Ben Franklin Technology Partners invests $1.9M in 10 companies [Startup Roundup]

WHO’S GETTING FUNDED?

Clutch, the mobile shopping app based in Ambler, Pa., raised $5.3 million in Series B funding led by Safeguard Scientifics with participation from Benjamin Franklin Technology Partners. It also acquired two companies to help with its B2B strategy.

Ben Franklin Technology Partners also announced $1.9 million worth of investment in ten local companies, including Paoli’s family management platform AboutOne, in which BFTP previously invested, Old City’s event-focused digital software company MVP Interactive and the University City Science Center-based Luxtech, which builds LED modules. Find the full list of companies here.

First Round Capital is one of the venture capital firms most likely to co-invest with Google Ventures, the most active corporate VC since 2012, according to a report by CB Insights, GigaOM reported.

First Round Capital’s Dorm Room Fund announced another investment, this time in Skillbridge, a freelance marketplace founded by Wharton MBAs.

WHO’S MAKING MOVES?

Check out a sneak peek of Ticketleap‘s new iOS app on its blog.

Here’s a little more information on former Wizehive developer Reed Lauber‘s move to Denver: he plans on revamping his SEPTA app Next SEPTA and also working on a product idea he’s had for a while. As for his departure from Philadelphia, Lauber said he felt like spending more time closer to nature., but he was also driven by the lack of consumer-facing startups in Philly.

” I like working on products, specifically small, consumer-oriented stuff,” he said in an email. “There aren’t many product companies as it is, and the few that there are, are mostly focused on dev-ops solutions or marketing/analytics; neither of which really appeal to me. So, I couldn’t exactly think of another company I was excited about joining.”

In other tech scene movement, Cat Farman, who recently spoke at the Wharton Web Conference about responsive design, left her position as a front end developer at Old City ecommerce software firm WebLinc to be a front end web developer at Center City design agency Happy Cog.

ThingWorx, the Exton, Pa.-based Internet of Things company, announced a partnership with Virginia-based company CSC, according to a release.

WHO’S GETTING BUZZ?

One of Artisan Mobile‘s local customers, sports fan app A View from My Seat, saw a 22 percent increase in its mobile app usage after using Artisan Mobile, according to a release. A View from My Seat participated in the Project Liberty Digital Incubator.

Also check out Artisan founder Scott Wasserman on the Philly Startup Leaders blog in a post about why he started his business in Philly and plans to grow it here.

Read a Q&A with Firefly cofounders Dan Shipper and Justin Meltzer on Business Insider, where he explains what its like to be a college undergrad whose side business is making six figures in revenue (yes, they have a social life and no, they don’t buy rounds of drinks for all their buddies, yet, at least). Firefly recently announced a partnership with Olark, a live chat tool with more than 3,000 customers.

Speaking of Shipper, here he is on PandoDaily trying to explain why young people are in such a rush to get the next big tech business out there and retire by 25.