to corporate wellness. Thirteen (13) CED member companies were among the award recipients:

• Bandwidth.com
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
• Bronto Software
• Capitol Broadcasting Company
• Cisco Systems Inc.
• GlaxoSmithKline
• Inspire Pharmaceuticals
• Progress Energy
• Quintiles
• RTI International
• Storr Office Environments
• VACO
• Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP

Nextreme raises $13 Million B Round

Nextreme, Inc. designs and manufactures micro-scale thermal and power management products for the semiconductor, photonics, consumer, automotive and defense/aerospace industries. In short, they make miniature cooling devices for eletronics. The company announced that it has raised a $13 million B round, increasing total investment to $27 million. The lead investors in the rounds are New York-based Chart Venture Partners with Virginia's Redshift Venture Partners, New York's Harris & Harris Group, Virginia's In-Q-Tel, and Japan's Itochu Corp.

Nextreme, Inc. has been a CED member since 2005. Jesko von Windheim, the company's CEO presented at CED's Venture 2006 Conference. He was also a speaker at a recent Entrepreneur's Only Workshop. If you missed his discussion on creating a board of directors, it is available on CED's on-demand resource StartUps 24-7.

CED member Cree Leads Global LED Market

Did you know the world's leading manufacturer of semiconductor materials based on silicon carbide and other compounds, was started and is headquartered in the Research Triangle Region of North Carolina? Founded in Durham in 1987 by N.C. State graduates, Cree, Inc. is a market-leading innovator and manufacturer of semiconductors that enhance the value of LED solid-state lighting, power and communications products by significantly increasing their energy performance.

The company employs 2,578 employees worldwide (about half in the Research Triangle Region) with its headquarters in Durham, manufacturing facilities in Durham and China, and research facilities in The Research Triangle Park, California and China. Cree posted 2007 revenues of more than $394 million.

CED is proud to welcome Cree, Inc. and its entrepreneurial prowess into its membership.

rPath Closes $10M in Series C Financing

rPath, a company focused on simplifying the delivery and consumption of software innovation, raised a $10 million C round led by its existing backers, General Catalyst, North Bridge Venture Partners and Wakefield Group. This new capital is earmarked for increasing the company's leadership in enabling cloud computing.

rPath has been a CED member since 2006. rPath investor Wakefield Group, L.P. is a long time CED member and supporter. In addition to contributing to CED's Innovation to Impact campaign at the Contributor level, Wakefield Group partner, Steve Nelson, chaired CED's Board of Directors from 2002-2003 and has spoken on numerous panels.

Mazzo Replaces Gooding at Regado Biosciences, Inc.

Regado Biosciences, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of antidote-controlled antithrombotics announced David Mazzo is replacing Douglas Gooding as CEO. Gooding is also a venture partner at the Aurora Funds, Inc., the original seed investor in Regado Biosciences. Under Gooding, the company completed a $23 million round of Series C financing in 2007.

Regado Biosciences has been an active member of CED since 2003. The company presented at CED's Venture Conference in 2003, and again at CED's 25th annual conference in 2008. The Aurora Funds, Inc. is a long time member and supporter of CED. The venture capital firm not only participates in the development of CED program content, but also contributes as a perennial conference sponsor and at the Supporter level of CED's Innovation to Impact II campaign.

Athenix Closes $10 Million Round

peHub, citing a regulatory filing as its source, announced that Athenix a leader in agricultural, industrial and biofuel technologies, raised a $10 million round. The round was lead by Hunt Ventures and Intersouth Partners. Athenix's focus is on the creation of products that improve crop quality and sustainable farm productivity and that enable the development of renewable sources of energy and specialty chemicals.

Athenix was a presenting company at CED's Venture 2002 conference and its investor, Intersouth Partners is a long time CED member and supporter. In addition to aiding in program development, the venture capital firm also contributes to CED's Innovation to Impact campaign at the Partner level.

UNC-Greensboro to spin off firm in NanoAccelerator

The University of North Carolina in Greensboro (UNCG) announced that it will spin out Thermiacure, and in so doing formalize its partnership with the North Carolina Nanotech Accelerator in High Point. Thermiacure is the first company to result from the formation of the Center for Research Excellence in Nanobiosciences (CREN) at UNCG. The company uses nano-size particles that attach to non-harmful bacteria which are physically attracted to cancerous tumors. The technology has the potential to revolutionize the administration of chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

UNCG in conjunction with two partners, sponsored the opening gala dinner at CED's Biotech 2008 conference in May.