Startups

Is Adapt.ly the next great DreamIt Ventures company? [VC Roundup]

Welcome to the VC Roundup, where we’ll parse through venture capital news related to Philadelphia-based private equity firms and the companies they fund. Subscribe to the roundup as an email newsletter. If you have any VC-related news to pass along to us, please drop us a line. MUST READS We’ve been told that the Philadelphia Media Network […]


Welcome to the VC Roundup, where we’ll parse through venture capital news related to Philadelphia-based private equity firms and the companies they fund. Subscribe to the roundup as an email newsletter. If you have any VC-related news to pass along to us, please drop us a line.
MUST READS
We’ve been told that the Philadelphia Media Network incubator is down to the final six companies (from ten earlier in the month) that are due for interviews late this week. An announcement could come as early as next week. If the timetable holds, it’s an impressive turn-around on the project, nearly two months after its launch. However, CEO Greg Osberg first mentioned it nearly a year ago.
First Round Capital’s Charlie O’Donnell has been getting heat from this BetaBeat story. At the risk of oversimplifying a serious allegation, the story accuses O’Donnell, using a series of mostly anonymous sources, of blurring the line between personal and business in his interaction with women involved in New York’s tech community. “A power networker, Mr. O’Donnell has made himself a fixture at tech parties in search of the next Mark Zuckerberg, or as it were, the next Margaret. Trouble is, he’s also looking for the next Mrs. O’Donnell.” Reaches to the piece ranged from amusement to allegations of slander.
Could Adaptly be the next great DreamIt Ventures company? Business Insider sure thinks so. After revealing that the Philly DreamIt grad is set to pull in $10 million in 2011, the company is expanding into England after hiring Paul Turner former head of Europe, Middle East and Africa for Invite Media. You probably remember Invite Media as the company founded by Penn students that exited to Google with a semi-secret office here in Philly. So, Adaptly’s success has Philly connections throughout.
MIGHT BE WORTH YOUR TIME
Jerry Johnson, a former executive vice president at Safeguard Scientifics, has been named a member of President Obama’s advisory group on “Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health.”
First Round Capital has invested in PublicStuff a New York-based community management system. PublicStuff was a member of the 2009 GoodCompany Ventures class.
GIVE A GLANCE
Josh Kopelman, parter at First Round Capital, blogs about the decreasing time between getting pitched and investment. “Why is this occurring?” writes Kopelman, “It could be because of the increase in available seed capital over the last four years.”
KinderTown, founded by DreamIt Ventures partner and current candidate for Senate Steve Welch, receives a writeup in TechCrunch.

Companies: Adaptly / GoodCompany Ventures / Invite Media / KinderTown / PublicStuff

Before you go...

Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.

Our services Preferred partners The journalism fund
Engagement

Join our growing Slack community

Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!

Trending

16 places to responsibly dispose of old electronics in Philadelphia

19 tech and entrepreneurship events to check out before the holidays

Are digital navigators the answer to closing Philadelphia’s tech gap?

Expect high-speed internet at 100 Philly rec centers in 2025, Verizon says

Technically Media