TECHdotMN: News about Minnesota Startups

By Katharine Grayson, Minneapolis-St.Paul Business Journal

“RedBrick Health Corp. has raised another $5 million in capital, according to a regulatory filing.

The Minneapolis-based health and wellness company kicked off the round of financing early this year, raising $5 million. At the time, the company planned to raise a total of $15 million. It’s now $5 million away from that goal, according to the regulatory document.

RedBrick has reeled in about $60 million over the past five years. In an interview with the Star Tribune published Sunday, company officials indicated that RedBrick may eventually pursue an initial public offering.”

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By Katharine Grayson, Minneapolis-St.Paul Business Journal

“Bloom Health, a fast-growing startup, will expand its headquarters with a move to the 15 Building in Minneapolis’ Warehouse District.

The company recently signed a lease for 16,000 square feet at 15 Fifth St. S. The space is nearly four times the size of Bloom’s existing office at 10 S. Fifth St. and will accommodate the company’s growing staff, which now numbers 50, said Abir Sen, CEO of the firm.”

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By Katharine Grayson, Minneapolis-St.Paul Business Journal

“Avtex, an IT firm that’s expanded with the backing of the Pohlad family, is plotting a growth spurt that company officials expect will double the business’ revenue to about $100 million by 2015.

The Bloomington-based company is owned by the Pohlad Family Cos., which entered the tech business in 2006 via its acquisition of Minneapolis IT-consulting firm Inetium.”

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By Katharine Grayson, Minneapolis-St.Paul Business Journal

“Health-care services startup Bloom Health Corp. and Medica are teaming up to launch a defined-contribution health plan that will allow a company’s employees to pick from 20 insurance products.

Called My Plan by MedicaSM, the service is designed to help employers better predict health costs. Companies give their workers a set amount of money to spend, then let employees select one of the 20 plans offered by Minnetonka-based Medica. Each plan features a different set of benefits and deductible options.”

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By Katharine Grayson, Minneapolis-St.Paul Business Journal

“Health care IT firm Ability Network Inc. officially announced Tuesday that it’s raised $27 million in venture capital in a round led by Bain Capital Ventures.

Last week, I reported [TECHdotMN broke the news] that Ability, formerly called VisionShare, raised about $20 million as part of the larger fundraising effort.. The company declined to comment at the time, but CEO Mark Briggs agreed to an interview on Tuesday.”

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Good interview!

By Katharine Grayson, Minneapolis-St.Paul Business Journal

“Visi Inc. will expand capacity at its Eden Prairie data center via a $10 million investment in power and cooling equipment.

The expansion comes a little more than a year after Chicago-based Telephone and Data Systems Inc. (TDS) acquired Visi, which provides managed-hosting services, for about $17.8 million.

Visi opened the first 3,000 square feet of the data center, which is located within a 50,000-square-foot building, in summer 2010. The Eden Prairie-based company expanded the data center into a total of 12,000 square feet at the start of the year.”

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By Katharine Grayson, Minneapolis-St.Paul Business Journal

“Cem Erdem, co-founder of nascent Twin Cities tech-accelerator Project Skyway, was among the entrepreneurs invited to the White House on Monday to hear President Barack Obama announce his new Startup America initiative.

Several big-name companies, including IBM and Intel, are partners in the Startup America program, which aims to increase entrepreneurial activity nationwide.”

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By Katharine Grayson, Minneapolis-St.Paul Business Journal

“Boost Inc., a Rochester-based startup that makes health-related mobile applications, has landed an [undisclosed] investment from North Dakota venture-capital firm Arthur Ventures.”

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By Katharine Grayson, Minneapolis-St.Paul Business Journal

“Twin Cities entrepreneur Steve Wasnick is in the running to win $150,000 for his startup, MillCityAuctions.com, after playing a starring role in an online reality-TV-style series.

Wasnick is one of four finalists vying to win “Second Chance,” a contest for entrepreneurs starting a second business after their first venture failed. Sprint is sponsoring the competition, which is part of MSN’s effort to promote its small-business focused website, Business on Main.”

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By Katharine Grayson, Minneapolis-St.Paul Business Journal

“Totally Interactive Weather, a tech startup founded by KSTP-TV meteorologist Dave Dahl, has landed a strategic investment from Hubbard Broadcasting Inc. The companies didn’t disclose terms of the deal.

Totally Interactive Weather, or TiWi, allows companies to integrate weather information and tools into their own websites. Customers can generate revenue by lining up sponsors for the weather content.”

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