San Francisco firm acquires Austin’s Accruent
On Wednesday, Genstar Capital — a San Francisco private equity firm — announced it has acquired Austin's
. Founded in California in 1995 and relocated to Austin in 2010, Accruent builds real estate and facility management software. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. [Austin Inno]
HomeAway vet launches new travel startup
On Wednesday, Austin saw the launch of OnceThere, a new travel startup by John Weimer, who formerly headed up
’s Asia-Pacific division. As the name suggests, the startup will connect travelers with activities and experiences at their destinations. HomeAway co-founder Carl Shepherd is one of the company’s early investors. [Austin Inno]
Austin ranks seventh in the US for jobs
A new survey published by Fast Company ranks Austin the seventh best city in the country for jobs. The survey, which was conducted by Glassdoor, weighed factors like hiring opportunities, cost of living, job satisfaction and work-life balance. San Jose ran off with first place, with San Francisco and Seattle in second and third, respectively. [Fast Company]
Get Me gets cash infusion on tail end of Uber ban ...
Get Me, a Dallas-based transportation startup seeking to fill the void left behind after Austin’s ban on Uber and Lyft, raised $750,000 this week. The company remains operational in Austin after agreeing to perform fingerprint-based background checks of its drivers. [Austin Business Journal]
... and another ride hailing startup gets in on the action
Phoenix transportation startup Fare also stands to benefit from Austin’s ban. At an Austin City Council session on Tuesday, Robert Spillar, who heads up the transportation department, said the company has submitted an application to operate in the city. Fare was founded by a former Lyft driver, and has a stated mission of empowering its drivers. [Austin Business Journal]
Mozilla names Austin ‘Gigabit Hive’ city
The Mozilla Gigabit Community Fund has chosen Austin as its next ‘Hive’ city. As part of the initiative, the fund will offer $75,000 grants to tech companies who deploy their products in classrooms using gigabit broadband connections. Mozilla, best known for creating Firefox, is running the program in partnership with the National Science Foundation and US Ignite. Existing Hive cities include Chattanooga and Kansas City. [Aust
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