The latest round of funding was led by two of Tower Cloud’s existing investors, The Burton Partnership and Knology Inc. Tower Cloud’s other existing institutional investors include: Sutter Hill Ventures, El Dorado Ventures, Ballast Point Ventures, Kinetic Ventures, ITC Partners Fund and Noro-Moseley Partners.

For this round, two new investors joined the consortium, The Florida Growth Fund and CLR Investors. The funding was done in two phases with $13 million completed in January and $36 million completed in July. This funding follows a $20 million equity commitment by the same investor group in October 2009.

© 2011, TechJournal South. All rights reserved.

The poll pinpointed California, New York and Illinois as the U.S. states with the least favorable business climates.

Conducted by Development Counsellors International (DCI) every three years, the “Winning Strategies in Economic Development Marketing” survey has tracked trends in economic development since its inception in 1996.

“With the battle for business more intense than ever, states and their economic development organizations need to pay close attention to the results of this survey,” said DCI President Andrew T. Levine. “Whether accurate or misguided, perceptions about a location’s business climate often play a crucial role in site selection decisions and where companies invest money and create jobs.”

Half the firms to make relocation decisions

Nearly half (46%) of the 322 corporate executive who responded to the survey indicated that their firm would make a location decision in the next 24 months – whether a move, expansion or consolidation of a manufacturing plant, offices, distribution center or other facilities. More than half (51%) said that they would outsource a portion of the site selection process to a real estate broker or site selection consultant.

Texas was the clear-cut favorite among the respondents to the survey, with 49.4% naming the Lone Star state as having one of the most favorable business climates in the nation. North Carolina ranked second with 27.8%; South Carolina has 14.3% of the votes.

Texas and North Carolina have consistently landed in the top spots since the survey began more than a decade ago.Texas has held the #1 ranking since 1999, while North Carolina has been #2 since 2002. South Carolina, Tennessee andFlorida have frequently traded top positions in the survey and 2011 marks the return of South Carolina to the #3 slot.

Low operating costs a top concern

When asked why they selected the states they did as being best for business, the corporate executives frequently cited low operating costs and a pro-business climate. In the 2008 survey, more executives pointed to the availability of a strong workforce than they did in 2011.

For the fourth consecutive time, California was deemed as having the least favorable business climate, with 70.5% of the responses. New York was named second most frequently with 46.5%, followed by Illinois (24.4%) Taxes, high costs and “anti-business climate/regulation” spurred most of the negative opinions.

The comprehensive survey also asked a series of questions to divine the most effective economic development marketing tools, the leading sources of information that influence executive perceptions of a community’s business climate and the most important factors in business location decisions.

DCI conducted the survey online, polling a random selection of C-level executives at U.S. companies with annual revenues of$25 million or more. The survey was augmented by 250 location advisors/consultants.

For a free copy of the full “Winning Strategies” survey report or an executive summary, see: www.aboutdci.com/winning-strategies.

© 2011, TechJournal South. All rights reserved.

SC Launch

Based in Greenville, SC and developed by Gary Dannar, Dannar’s technology offers hybrid/battery-electric systems to reduce emissions in transportation vehicles. The Dannar – Mobile PowerStation (MPS) is a leading edge OEM of purpose built vehicles for the government roadside and “Right-of-Way” management market.

A company formed by recently-named USC Endowed Chair Dr. Igor Roninson and Dr. Lawrence Friedhoff, Senex Biotechnology develops novel therapeutics for the treatment of major diseases. Target technologies include the treatment of cancer, viral diseases and age-related diseases by targeting damage-inducible signal transduction pathways involved in cellular aging.

Located in Charleston, SC, Madeira Therapeutics was founded to develop new pharmaceutical products for unmet medical needs in the pediatric population. Currently the FDA does not run separate clinical trials for pediatric applications; doctors simply apply adult approved drugs at smaller doses for children. Madeira Therapeutics strives to ensure drug safety and efficiency for intended patients in the pediatric setting.

TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:

SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org

Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com

Digital East: www.digitaleast.com

Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com

© 2011, TechJournal South. All rights reserved.

“We’s done extensive market research on the talent mangement industry,” said Mike Elliott, Noro-Moseley Managing Partner, who joins the company’s board. “PeopleMatter’s unconventional platform integrating the consumer, employee and employer in targeted, service based vericals is poised for substantial growth.”

The company sells a comprehensive talent management solution delivered on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform. It includes tools to hire, schedule, learn, and egnage the hourly workforce for the hospitality, retail and food service industries.

The company says it plans to use the funding to expand its sales and marketing in North America and to fuel an active product pipeline. That sounds as if they’ll be doing some hiring. That’s one plus that doesn’t get mentioned often enough when companies up their funding: it generally also means more people are going to be landing jobs.

The company launched its product in September 2010. Customers include Flash Foods, Noodles and Co., Boloco and Pap Gino’s.

The company began in the incubator offices of Charlston’s Flagship in 2009.

TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:

SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org

Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com

Digital East: www.digitaleast.com

Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com

© 2011, TechJournal South. All rights reserved.

VidiStar provides physicians with a solution for their clinical practice. VidiStar’s online reporting system conforms to the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine  structure reporting standard which auto‐populates complex data from imaging devices, such as ultrasound machines, into customized reports for efficient processing and reporting.

The technology allows physicians and health care providers to quickly review and interpret diagnostic studies, such as echocardiograms or fetal ultrasounds scans, from their office or anywhere in the world using a secure Internet connection ‐ regardless of a physician’s location.

The company has numerous customers throughout South Carolina and has also launched international operations from an office in Poland.

The VidiStar management team has more than 18 years of expertise in medical imaging technology, regulatory affairs and government regulation, and includes board‐certified medical professionals, including a practicing cardiologist with experience in echocardiography, nuclear cardiology and cardiovascular technology. The team brings more than 30 years of international and domestic sales experience.

“VidiStar’s novel technology and management expertise continue to prove that home grown knowledge-based companies can bring economic benefit to South Carolina,” said Bill Mahoney, SCRA CEO.

TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:

SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org

Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com

Digital East: www.digitaleast.com

Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com

© 2011, TechJournal South. All rights reserved.

The company sells business consulting services and human capital solutions to customers with a focus on core areas of business processes used throughout the corporate world including project management, business analysis, business consulting and strategic consulting.

Typical initiatives in which Premier provides services include compliance and regulatory, merger and acquisition, and business process reengineering efforts.

In the Southeast, it has a presence in South Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia as well as Raleigh and Charlotte, NC.

The Charlotte-based company disclosed the financing in a news release earlier this month.

TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:

SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org

Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com

Digital East: www.digitaleast.com

Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com

© 2011, TechJournal South. All rights reserved.

The company’s first product, the CareCam System’s ICan, is a patient-issued video documentation system. This patented invention creates a specific and complete electronic point of care health record whose interoperability will save time and money for caregivers. The technology ensures safety while benefiting and protecting both patient and health provider.

The company President and founder, registered nurse Shannon Pierce said, “As a nurse I have seen firsthand the advantages that a technology like the CareCam ICan can provide,” stated Pierce. “As electronic medical records are established in the healthcare market, the addition of  our technology can provide and improve advancements in patient care. The current focus tends to be on being paperless and not the patient.”

She added, “Electronic medical records (EMRs) have led to improvements; however, the data entry distracts clinicians from care. Our solution simplifies accurate record keeping with video. Events are tagged by the care providers while care is administered.  CareCam documentation will be integrated as a part of the patient’s health record and provide real-time video documentation that gives healthcare providers a visual record rather than just written, typed, and inefficiently organized descriptions.”

Pierce founded the company in 2004 with Dr. Michael Bucci, chief medical officer, and Ray Schroeder, the president and CEO of Interim Healthcare.

. Bo Aughtry and Russell Smart of Windsor Aughtry Company began mentoring Shannon in 2008. As a result of the collaboration, a business plan was complete and both men joined the founders as partners in CareCam Innovation in 2010.

SCRA has provided funding and support, through its SC Launch program, for 188 qualified entities since its inception in 2006. The SC Launch program has attracted more than $104 million in add-on, private equity investment funding in South Carolina knowledge-based, start-up companies.

© 2011, TechJournal South. All rights reserved.

The company expects to start operations at the new facility by March 31. Founded in 2004, Perceptis has grown rapidly to service more than 100 institutions and 1.5 million end users.

“Perceptis sought out a competitive advantage in their next location and what they found in the Upstate of South Carolina is a pro-business trifecta: a top-ranked business climate, a world-class research environment and a superb quality of life,” said Hal Johnson, president and CEO of the Upstate SC Alliance.

Frontier Capital, a private equity firm providing growth equity to technology enabled business services companies, provided $6 million in expansion funding to Perceptis in September 2010. Frontier Capital is one of the four funds involved in the SC Venture Capital Authority/InvestSC program and initiated the recruitment effort to bring the company to South Carolina.

© 2011, TechJournal South. All rights reserved.

The merged firms will operate under the Duke name, headquartered in Charlotte while keeping “substantial operations” in Raleigh.

Bill Johnson, CEO of Progress Energy will take the helm as CEO of the merged companies. Duke CEO Jim Rogers will chair the merged firms.

Johnson called the combination of the two utilities “A perfect fit.”

While the merger may result in some job losses, according to reports, it could also result in lower utility rates.

The merger gives the combined utility increased financial clout.

The combined company will have:

• Approximately $65 billion in enterprise value and $37 billion in market capitalization

• The country’s largest regulated customer base, providing service to approximately 7.1 million electric customers in six regulated service territories North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida,Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio

• Approximately 57 gigawatts of domestic generating capacity from a diversified mix of coal, nuclear, natural gas, oil and renewable resources

• The largest regulated nuclear fleet in the country.

“This combination of two outstanding companies is a natural fit,” said Johnson, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Progress Energy. “It makes clear strategic sense and creates exceptional value for our shareholders. Together, we can leverage our best practices to achieve even higher levels of safety, operational excellence and customer satisfaction, and save money for customers by combining our fuel purchasing power and the dispatch of our generating plants.”

© 2011, TechJournal South. All rights reserved.

ECGC also today announced its call for speaker submissions to lead panels, lectures and roundtable sessions at its third annual conference April 13-14, 2011 to be held at the Raleigh Convention Center. The call for submissions will close Friday, January 21, 2011.

The inaugural 2009 conference featured more than 40 participating companies and over 700 attendees for the two-day conference. TGC 2010 proved just as strong with double the space and more than 50 participating companies and over 900 attendees.

Speaker topic areas include: game development; advanced learning and virtual stimulation; and the business of games and media convergence.

North Carolina has become a hub for game development, one of several in the Southeast.

© 2010, TechJournal South. All rights reserved.