Louisville software company Alchemer hires new leader

Louisville’s Alchemer LLC, a provider of customer experience and voice-of-the-customer software, has hired Martin Mrugal as its new CEO, replacing David Roberts.

Mrugal was most recently chief operating officer at Virginia-based software company Ellucian Co. LP.

“My focus has always centered on the customer and exceeding customer expectations; what excites me most about Alchemer is the mission of leveraging customer feedback across channels and interactions to make a real difference in business outcomes,” Mrugal said in a prepared statement. “This role combines my experience in enterprise software and my passion for customer success.”

Alchemer was founded in 2006 as SurveyGizmo. Its software helps businesses collect, analyze and leverage customer and employee feedback to drive engagement, retention and user experiences.

“With deep expertise in both SaaS software and customer experience, Martin is the ideal leader to accelerate Alchemer’s strategy and mission of empowering customers to create meaningful business outcomes through CX and feedback programs,” Alchemer chairman John Park said in a statement. “We have a fantastic team at Alchemer with great technology and are looking forward to continued success under Martin’s direction.”

Boulder’s AmideBio wins SBIR grant for diabetes research

Biopharmaceutical company AmideBio LLC has received a $1.93 million grant from the federal government for diabetes treatment research.

Small Business Innovation Research grant funding from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) “will allow AmideBio to develop a dual agonist insulin for treating diabetics with impaired awareness of hypoglycemia,” the company said in a news release.

After further study, AmideBio plans to narrow down several treatment candidates and eventually bring forward an Investigational New Drug application to the Food and Drug Administration.

“This grant will enable us to bring forward a dual agonist insulin-glucagon biologic to clinical readiness with a time-action profile similar to regular insulin but without the risk of hypoglycemia if an overdose occurs,” AmideBio CEO Pawel Fludzinski said in the release. “We are grateful the NIDDK has agreed to fund the development of what will in essence be a molecular artificial pancreas system with the potential to reduce the risk of impaired awareness of hypoglycemia for people living with diabetes.”

AmideBio won a $2.69 million SBIR grant in 2022 for research into a potential treatment for a rare pediatric disease.

Boulder’s Amplifire adds finance chief

Boulder’s Knowledge Factor Inc., a software-as-a-service company that provides cognitive science-based assessment, training and data analytics and does business as Amplifire, recently hired Jarrod Heinz as its chief financial officer.

Heinz succeeds JK Hullet, who is retiring after 10 years with the company.

Amplifier’s new finance leader “brings over 20 years of experience as CFO for three technology companies, each achieving successful outcomes for financial sponsors under his financial leadership,” the company said in a news release. “Throughout his career, Heinz has prioritized fostering a collaborative and trusting culture among employees, earning him the respect and admiration of his colleagues. His strong commitment to employees and clients has consistently guided his approach, ensuring that companies deliver exceptional value to their clients.”

Amplifire, which offers workforce training via an adaptive-learning software platform that it claims “enables individuals to learn faster, retain knowledge longer, and perform better,” was bought in 2022 by Boston-based equity firm Polaris Partners. Amplifire focuses on customers in the health care, higher-education and corporate end-markets.

Vero Networks raises $80M in equity financing

VFN Holdings Inc., a Boulder fiber infrastructure company and broadband internet provider that does business as Vero Networks, said it has raised $80 million in preferred equity financing.

The fundraiser was led by Delta-v Capital and funds managed by Hamilton Lane, with participation from existing Vero investors.

The money, Vero said, will be used in part to continue to build out its fiber network and to pursue acquisition opportunities.

“We are thrilled to have secured this level of commitment from our new capital partners,” said Greg Friedman, chief financial officer of Vero, a company founded in 2017 that claims a 21,000-customer network in 237 markets and 20 states.

“This investment is a testament to the success Vero has had in serving our wholesale, enterprise, and retail customers, as well as the incredible effort and dedication of our fantastic team. This capital raise will allow Vero to broaden its market reach and accelerate our ... expansion efforts.”

— BizWest reports