Reporting on San Antonio’s Startups

Fintech Startup FloatMe Closes $3.7M Seed Round

3Dec

By Iris GonzalezNo Comments

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Fintech Startup FloatMe Closes $3.7M Seed Round

The financial tech startup FloatMe announced Thursday it had closed a $3.7 million seed funding round led by ManchesterStory, a leading firm focused on early-stage fintech and companies using technology to disrupt the insurance industry. San Antonio-based Active Capital, Denver-based SpringTime Ventures, and existing investors Drummond Road Capital and HTV Industries are among the 17 investors who participated in the seed round. Joining FloatMe's board is ManchesterStory co-founder and managing partner Matt Kinley, who has 21 years' experience as a venture capitalist focused on early-stage through growth-stage fintech, healthcare, and technology companies. "We think the opportunities for FloatMe to help clients improve their finances are endless, and FloatMe's offering is appealing...

Manna Foods Raises Seed Funding for Beetle Protein Powder Startup

3Dec

By Iris GonzalezNo Comments

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Manna Foods Raises Seed Funding for Beetle Protein Powder Startup

There's a new technology-driven food startup in San Antonio using proprietary processes to produce an alternative protein powder. How alternative? Manna Foods protein is made from Tenebrio molitor or the darkling beetle — nothing else. Manna Foods has been selling out its beetle protein powder since the startup launched its production facility in September. The startup is now raising a seed funding round to meet the growing demand for the finely milled, mild-tasting powder that smells faintly of sunflower seeds. One 30 gram serving of manna powder provides 21 grams of protein, which appeals to people on Keto and paleo diets who are invested in a clean, sustainable approach to healthy eating, according to Luke Wright, CEO of the e-commerce business-to-customer company. The darkling...

The 83(b) Election: What Startup Founders Need to Know

23Nov

By Guest AuthorNo Comments

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The 83(b) Election: What Startup Founders Need to Know

There's a critical choice founders must make when making a Section 83(b) election. The 83(b) election is a provision under the Internal Revenue Code that gives an employee or startup founder the option to pay taxes on the total fair market value of restricted stock at the time of granting. If one waits too long to decide, founders or employees granted company stock could face some profound tax implications. Let's start with the basics. What is Restricted Stock? While many startup companies give stock options to employees, some grant restricted stock to its founders and certain employees. Restricted stock is granted to a stockholder but limited in that it cannot be transferred or sold by that stockholder and may even be taken back by the company until certain conditions are met...

CNF Technologies Grow R&D Capabilities For National Cybersecurity Operations: Port San Antonio Tech Innovation Series

17Nov

By Casey Kelly-BartonNo Comments

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CNF Technologies Grow R&D Capabilities For National Cybersecurity Operations: Port San Antonio Tech Innovation Series

CNF Technologies and its unique cybersecurity expertise has garnered national attention for this San Antonio-based company. Over the past three years, CNF Technologies has been one of the fastest movers on the Inc. 5000 list. The CNF team provides research and development, technology integration, and comprehensive cybersecurity expertise to protect national infrastructure and defense assets. They are a prime contractor for Air Force and General Services Administration security projects, which have spurred significant growth in recent years. This year, CNF also expanded its operations to Baltimore and Colorado Springs in addition to its headquarters in San Antonio. CNF Technologies’ work is featured in the latest program presented by Port San Antonio. The panel features CNF Technol...

Tech-Driven Braustin Homes Lands $1.9M Seed Funding Round

16Nov

By Iris Gonzalez1 Comment

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Tech-Driven Braustin Homes Lands $1.9M Seed Funding Round

Braustin Homes, a San Antonio-based factory-built home business, has landed a $1.875 million seed funding round led by the venture capital fund Geekdom Fund, with participation from City Rise Ventures investors Graham Weston and Pat Matthews, and angel investor Pat Condon. Brothers Alberto and Jason Piña founded Braustin Homes in 2017 with a vision to build affordable manufactured homes in South and Central Texas. They plan to use the seed funding to scale operations across the state of Texas. A tech-fueled home-buying business model The Piñas discovered the homebuilding industry struggles with a complicated buying process. From its earliest days, the startup incorporated technology into their operations for a seamless customer experience. Based out of Geekdom, a downtown co-worki...

Debunking Common Trademark Myths for Founders

9Nov

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Debunking Common Trademark Myths for Founders

Something often overlooked by many startups is trademark registration. Trademarks are important to small businesses and entrepreneurs because they protect a brand’s reputation by preventing others from using brand and product names without permission. This keeps brand integrity high and customer confusion low. Myth #1: Trademarks and copyrights are the same thing False. Trademarks protect things like brand names and logos while copyright typically protects things like songs, books, poems, and movies. While there are certain things that can be registered for both trademark and copyright protection, most will fall into one category or another. Myth #2: I should wait until my business grows to register my trademark Definitely ...

Food Startup Grain 4 Grain Wins $50,000 at Tech Fuel Pitch Competition

28Oct

By Iris GonzalezNo Comments

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Food Startup Grain 4 Grain Wins $50,000 at Tech Fuel Pitch Competition

As craft beer brewing grows in popularity, so does the staggering amount of leftover spent barley grains — over 6 billion pounds annually. That opportunity for food innovation is what drove Yoni Medhin and Matt Metchly to launch their low-carb spent barley flour company. Grain4Grain won the top prize of $50,000 Wednesday evening at Tech Fuel, San Antonio's largest, an equity-free cash-prize pitch competition for early-stage tech startups. Launched by Tech Bloc, a San Antonio technology industry advocacy nonprofit, the three-tiered $100,000 competition is funded by Bexar County’s Innovation Fund to help emerging tech entrepreneurs launch innovative companies. Five judges with venture funding expertise questioned, then selected the $50,000 grand prize and $20,000 second-place winners...

Codeup Opens Third Tech Accelerator Campus in Downtown Houston

26Oct

By Iris GonzalezNo Comments

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Codeup Opens Third Tech Accelerator Campus in Downtown Houston

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Codeup, a tech career boot camp accelerator based in San Antonio, is expanding again. Codeup has announced its newest campus located in downtown Houston in the Novel Coworking building at 720 Rusk Street. Michael Girdley, Jason Straughan, and Chris Turner opened Codeup in 2013, offering its 20-week coding boot camp-style workforce development program for aspiring software developers. Since launching, the company has grown from its roots as a boot camp into a local institution focused on meeting demand for talent in San Antonio’s growing technology ecosystem. "In Houston, the demand for tech talent is high, the population is vast and diverse, and Texas still has the 10th largest economy in the world," Codeup CEO Jason Straughan wrote in a company blog po...

Vitanova Biomedical Develops Light-Activated Cancer Therapy Pioneered by UTSA Researcher

23Oct

By Iris GonzalezNo Comments

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Vitanova Biomedical Develops Light-Activated Cancer Therapy Pioneered by UTSA Researcher

The San Antonio-based biotech startup Vitanova Biomedical is developing a new way to treat cancer called photodynamic therapy that causes no side effects and can kill many types of cancers. The preclinical stage biotech company is commercializing a novel technique that uses a specific wavelength of light combined with a chemical. The new cancer treatment approach is based on research first done at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) by Matthew Gdovin when he was an associate professor in UTSA’s biology department. Gdovin pioneered using the photosensitizing agent o-nitrobenzaldehyde (o-NBA) in combination with a specific wavelength of light that activates the drug. This photodynamic therapy triggers the cancer cell to become too acidic and die, a process known as apoptosis....

XYREC Launches Plane Paint-Stripping Robot Operations at Port San Antonio

13Oct

By Iris GonzalezNo Comments

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XYREC Launches Plane Paint-Stripping Robot Operations at Port San Antonio

At a custom-built 7,000-square-foot facility on Port San Antonio's campus, a Netherlands-based company has been assessing its airplane paint-stripping robot. After extensive testing and validation from the Southwest Research Institute (SWRI), XYREC, a global innovator in applied robotic technology solutions, is ready to launch its first robotic plane paint-stripping operation in North American. XYREC has produced the world's largest industrial robot, measuring at over 72 feet when fully extended. It comes equipped with a high-powered laser that rapidly strips paint from any size aircraft without damaging the airframe. The automated de-coating of the plane is precise down to the micron level and can stop before removing a specified layer of paint or coating. The robotic system is mounted o...