In The Know
The Inno stories you need to read today.
Making Moves
Inside the people, companies and organizations making moves in Boston.
KG: This is actually bananas. Boston ‘Unicorn’ cybersecurity company, which has $100M from the Softbank Vision Fund, hired a top-tier HR executive who completely faked his resume. In June 2017, Cybereason hired Mr. Brown (not his real name), who listed positions at Google, IBM and others. “And despite claiming to have been drafted by the Chicago White Sox prior to college, he ‘couldn’t even swing a bat’ at a company recreational softball game, one said.” The details get even weirder from there as CEO Lior Div hired a private investigator to start tracing Mr. Brown’s activity on company systems. We hope you have a membership to The Information in order to read this story. We’ll have more in tomorrow’s Beat.
Lucy: STEM education for kids and teens is important, folks. Akamai announced the establishment of a $50M endowment in support of The Akamai Foundation, a private corporate foundation that promotes the pursuit of excellence in mathematics in grades K-12. Completely unrelated to Akamai, here’s a profile of a Somerville startup, Circuit Lab, that’s on a mission to teach electronics to children ages 8 and up.
KG: Watching robotic furniture by Ori Systems feels like a commercial for the future of home design. Tap your finger on a button and your bed hides away below cabinets. Or, out of a closet, comes a wooden desk table. Or, your entire office set-up or entertainment center tucks away from a room’s center to the wall. But behind the seemingly magical system created by a crew of MIT-trained minds is a story as fascinating as the $15K Ori gadgets themselves. See the whole Inno story and video here.
Lucy: The forth cohort of startups in the ScaleUp program at TiE Boston – the local chapter of the global nonprofit organization fostering entrepreneurship – is polishing up their pitches for demo day, the last milestone of TiE Boston’s five-month signature accelerator. Some of them have come a long way during the program: digital health startup Medumo, for example, raised a $2M seed round in January. Read more: 15 Startups That Will Present at TiE ScaleUp Demo Day
KG: B.GOOD and Freight Farms have teamed up to grow and serve local, fresh produce year-round. Freight Farms is just like its name, a shipping container that is converted into a year-round farming station. YUM!
New Money
Your daily funding roundup.
KG: empow, a Boston-based cybersecurity company, has raised$10M. Ascent Venture Partners is a new investor in this Series B.
Lucy: Shearwater, an edtech startup with offices in Downtown Crossing, raised $621K in an equity offering, according to a new Form D.
KG: Farmwise, a developer of healthy foods, has raised $4.5M in funding. Cleveland Avenue led the round.
Player Personnel
Who’s moving where.
KG: Brian Sylvester is now Bullhorn’s CFO. He was previously Bullhorn’s finance VP and controller.
Lucy: Big Player Personnel moves at Brightcove. The digital video software company appointed Jeff Ray as its new CEO effective immediately. Ray will replace acting CEO Andy Feinberg, who will step back into his role as president and COO. Also, three new members have joined the board: former FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, former Viacom exec Kristin Frank, and Ray. Read more: Brightcove Names New CEO, Board Directors
In The Community
The events and happenings to know about tonight and this week.
KG: On Tuesday, you can speed network with STEM pros at 43 Vassar St. in Cambridge for free! See all BostInno Approved Events for April Here.
 Featured Jobs
Featured startup and tech jobs on BostInno’s new Careers Directory.
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