Mutant Logic, the El Dorado Hills startup, which has developed software that allows makers of integrated circuits to analyze chip designs has secured $500,000 in funding from local angel investors. In addition, the company has signed a licensing deal with UCD, a milestone for a campus that's been pushing to convert its research into commercial ventures.  read more »

At last week’s Sacramento Region Venture Capital Conference 28 young northern California companies presented their ideas to a panel of VCs and angel investors.

Nine of these companies were selected to present a second time in the “Finalist Showcase” after being named by the panel as the top companies in the conference.  read more »

I've never actually been to one of these UC Davis Center For Entrepreneurship events, so I can't tell you what to expect. Dave Samuel from Grouper and Tim Westergren from Pandora are speaking on campus on two different dates. I added these events to the SacStarts upcoming events, so RSVP here if you're planning on going so we could all plan on meeting up for beers. Also make sure to RSVP with Nicole Starsinic who is the Program Manager of this UC Davis Center For Entrepreneurship thing.  read more »

A few months back Tom Shields of Woodside Funds wrote a post for VentureBeat on investing principles for web 2.0 companies. Nisan Gabbay of Startup Review subsequently distilled it down into 7 indicators of consumer Internet success. Let me suggest only 5 keys to success.  read more »

If you’re reading SacStarts, chances are you’re interested in the Sacramento area startup scene. We’ve got a few things going on where you can meet up with other people who are also interested in Sac startups.  read more »

Wil Schroter is an entrepreneur who started a social network called Go BIG, which is intended to connect entrepreneurs with investors with employees. He writes about his experiences good and bad as an entrepreneur, and he says it without an ounce of sugar coating. I agree with the majority of what Wil says, but every once in a while I'll fervently disagree with his stance of "leap first, look later." In any case Wil is the real deal, and if you're an entrepreneur you can't afford to miss what Wil has to say.  read more »

Tonight Tim Draper of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, the global venture capital firm, literally rocked the house during his presentation to Techcoire. Upon closing his entertaining discussion "Change the World" Tim closed with a lively rendition of his rock n roll song about typical entrepreneurial adventures.  read more »

New VentureOne data released by Ernst & Young and Dow Jones shows that twice as much VC money went into Web 2.0 deals in 2006 compared to the previous year.

• $844.4 million globally was directed into 167 deals in 2006
• Web 2.0 investment has doubled every year since 2002
• Globally, the median pre-money valuation was $6 million for a Web 2.0 company in 2006
• In the US, the median pre-money valuation was $18.5 million
• In Europe, the median pre-money valuation was $7 million
• The median financing round globally and in the US was $5 million, and $6 million in Europe

Keep in mind that this is strictly Web 2.0 deals, because there was certainly more than $844.4 million invested by VCs last year.  read more »

Cameron Park startup MaxPreps has announced they are being acquired by CBS.

MaxPreps provides coverage of High School sports across the country, including news, scores, and stats of high school sports and athletes. The company took $7 million in funding last July with a series B round from DFJ Frontier, Dolphin Ventures, and BEV Ventures.  read more »

The SF Chronicle has a story on the growing trend of working from cafes.

San Francisco’s modern-day bedouins are typically armed with laptops and cell phones, paying for their office space and Internet access by buying coffee and muffins.  read more »

It seems that a great many entrepreneurs are toiling away at home or in offices by themselves. I’ve been working mostly from home for nearly 7 years, and I love the freedom it offers. I can pick my kids up from school, take them to baseball practice, and even take some time to see a movie or grab lunch with a friend.  read more »

What do you do when you're 81 years old, your $1 billion a year empire goes through a second bankruptcy, and then gets auctioned off to be liquidated? You do it again of course!

Russ Solomon started Tower Records in Sacramento almost 50 years ago, but the retail chain just couldn't survive amid big box retailers and rampant piracy. His plans now are to open up a small record shop where the original Tower once was. Maybe it'll be a hit, or maybe the writing is already on the wall for all record stores. In any case this is going to be interesting to watch, and at the very least we can all pitch in and support a local entrepreneur by buying a few CDs from him.  read more »

Remember that startup that was looking for a cofounder by spamming Craigslist?

They’re back. It seems they found someone, but it didn’t work out so well.  read more »

Folsom chip designer Arkos Silicon has landed $10.1 million in funding, according to a report published in the Sacramento Bee.

The firm’s second round of funding came primarily from San Francisco venture capital firm Levensohn Venture Partners, but also included money from earlier investors Bay Partners, SPM Capital and US Venture Partners — all Silicon Valley firms.  read more »

A British expat living in San Francisco, Ben Metcalfe took a trip back to London and had a discussion about lack of a startup scene in the UK.  read more »