Seattle News
Seattle mobile advertising startup HasOffers publicly announced earlier this week that it has raised a $9.4 million series A round. Included in the investments were a few prominent Seattle tech investors. The round was led by California-based venture group Accel Partners, and also included Seattle-based Founder’s Co-op principal Chris DeVore, and RealNetworks founder and CEO Rob Glaser.
HasOffers has been bootstrapped until now. The company won “Bootstrapper of the Year” at last year’s GeekWire Awards for building a profitable, 79-person company… Read the rest
Last spring, Red Russak founded Startup Seattle to bring together Seattle’s startup community resources and help entrepreneurs connect and grow new ideas and businesses. The Puget Sound Business Journal reports that some big players have now joined Russak’s cause, including Chris DeVore of TechStars and Founders Co-op, Ex Lazowska of the Univ. of Washington’s computer science department and Greg Gottsman of Madrona Venture Group. Now, with the help of these big name entrepreneurs and… Read the rest
The City of Seattle and the yellow pages publishers have reached a tentative agreement in which Seattle will pay the publishers $500,000. The settlement comes as part of a claim that the City of Seattle violated the publishers’ free speech rights. The city lost the case in the U.S. Supreme Court in October, and has chosen not to pursue an appeal. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a city ordinance violated the publishers’ free speech rights.
The city ordinance created an opt-out registry for unwanted phone books and… Read the rest
Mergers and Acquisitions
Avis Purchasing Zipcar for $500 Million
The Avis Budget Group announced Wednesday that it will purchase Zipcar for $500 million cash. The deal signals a new direction for Avis. The car rental industry has become more and more competitive with Hertz recently purchasing Dollar Thrifty, and several car rental companies jumping on the hourly rental bandwagon.
Avis is seeking to attract a younger, progressive market with its recent acquisition of Zipcar, as Zipcar members tend to be younger, more urban individuals as opposed to the traditional business or tourist market… Read the rest
International News
British Publisher to Purchase Share in Nook
Pearson, a British publisher and education company, made public its $89.5 million investment in Barnes & Noble’s Nook tablet. In exchange, Pearson will receive a 5% stake in the business. Barnes & Noble recently warned its shareholders that its e-reader business would fall short of its annual projections and that holiday sales are lower than expected.
In April, Microsoft invested $300 million in Nook. Together with Pearson’s investment, the Nook business is valued at $1.8… Read the rest
Crowdfunding News
WeFunder Becomes the Latest Crowdfunding Platform to “Get Funded”
A recent article on The Crowd Cafe, a crowdfunding-centric blog published by Jonathan Sandlund, lists the crowdfunding platforms that have raised capital. WeFunder, the latest platform to close its seed round, raised $550,000 from 58 different investors. According to WeFunder’s email blast, the investments ranged from $100 to $100,000, and half of the investors were un-accredited.
What does this mean? It signals that people are excited for the changes that are on the horizon for the funding landscape. Look at FundersClub, they’ve raised… Read the rest
