Founded by a veteran public relations professional, IRIS, a cloud-based public relations management SaaS platform, helps streamline an agency’s administrative tasks and get pros back to doing what they love-creating buzz for their clients. Today the company announced a $1 million equity seed-preferred round, bringing their total funding to $1.25 million. CEO and founder Aly … Read more
One startup is helping sales representatives make sure your favorite chips, gum and bottled water are ready to go at the local convenient store. Shelvspace, a SaaS solution for the consumer packaging goods industry, today announced they closed on a $1 million seed round of funding led by Tallwave Capital with participation from high-profile* California- and … Read more
How often do the grocery checkout coupons and weekly circulars end up in the trash? To combat this challenge, one Tucson-based startup is helping grocers target price-conscious shoppers through their mobile devices. Recoleta Digital Media, a personalized grocery circular system, has raised an undisclosed sum of Series A-2 funding. Their platform creates digitally driven personalized circulars with … Read more
Admittedly I’m a notorious gift card giver. It’s not that I don’t want to give an actual physical, meaningful item, I just don’t know what to buy. To combat generic giving, gift registry sites such as CheckedTwice and Thankful have popped up to help shoppers pinpoint what a person wants for their special occasion. CEO … Read more
After launching in April 2013, Zenefits, the leading cloud HR platform, has raised a jaw-dropping amount of $500 million in a Series C round of funding led by Fidelity Management and Research Company and TPG-putting their valuation at $4.5 billion. This round is considered the largest private or public (IPO) financing round of any SaaS … Read more
Launching this week, AZ Tech Beat has a new web-series offering business advice and work experiences, from the startup world to the startup world. The AZ Tech Beat Startup Journal will feature a variety of founders who are in different stages in their startup. Each episode will be a short, two to three minute video … Read more
Co-written with Tishin Donkersley, M.A. and photo and video contributions by Thomas Hawthorne Starry eyed entrepreneurs flocked to events across the Valley during Phoenix Startup Week- a weeklong event which consisted of over 130 events, several happy hours and a plethora of speakers giving vital information about how to run a successful startup. [youtube]http://youtu.be/07IhjxwC2e4[/youtube] The … Read more
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
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
With 2014 winding down, it’s time to take a look back at some of the startups and companies that raised some dough to help fuel their business. While this is by no means a complete list, we hope it gives you a sense of the growth of the Arizona tech community. Check out more companies … Read more