E-Commerce News

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Web startup RunMyErrand to move execs west
After winning West Coast VC cash and a spot in Facebook Inc.’s startup incubator program, RunMyErrand Inc. is moving its top three startup executives to a new office in San Francisco; but founder Leah Busque said the move may not be permanent.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Priceline.com plans $500M notes sale
Priceline.com Inc., the Norwalk, Conn.-based online travel service comparison platform, has announced a private offering of up to $500 million in convertible senior notes due 2015.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Ebling takes CEO reins at Demandware
Tom Ebling, former CEO of Lattice Engines, ProfitLogic and Torrent Systems, has been named CEO of Demandware Inc., an ecommerce firm in Woburn.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Paragon Lake now named Gemvara, targets consumers
Paragon Lake Inc. is changing its name and abandoning its business-to-business approach selling web-based custom jewelry to small and midsize jewelers, in favor of an all-out appeal to consumers, directly through the web.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

BuyWithMe.com plans growth on Matrix $5.5M funding
Advertising platform BuyWithMe.com has received $5.5 million in funding from venture capital firm Matrix Partners. The Boston-based company plans to use the cash to scale operations.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

StyleFeeder picked up by Time
Time Inc. has acquired StyleFeeder Inc. and plans to add the Cambridge-based company’s online shopping recommendation website to its InStyle family of brands.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

ATG buys InstantService for $17M
Cambridge-based e-commerce technology company Art Technology Group Inc. has spent $17 million in cash to acquire InstantService, a Seattle provider of live chat services used predominantly in live tech help situations.

Monday, December 7, 2009

MTI hands out grants to build tech clusters
The Maine Technology Institute reports it has given out three grants worth a total of $140,000 under its Cluster Initiative Program, which is intended to provide funding for feasibility and planning collaborative projects in the state’s technology clusters, including IT, forestry, agriculture and manufacturing.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Roam Data lands $6.5M in Series B round
Mobile software company Roam Data Inc. has closed on $6.5 million in second round funding from Ingenico Ventures, along with private investors including payment industry veteran George Wallner.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Flybridge adds $3M to online pilates equipment business
Flybridge Capital Partners has invested $3 million in a Cambridge Pilates instructor who runs a business selling exercise equipment on the home shopping network. Lighter Living Inc., an East Cambridge business run by Marjolein Brugman, will use the funds to expand its web presence and line of products.

Monday, November 2, 2009

CashStar snags $5M, Home Depot retailing; plans new engineering hires
CashStar Inc. has landed $5 million from existing investors and added another major retailer, Home Depot Inc. as the latest buyer of the startup’s online gift card technology.
RunMyErrand attracts West Coast first-round funds
RunMyErrand Inc. has secured a $1 million Series A round of equity financing from two West Coast firms, the company reports. It’s the first institutional investment for the Cambridge-based startup, which publishes a website allowing users to offer cash compensation for errands and other odd jobs.

Friday, October 30, 2009

CheXout: Pay restaurant bills by cell phone
CheXout Systems Inc., which launched in April, is using the cloud to link restaurant bills to the cell phones of diners who just finished meals, enabling them to see their bills without having to flag down their servers and pay the bills through a payment processor such as PayPal with one click of a button.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

RueLaLa, SmartBargains selling for $350M to GSI Commerce
Retail Convergence Inc., which runs both private sale website RueLaLa.com for high-net-worth buyers and off-price e-commerce website SmartBargains.com, has agreed to be bought for $350 million by Pennsylvania-based GSI Commerce Inc.

Monday, October 19, 2009

HubSpot hauls in $16M in Series C
Search engine marketing company HubSpot Inc. of Cambridge has closed on $16 million in its third round of venture funding, according to a blog post by company CEO and co-founder Brian Halligan. The round was led by Scale Ventures of California and saw all previous investors return, including Matrix Partners and General Catalyst Partners.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Y Combinator startup TipJoy shuts down
TipJoy Inc. has shut its doors, co-founder Ivan Kirigin reported in a blog post late last night. Funded by Paul Graham’s startup incubator, Y Combinator, in 2008, TipJoy aimed to provide a social online micropayment system that could be used to make blog content profitable.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Highland Capital leads FanSnap’s $5.2M funding
Highland Capital Partners has led a $5.2 million second funding round in FanSnap, a California-based live event ticket search engine. As part of the investment deal, Highland Capital General Partner Richard de Silva will join FanSnap’s board of directors.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

MyWebGrocer bags $13M funding
MyWebGrocer LLC, a maker of online shopping software for grocery chains, has raised $13 million in equity financing from Stripes Group, a New York-based private investment firm.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Online textbook firm Akademos raises $2.5M in VC
Akademos Inc., which makes software for selling academic textbooks online and operates the Internet book exchange TextbookX.com, has raised $2.5 million in new equity financing.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Sayagle matches buyers and retailers securely
A new Boston-based company has a plan to put users and retailers on the same location-based social network application.