In the News

Kids in a candy store: Brothers turn historic Shane Confectionery into sweet retail space

Smithsonian Magazine Thursday, May 30, 2013

Smithsonian Magazine writes about brothers Shane and Ryan Berley, who purchased and restored the oldest continuously operated candy store in the country, Shane Confectionery in Philadelphia.

Originally, Shane’s fed off the foot traffic of commuters ferried between Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey. The traffic slowed to a toddle in 1926 with the opening of the Delaware River Bridge, later renamed for Ben Franklin. World War II sugar shortages and late 20th-century urban blight also swallowed up profits. By 2010 the third-floor workshop was in disarray, the antique machinery in disrepair, the chocolate empire nearing, well...meltdown.

Enter the Berleys, proprietors of the Franklin Fountain, a vintage ice-cream parlor a few doors down Market Street. The brothers bought in, boned up on the store’s history and embarked on a painstaking restoration. They ripped up the linoleum flooring to expose the original pine and bird’s-eye maple and repainted the woodwork in Long Gallery and Grand Staircase blue, shades nicked from the palette at Independence Hall.

Original source: Smithsonian Magazine

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Pittsburgh's GiftCards.com scoops up San Francisco startup Giftly

TechCrunch Thursday, May 30, 2013

TechCrunch reports that GiftCards.com, whose inspiring founder we profiled recently, acquired San Francisco startup Giftly in an effort to develop its mobile platform.

The company is also looking to raise a first venture round, even though it’s been around for more than 10 years. That round will go toward completing the acquisition of Giftly. GiftCards.com has been around since 1999; they sell personalized, pre-designed and discount gift cards.

Original source: TechCrunch

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Philadelphia business intelligence startup RJMetrics raises $6M-plus

TechCrunch Thursday, May 16, 2013

RJMetrics, a Philadelphia startup whose co-founder Bob Moore we recently profiled, had a big day this week when it announced a $6.25 million investment in the five year-old business intelligence startup from Trinity Ventures, reports TechCrunch.

The core RJMetrics product grew out of Moore’s own data analysis work (which has separately resulted in some great guest posts for TechCrunch, like this formative 2009 analysis of Twitter user behavior). The new funding round, which includes participation from existing investor SoftTech VC, will go towards sales and marketing. With the overall growth in the Saas BI industry, Moore says it’s time to focus on the ecommerce part of it.

Original source: TechCrunch

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Shiny, happy Philly: City ranks 7th happiest for young professionals

Forbes Thursday, May 02, 2013

The City of Brotherly Love is also a place for happiness, at least among young professionals. Philadelphia comes in at No. 7 on the list.

That’s according to CareerBliss.com, an online career site that just released its list of the 10 happiest cities for young professionals, based on analysis from more than 45,000 employee generated reviews between April 2012 and March 2013. Young professionals, defined by CareerBliss as employees with less than 10 years’ experience in a full-time position, were asked to evaluate ten factors that affect workplace happiness. Those include one’s relationship with the boss and co-workers, work environment, job resources, compensation, growth opportunities, company culture, company reputation, daily tasks, and control over the work one does on a daily basis.

Original source: Forbes.com
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Pittsburgh's Conflict Kitchen inspired by latest American foes

HyperVocal Thursday, May 02, 2013

Trying to be "provocative in the best use of that term," Pittsburgh's Conflict Kitchen serves ethnic food from countries that are in some type of conflict with the U.S, reports HyperVocal.

Rubin says the restaurant will remain Persian through at least the Iranian election in June. Coming this fall, though, after Rubin and co-director Dawn Weleski do some research in South Korea over the summer, the take-out joint will likely switch over to North Korean and South Korean cuisine, “a triangulation of conflict,” he says. They are also doing more research on the Israel/Palestine conflict for a future version of the restaurant.

Original source: HyperVocal

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Has entrepreneurship turned the corner in Pittsburgh?

ID8 Thursday, April 25, 2013

The Project Olympus offices near Carnegie Mellon University are the starting point for ID8's look at Pittsburgh's entrepreneurial renaissance.

So where does Pittsburgh stand? Dennis Yablonsky, CEO of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, the region’s leading economic development organization, said a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem has five elements: research, programs to commercialize research findings, ample investment capital, a deep and talented workforce and, lastly, a climate that encourages startups.

He gives the city top marks for research and tech transfer, good grades for workforce and climate, but only a passing score for venture capital.

Original source: ID8 Nation

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The entrepreneur as athlete: Pittsburgh Riverhounds midfielder and chief executive Jason Kutney

The New York Times Thursday, April 18, 2013

The New York Times soccer blog features Jason Kutney, the chief executive and midfielder for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds United Soccer Leagues Pro Division team, who often worries about fan safety and beer supplies before focusing on opposing defenders.

Kutney’s playing credentials carry greater substance. The Freehold Borough, N.J., native became teammates with Evans at the Charleston Battery in 2004 after playing college soccer for Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He trained with Bob Bradley’s MetroStars late in 2005 before a coaching change and a takeover by the Red Bull organization shut his window to Major League Soccer. Kutney joined the Riverhounds instead and became involved in the club’s management when his other employer, Pittsburgh’s Greentree SportsPlex facility, purchased the franchise and installed him as chief executive.

Original source: The New York Times

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Philadelphia's Dorm Room Fund expanding natinowide

The New York Times Thursday, April 11, 2013

First Round Capital's Dorm Room Fund, an investment fund helmed by Philadelphia college students, earns praise in the New York Times. Starting this spring, the Fund is going nationwide -- starting in New York.

New York City’s Dorm Room Fund will follow the model established in Philadelphia, Mr. Barnes said. Student investors will seek out promising ventures among their peers and present the most exciting projects to the investment team. Though partners from First Round Capital will offer advice, students will lead the decision-making process. First Round does retain a veto right, Mr. Barnes said, but “we would not use it unless we were legally or ethically required to do so.”

For more on the Dorm Room Fund, check out this story in K eystone Edge.

Original source: The New York Times
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A look at IBX's 10 promising startup investments

Information Week Thursday, April 11, 2013

Information Week writes about the Philadelphia-based DreamIt Health acclerator, a collaboration of Independence Blue Cross, Penn Medicine and DreamIT Ventures.

Among the firms that made the final cut are AirCare, Biomeme, Fitly, Grand Round Table, Medlio, MemberRx, OnShift, Osmosis, SpeSo Health and Stat. Each company will receive $50,000 in seed capital, as well as intensive mentoring in a four-month "boot camp."

Original source: Information Week

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Radiate Athletics: West Chester company makes workout shirt that doubles as personal trainer

Headline News Thursday, March 21, 2013

Headline News TV checks in on West Chester-based Radiate Athletics, which already has surpassed its Kickstarter goal for developing a thermochromatic workout shirt that can actually display the effectiveness of a user's workout.

According to the Radiate's Kickstarter page, the shirt employs "re-engineered NASA technology" that "changes the way electrons reflect light in the presence of body warmth." In other words, as your body heats up, the shirt changes color. Think hypercolor circa 1991, just with a more revolutionized design, and specifically for the fitness realm.

Original source: Headline News TV

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Ivy League picks Pittsburgh as Rust Belt's valedictorian

Politic Thursday, March 14, 2013

Politic, the Yale Undergraduate Journal of Politics, tackles Rust Belt revivalism and picks Pittsburgh as its favorite son.

The city’s revival has been part organic and part good long-term planning. With regards to the latter, Clifford Levine, an attorney who specializes in governmental law and chairs the Public Affairs Group of Cohen & Grigsby, gives credit to public-private partnerships. “There is a long tradition of political and corporate collaboration, going back to 1945 when David Lawrence was elected mayor,” he told The Politic. At the time, Pittsburgh was considered one of the most polluted cities in America. A Catholic Democrat, Lawrence forged the now famous bipartisan alliance with Richard Mellon, a member of the WASP establishment and staunch Republican chairman of one of the largest banks in the country. Despite their political and religious differences, the partnership drove a postwar urban renewal.

Original source: Politic

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Ardmore alt-craft brewer Tired Hands among most promising in U.S., says Food Republic

Food Republic Thursday, March 07, 2013

Tired Hands Brewing Company, which opened in 2012 in Ardmore, Montgomery County, continues to get attention, this time ranking No. 4 on Food Republic's 10 breweries to look out for in 2012.

It’s already been a big year for Ardmore, PA–based Tired Hands Brewing Company, named one of the top five best new brewers in 2012 by Rate Beer. The limited output makes this a worthy destination for their famed beer dinners, but look no further than their beer for innovative food use. Next on tap: Ancient Knovvledge, an Asian-inspired saison brewed with hemp seeds, nori, black and white sesame seeds, tangerine juice, Schezuan peppercorns and long red hot peppers.

Original source: Food Republic

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Philadelphia and Pittsburgh among top cities for VC in tech startups

Mashable Thursday, February 28, 2013

Philadelphia and Pittsburgh rank ninth and 13th, respectively, in the National Venture Capital Association's list of top cities for venture capital investments in tech startups, reports Mashable.

"Venture capitalists will go to where the entrepreneurs are — and there is a great deal of startup activity outside of Silicon Valley," a NVCA spokesperson told Mashable. "Those regions with thriving VC ecosystems tend to have strong universities where technology is developed and research is completed and commercialized."

Original source: Mashable
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Mod Squad: Pittsburgh's Modcloth founders among most influential

Under30CEO Thursday, February 28, 2013

Eric and Susan Gregg Koger, the husband-and-wife founders of Pittsburgh-based online clothing distributor Modcloth were listed among Under30CEO's most influential entrepreneurs of 2012.

ModCloth was launched as a website in 2002 by Susan Gregg-Koger with the help of her then-boyfriend, now-husband Eric Koger. ModCloth.com is an online clothing, accessories, and decor retailer with a focus on independent and vintage-inspired fashion. Modcloth is expanding with more than 300 employees and more coming on board.

Original source: Under30CEO

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Small batch bikes: A look at North Philadelphia custom bicycle maker's incredible world

A Continuous Lean Thursday, February 28, 2013

North Philadelphia custom bicycle maker Bilenky Cycles Works is profiled in this video curated by A Continuous Lean.

Interestingly, the past few years have seen a resurgence in companies like Bilenky Cycles Works based on the same type of thinking from consumers: quality. There seems to be a critical mass of a certain type of consumer that is interested in quality and is willing to pay for it. Though, I have to admit, that the recent resurgence of small batch manufacturing has been mostly based on the same few categories of products like bicycles, small leather goods, jeans etc. I’m eager to see manufacturers take a leap and expand the circle to other types of products.

Original source: A Continuous Lean

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Entrepreneurship : In the News