GPEC and BioAccel awarded federal grants to fuel AZ innovation

Federal grant money is headed for Phoenix to help fuel the startup scene. Today, the U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker announced that BioAccel and the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) were two of the first 26 recipients to receive a portion of the $10 million grant from the 2014 Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) program. According to … Read more

GPEC votes in new president

Greater Phoenix Economic council (GPEC) selected Chris Camacho as their newest President in an announcement today. After serving as executive vice president of GPEC since 2008 Camacho will take the helm and help bring more companies to Phoenix. Camacho replaced former president and CEO Barry Broome who left Phoenix in December for to take over … Read more

CEO and President Barry Broome leaves GPEC, heads off to CA

The icon, the president and CEO of GPEC, Barry Broome is leaving AZ and taking off for the Greater Sacramento Area Economic Council as president and CEO. Welp, the rumor is true. Reported by Eric Jay Toll of Phoenix Business Journal, there was suspicions about Barry flying off to Sacramento and being listed in the top finalists … Read more

KOAM opens facility in Phoenix, first on West Coast

KOAM

KOAM, a total logistics solution company for automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), opened its Phoenix facility this week, the company’s first on the West Coast. The company’s relationship with Lucid Motors and the expansion of other EV companies to the Phoenix area, like Nikola, ElectraMeccanica and Atlis, made Phoenix the ideal location for KOAM. “KOAM … Read more

Mesa a “natural choice” for US headquarters of Canadian-based Exro Technologies

Exro Technologies, a power technology firm based out of Calgary, Alberta, has announced it will establish its U.S. headquarters in Mesa — evidence of the company’s momentum and growth.  Canadian-based Exro is a leading clean technology company that has developed a new class of power electronics for electric motors and batteries. Its Coil Driver technology … Read more

Thinkzilla expands to Scottsdale to support minority-owned businesses

Thinkzilla

Thinkzilla, a brand, marketing and PR agency based in Atlanta, announced plans to open a new office at SkySong, the Arizona State University Scottsdale Innovation Center. The consulting firm said it will hire 25 employees in the first six months. Female and minority-owned Thinkzilla chose Scottsdale because of the growing entrepreneurial ecosystem here. Company leaders … Read more

Data connectivity platform LiveRamp will hire at least 100 with Phoenix expansion

LiveRamp, a B2B data connectivity platform based in San Francisco, announced it will build an office in the Phoenix Metropolitan area. They plan to hire at least 100 new employees.  The company is looking for full-time, highly skilled workers, including executive leaders. LiveRamp will initially focus on hiring positions in Customer Support, Customer Success and … Read more

Zenefits to house 1,000 employees in new Tempe expansion office

Co-written with Chloe Nordquist Five floors, 135,000 square feet and 1,000 employees are some of the astonishing numbers Zenefits included in their latest expansion announcement. The free, cloud-based human resources technology company is opening its second greater Phoenix area office at Tempe Hayden Ferry Lakeside complex this fall. Zenefits decided to expand due to its … Read more

Entrepreneurship re-energized, Phoenix Startup Week begins today

Photo contribution Thomas Hawthorne Entrepreneurs, investors, government officials and startups filled the room at 111 W. Monroe for the kickoff of the inaugural Phoenix Startup Week. The event is a five-day extravaganza consisting of 130 events spread throughout the Valley with a multitude of speakers, workshops, mentoring and more on entrepreneurial topics such as raising capital, … Read more

Inaugural Phoenix Startup Week hits the Valley Feb 23-27 – video

Video and photo contribution from Thomas Hawthorne The time has come for the Valley to celebrate its local startups at Phoenix Startup Week. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton kicks off the inaugural week-long, Valley-wide celebration of startups and entrepreneurship running February 23 to 27. [youtube]http://youtu.be/PAm6UAn0fOo[/youtube] The five-day extravaganza will consist of 130 events with a multitude … Read more