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Urban Co-Lab to Launch “Urban Innovators” Coworking Site in East Austin

August 22, 2015 / LauraLorek@gmail.com / 0 Comments

Natalie Cofield, founder and CEO of Urban Co-Lab, courtesy photo

In a former brothel and gas station in Austin’s East 12th Street Business District, Urban Co-Lab plans to create a center for entrepreneurial activity and innovation.

The coworking site is the brainchild of Natalie Cofield, president and CEO of the Greater Austin Black Chamber, founder of Walker’s Legacy and now CEO of the Urban Co-Lab.

Hanna Jamal, co-founder of Urban Co-Lab

Cofield and co-founder Hanna Jamal want to make Urban Co-Lab into the business centerpiece of a historic, yet once crime-ridden neighborhood. They want the business to serve as a catalyst for revitalizing the neighborhood, which once served as home to the center of the city’s African American and Hispanic communities and many businesses and entrepreneurs. The neighborhood fell into hard times during the economic downturn in the ‘80s.

Mission Possible Ministries bought the building and ran a coffee shop on the site for the homeless. Urban Co-Lab is renting the building from the church.

Urban Co-Lab isn’t a typical coworking site. It is also an incubator for “Urban Innovators” to help create companies focused on finding scalable solutions to education, housing and transportation problems that plague most big cities. They want to tackle big problems. It’s all about including the community in the process, Cofield said.

“We’re creating space for urban innovators and we’re one of them too,” she said.

Urban Co-Lab has already developed a partnership with Huston-Tillotson University to provide college internships for honors students to work with startup founders based at the coworking space, Cofield said.

The coworking space doesn’t officially launch until Sept. 9th, but next Tuesday from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m., Urban Co-Lab is having a soft launch with a pre-sales tour and meetup. The coworking site rents dedicated desks for individuals and teams.

The Urban Co-Lab also has dedicated space for up to four food truck businesses. It already has one space filled by the 12th Street Bakery.

“I think the big niche for us is we’re in an up and coming area for Austin,” Cofield said.

Urban Co-Lab is also running an IndieGoGo campaign to raise funds for its urban revitalization project. It has raised $3,360 of its $20,000 goal with 12 days left to go in its campaign. And it is hiring a community manager for the site.

“We’re excited about this and looking forward to building a great community,” Cofield said. “We’re seeking partners and sponsors to continue building out our effort.”

Kentucky Liquor Company Buys Austin’s Deep Eddy Vodka

August 22, 2015 / LauraLorek@gmail.com / 0 Comments

Heaven Hill Brands of Kentucky announced this week it is buying Austin-based Deep Eddy Vodka for an undisclosed amount.

Clayton Christopher and Chad Auler founded Deep Eddy Vodka in 2010. The Wall Street Journal in May reported that the Austin-based company was for sale and estimated its valuation at between $165 million and more than $300 million.

Christopher formerly founded Sweet Leaf Tea Company, which he sold to Nestle in 2011. Auler formerly founded Savvy Vodka.

Founded in 1935, Heaven Hill Brands, based in Bardstown, is the nation’s largest, independent, family-owned and operated distilled spirits supplier and the world’s second largest holder of Kentucky Bourbon, according to a news release.

Deep Eddy Vodka, which produces more than 500,000 cases a year, makes Deep Eddy Straight Vodka, Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka. And in 2013, it launched Deep Eddy Ruby Red Vodka and Deep Eddy Cranberry. This year, it launched Deep Eddy Lemon Vodka.

“Deep Eddy Vodka is a star on the rise in the spirits industry and is redefining the premium Vodka market with a quality product and iconic marketing programs,” Max L. Shapira, President of Heaven Hill Brands, said in a news release. “The brand is a perfect fit for our established portfolio of rapidly-growing products.”

Heaven Hill Brands plans to continue to produce Deep Eddy Vodka in Dripping Springs and maintain its new visitor center.

Austin still has another home-grown vodka maker: Tito’s Handmade Vodka. It is the original Texas vodka maker founded by Bert Beveridge, known as Tito, in 1997. He used to operate the only licensed still in Texas. The Wall Street Journal story reported that Tito’s sold 2 million cases of vodka last year, up from 200,000 cases in 2007.

Tiff’s Treats Lands $14 Million and Plans Further Expansion

August 21, 2015 / LauraLorek@gmail.com / 1 Comment

Tiff’s Treats announced this week it has closed on $14 million in funding and plans to add additional stores.

The Austin-based cookie company reported the investment round was led by private equity firm, Capstar Partners, private investor Lew Little and included other institutional and individual investors. As part of the deal, Little joins the company’s board along with Whole Food Executive Lee Valkenaar.

Tiffany and Leon Chen founded Tiff’s Treats 16 years ago while students at the University of Texas at Austin. The company has since expanded statewide with 18 stores in Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth.

The company is known for baked-to-order cookies and brownies delivered warm to a house or office in about an hour.

Tiff’s Treats has raised $21.9 million to date, according to its CrunchBase profile.

Amazon Plans New Center in San Marcos with 1,000 Employees

August 21, 2015 / LauraLorek@gmail.com / 1 Comment

The Lone Star state has been a prosperous place for Amazon.com.

This week, the Seattle-based e-commerce company announced plans to open a fifth Texas fulfillment center in San Marcos, which will eventually employ 1,000 workers. The center will be 855,000 square feet and its employees will pick, pack and ship smaller items such as books, electronics and toys. Amazon currently has 3,500 full time employees in Texas and it has invested more than $400 million in the state, according to a news release.

Amazon’s other centers are located in Schertz, about 35 miles south on I-35. It also has center in Coppell and Haslet and one under construction in Dallas.

“We have found a dedicated and enthusiastic workforce in Texas that has supported our growth throughout the state,” Mike Roth, Amazon’s vice president of North American operations, said in a news statement. “Additionally, over 350 Amazon associates, managers and support staff in Texas come from military backgrounds. These individuals bring valuable leadership skills, experiences and problem-solving abilities to our fulfillment center – it’s a great match on both sides.”

San Antonio-based USAA and Seefried Industrial Properties are developing the project.

San Antonio’s MX Challenge Shuts Down Without Awarding Prize

August 20, 2015 / LauraLorek@gmail.com / 1 Comment

Without any fanfare or publicity, San Antonio’s MX Challenge closed in July without awarding its $500,000 prize.

Jesus Salas, the program manager, posted a message to the site: “Hey innovator,
Thanks for the interest that you showed for the MxChallenge. After evaluating the low demand on the competing participants we decided to shut down the MxChallenge. However, we are still welcoming Mexican tech-companies that are interested in expanding their operations at Geekdom. So, for more information about opening a tech-office at San Antonio, please contact info@geekdom.com.”

The competition officially launched in January of 2014. Salas was based at Geekdom.

In May of 2014, Salas said 30 teams had signed up for the challenge during a presentation at Geekdom.

The prize was worth $500,000 for the individual, team or organization that created a model to assist ten Mexican startup tech companies to open offices at Geekdom in San Antonio. The prize was supposed to go to the team with the best business plan, the most revenue generated and the most jobs created.

The MX Challenge was the first community-based project from HeroX, a platform for competitions to solve local and global problems. The founder of XPrize, Dr. Peter Diamandis co-founded HeroX in 2013.

Austin-based Iconixx Lands $10 Million in Investment

August 20, 2015 / LauraLorek@gmail.com / 1 Comment

Iconixx, compensation management software maker, announced this week it has raised $10 million to fuel its growth and expansion.

The Austin-based company, founded in 2010, has raised $19 million to date in three rounds from four investors, according to its CrunchBase profile.

Harbert Venture Partners and S3 Ventures led the latest round with participation from existing investor Ballast Point Ventures.

Iconixx plans to use the recent investment to hire more sales staff and expands its product line.

Iconixx sells a suite of products to automate sales, incentive, bonus and merit processes for employees.

“Iconixx’s evolution has been spurred on by a strong sales pipeline and an even greater customer success track record. We have established booking records for six consecutive quarters, and we expect to see that growth accelerate,” Derrik Deyhimi, the company’s founder and CEO, said in a news statement.

Bigcommerce Expands to Downtown Austin

August 19, 2015 / LauraLorek@gmail.com / 1 Comment

Bigcommerce is moving into part of Mass Relevance’s former offices at 800 Brazos in downtown Austin, Silicon Hills News has learned.

The e-commerce software company has leased 4,500 square feet of space left vacate when Spredfast bought Mass Relevance last year. Mass Relevance occupied 12,500 square feet.

The office will house Zing, an Austin-based startup with five employees that provides mobile retail technologies. Bigcommerce bought Zing earlier this year. It will also house the company’s product and engineering team.

“We are very active in Austin’s vibrant tech community, and our new space provides a great opportunity to create an energetic, engineering and product-focused environment that will help Bigcommerce continue to attract top talent throughout Central Texas,” Steve Donnelly, Bigcommerce’s head of HR and People, said in a news statement.

Bigcommerce’s main office in Austin is at 11305 4 Points Drive, near Ranch Road 2222 and FM 620. The company occupies approximately 33,000 square feet.

Bigcommerce, founded in 2009, has received $125 million in funding from SoftBank Capital, American Express, Telstra Ventures, General Catalysts, Revolution Growth and Floodgate. Bigcommerce has offices in San Francisco, Austin and Sydney and has about 350 employees.

Spreadfast Buys Shoutlet

August 19, 2015 / LauraLorek@gmail.com / 0 Comments

Spredfast, an Austin-based social media software startup, Wednesday announced its purchase of Shoutlet, a Wisconsin based competitor.

Austin-based Spredfast did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

As part of the deal, Shoutlet’s Madison, Wisconsin-based headquarters will become Spredfast’s new development center.

“The combined company has 600 employees and more than 1,400 customers in 30 countries, executives said,” according to a story in the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel. “The acquisition makes Spredfast the largest company in the fast-growing social media technology space, said Rod Favaron, Spredfast’s president and chief executive officer.”

Shoutlet has approximately 100 employees and its customers include Best Buy, Four Seasons and Lowe’s, according to the Journal Sentinel.

“Spredfast’s proven leadership in the social software space makes it clear that they are absolutely the right company to leverage our technology and people. The combined company will provide customers with richer product options, lightning fast innovation, and access to the smartest minds in the industry,” Aaron Everson, President and Co-Founder of Shoutlet, said in a news release. “We’re looking forward to bringing these two strong teams together.”

Spreadfast, founded in 2008, has raised $88.5 million in five rounds from five investors, according to its Crunchbase profile. Last year, Spreadfast bought its Austin crosstown rival, Mass Relevance for an undisclosed price.

Silicon Hills News’ Second Annual Life Sciences Issue Now Available

August 18, 2015 / LauraLorek@gmail.com / 0 Comments

Welcome to the second annual issue of Silicon Hills News’ print magazine focused on the expanding Life Sciences industry in Austin and San Antonio.

It’s truly amazing to see the growth in this industry locally during the last few decades. And to know that Texas is one of the leading states overall in the biotechnology industry. Who knows a cure for cancer could come from the Lone Star State. Startups are working on that right here, right now. The total economic impact of the industry in Texas is estimated at $75 billion annually, according to the Texas Healthcare & Bioscience Institute, an industry association.

In fact, Texas is home to “over 3,600 firms involved in biotechnology-related manufacturing, scientific research, and laboratory analysis. These firms employ more than 92,000 workers at an average annual salary of over $69,000,” according to a 2014 report from the governor’s office.

The amount of investment in local startups is on the rise too. Targeted Technology, a San Antonio venture capital firm and Sante Ventures, a venture capital firm in Austin, both focus on investing in biomedical startups.

In this issue, you’ll read about a few of the innovative startups in our area ranging from UnaliWear, which makes the Kanega watch to monitor seniors to Invictus Medical which created the GELShield to protect newborn babies’ heads in the hospital. Xenex Disinfection Services created germ-zapping robots that eradicate harmful organisms in hospitals. Lots of medical technology startups locally are also focused on harnessing medical data including PotentiaMetrics, ePatient Finder and Capsenta. Others featured in this issue involve communications between doctors’ offices and patients including eRelevance and Filament Labs’ Patient IO. Lastly, we have bio briefs on significant news from both cities and we shine a spotlight on ten life sciences startups to watch in the coming year. And BioMed SA, an advocacy group for the biomedical industry in San Antonio, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

Thank you to Susan Lahey, Hojun Choi and Tim Green for writing articles for this issue and to John Davidson for taking portraits.

Also we wanted to thank our sponsors and advertisers that make this issue possible. A special thanks to the Texas State Small Business Development Center, BioMed SA, Akimbo, PotentiaMetrics, Austin Technology Council, the Austin Chamber of Commerce, Bank SNB, Strasburger Law Firm and Creative Civilization.

Amos Schwartzfarb is the New Managing Director of Techstars Austin

August 17, 2015 / LauraLorek@gmail.com / 0 Comments

Techstars has hired Amos Schwartzfarb as its new managing director of Techstars Austin.

Schwartzfarb takes over from Jason Seats, who is still with Techstars and will remain in Austin. Seats is one of the managing partners of Techstars $150 million venture capital fund. He is dedicating all of his time to that role.

Schwartzfarb is no stranger to Techstars Austin. He has served as mentor to all three of the Techstar Austin classes. He has also founded several companies and has expertise in sales and business strategy in the software, digital, advertising and entertainment industries.

Previously Schwartzfarb served as head of customer development at Joust. Before that, he was vice president of customer development at BlackLocus, which was acquired by The Home Depot in 2012. He was co-founder and served as Chief Operating Officer of mySpoonful, which was acquired in 2011. Before that, he was an executive with Business.com, which was acquired by RH Donnelly in 2007. He also spent five years at HotJobs.com.

Schwartzfarb said it energizes him to work with startups and entrepreneurs.

“Founders have a deep belief that they can turn a really good idea into something that is a business,” Schwartzfarb said. They go through a thousand micro iterations before they get there, he said, but the key is getting people to believe, early on, that the vision is achievable.

And timing is really important, Schwartzfarb said. An idea can be really good but the market needs to be ready for it.

“When I first moved here – it’s only been eight years – but it seems like it’s been a long time – it’s an open community, people are nice and I wanted to be as much of a part of that as possible,” Schwartzfarb said. “That translates into this role. I get to actually help bring great companies to Austin to grow and become great businesses.”

That’s all possible under the Techstars brand, he said.

“My hope is that I’m able to take what Jason has done and add to it to continue to grow this community and continue to be on the forefront of the current startup community,” he said.

In the next few weeks, Techstars Austin will begin accepting applications for its next class, which will kick off in February. Schwartzfarb’s network stretches from coast to coast and he’s hoping to find some of the most exciting new companies to join the next class, he said.

“I think we’re going to see a lot of high quality companies come through,” he said. “We’re looking to continue to do great things in town.”

Schwartzfarb also answered a few questions via email to get to know him better in his new role as managing director of Techstars Austin.

Q1. Why did you move to Austin?

A. In 2007 I was living in LA and had been traveling to Austin for business since 2000. My wife and I were looking to leave LA before starting a family. We visited several cities all over the country and then came to Austin for a long weekend. It took us under 24 hours to realize this would be our new home. There were several draws to Austin at that time. The biggest two were the, then up-and-coming, start-up scene and how incredibly family friendly Austin seemed (coming from LA). My wife and I also love the outdoors and live music and, of course, Austin has an abundance of both.

Q2. What is your favorite thing about the city?

A. There are so many things I love about Austin. My “ favorite thing” has changed from time to time since I first moved here and currently it’s the people. There seems to be this persistent high-energy theme of “ let’s continue to push limits and kick-butt” that everyone has. Whether you are in the start-up world, or a musician, a foodie or a cyclist, everyone here has a ton of passion, focus and dedication for the things they love. It seems like everyone I meet wants to take an active role in Austin’s future through their passions. There is a real vibrancy in Austin and it’s infectious! That is why we keep seeing Austin show up on all the “best of” lists and why I think we will continue to see Austin flourish for many, many years to come.

Q3. Why did you take the job as director of Techstars in Austin?

A. I love working with early stage companies and helping them reach their full potential. For this reason, when Techstars launched in Austin I became a pretty active mentor. Over the past two years I have become increasingly impressed with the Techstars organization overall. When I was approached about the role it was a very easy decision in that I would have the opportunity to work with such a great company, doing what I loved while also contributing to the future growth of Austin!

Q4. Why is Techstars important to Austin?

A. Austin has an amazing start-up scene that continues to grow. Techstars plays an important role in that as a local accelerator we are also part of the global Techstars ecosystem. We have a very strong network that enables us to provide deep support and unique opportunities to our companies which ultimately contribute to Austin’s future growth.

Q5. What are you looking for in the next Techstars Austin class?

A. Obviously I’m looking for ideas with big potential but beyond that I’m looking for solid teams that are genuine, passionate and honest with themselves. I don’t have a bias towards a specific sector but the concept has to resonate with me. I want to feel like, “yeah, that needs to exist” and then believe this is the team that can make it happen.

Q6. Do you have any advice or tips on how to get into Techstars Austin?

A. Get your application in early. Make yourself stand-out. And tell a really good story. If you know someone associated with Techstars in any city have them endorse you. At the end of the day you need a good idea and solid team.

Q7. What is your favorite coffee house in Austin?

A. Mellow Johnny’s/Juan Pelota. Great coffee and I get to stare at bikes between thoughts.

Q8. What do you like to do when you’re not working?

A. When I’m not working I keep it pretty simple. I spend a lot of time with my family biking, hiking and climbing. My wife and daughters are all high energy and I just do what I can to keep up! I also spend some time biking with friends and I try to catch some live music whenever I can. I know this seems pretty par for the course in Austin and it definitely runs true in our house.