Most Successful U.S. Startups 2008

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Courtesy: Trius Therapeutics

Trius Therapeutics

San Diego
Founders: Jeff Stein, John Finn, and John Schmid
VC Investment over the last four quarters: $35.16 million

Founded in 2004, the 35-employee biopharmaceutical company is working to develop antibacterial drugs to treat infections caused by resistant bacteria. Besides the VC investment, Stein says Trius has raised $32 million in government grants and contracts. As far as his perspective on the impact of the recession on his company, which expects less than $1 million in revenues in 2008, Stein says it will make the fundraising environment more challenging and may impact the partner environment as well.

Key to startup success: "Recruit top-tier executives. Focus on advancing your most valuable asset and seek alternative financing for earlier-stage programs."

Courtesy: Cuil

Cuil

Menlo Park, Calif.
Founders: Tom Costello, Anna Patterson, and Russell Power
VC Investment over the last four quarters: $33.25 million

Cuil, founded in 2005, attracted plenty of attention this summer when it launched its search engine, which it says searches more pages on the Web than any other enginethree times as many as Google and 10 times as many as Microsoft. Apart from the venture capital investment, the 30-employee company, which takes its name for the old Irish word for knowledge, has a capital expenditure line for hardware from Western Technologies.

Key to startup success: "Innovation..."

Courtesy: Relypsa

Relypsa

Santa Clara, Calif.
Founders: Dr. Gerrit Klaerner, Dr. Scott Rocklage, Dr. Detlef Albrecht, and Dr. Jerry Buysse
VC Investment over the last four quarters: $33 million

In October 2007, Relypsa was spun out of Amgen by the founders of a previous biotech startup, Ilypsa, which the biotech company had acquired for $420 million earlier that year. The 47-employee company is developing treatments for hyperkalemia, a potentially deadly condition in patients with heart and kidney disease. By acting in the gastrointestinal tract only, Relypsa's drugs would reduce the risk of side effects that can occur with treatments that are absorbed into the bloodstream.

Key to startup success: "... Intense focus, speed, and efficient use of capital. We have been able to take our lead product program from the initial clinical testing stage in a Phase 1 trial [investigational new drug] to Phase 2 clinical development in nine months, something that most drug discovery and development startups typically achieve ... in three to four years."

Courtesy: Everspin

Everspin

Chandler, Ariz.
Founders: Saied Tehrani and other former employees of Freescale Semiconductor
VC Investment over the last four quarters: $32.5 million

Everspin is a 50-employee company that was spun out of chipmaker Freescale Semiconductor in June 2008 to develop the company's MRAM products, a type of memory that stores information in magnetic material rather than with an electric charge. The company has been selling MRAM products commercially since 2006 as a part of Freescale. Everspin sees opportunities to grow despite the recession, with a chance "to get more product penetration in the market as well as continue to build very strong employee talent as we grow the company," according to Tehrani in an e-mail.

Key to startup success: "Setting aggressive but realistic expectations and goals for the company [combined with] solid execution, passion, and dedication."

Courtesy: GreenVolts

GreenVolts

San Francisco
Founder: Bob Cart
VC Investment over the last four quarters: $30.1 million

GreenVolts, a 40-employee solar photovoltaic company designed to supply clean energy to utility customers, has raised a total of $45 million in venture capital, including more than $30 million in the last four quarters. Founded in 2005, the company expects to demonstrate the technology on a small scale in order to prove its model before rolling out larger projects that will require more funding.

Key to startup success: "The company's commitment to innovation helps it remain distinct from the crowd, while its emphasis on execution over hype builds credibility and trust with the outside world. These are values appropriate for any company committed to long-term success."

Click here to see more of the most successful U.S. startups of 2008

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