I learned growing up with a pet beagle that some dogs are easier to care for than others. My beloved Cody was not very social, required lots of exercise, and regularly defied forces of nature to steal snacks. For dogs of all shapes, sizes, breeds, and proclivities and their owners, DogVacay is here to help.

DogVacay is a marketplace where pet owners can find qualified local caregivers. The company has raised $6 million to expand its vibrant community and roster of services nationwide. 

DogVacay eliminates the need to put pets in kennels by supplying individuals that can watch the dogs instead. Experienced and qualified hosts create profiles with information about their home and pet owners can browse, book and pay online. The rates are cheaper than that of the typical kennel, and pets benefit from staying in a comfortable environment.

There is significant interest on both ends of the platform, both for owners who need help caring for their pet, and for suppliers who can feed their bank account (and their soul) by indulging their passion for dogs. Along with supervision, DogVacay offers complimentary insurance, 24/7 emergency veterinary care, customer service, and daily photo and video updates.

The business was founded by husband and wife duo Aaron and Karine Hirschorn after seeking kennel alternatives for their own dogs, Rocky and Rambo. Before starting DogVacay, they watched over 100 dogs in their home and saw there was high demand for this type of service. The company has since acquired thousands of hosts and users across the country, paid over $1 million to pet-sitters, and logged 50,000 doggie nights.

This first institutional round of financing came from Benchmark Capital and will be put towards expansing the community and roster of services nationwide. Other investors include First Round Capital, Science, Quest Venture Partners, Baroda Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and angels.

DogVacay is based in Santa Monica, CA and has 20 employees. The other dog on the block is Rover.com, which also helps owners find dog sitters.

Avantium’s YXY technology enables the cost effective production of a 100 percent plant-based, recyclable plastic called PEF. PEF aims to the replace the petroleum-based PET used in synthetic fibers and plastic bottles. Avantium will use the funds for the construction and operation of its pilot plant in the Netherlands and further R&D. The pilot plant is scheduled to become operational in the second half of 2011.

PET is traditionally manufactured from two chemicals derived from petroleum: 30 percent ethylene glycol and 70 percent terephthalic acid (TPA). While ethylene glycol can be easily produced from bio-based materials, it’s currently very expensive to create TPA from bio-based feedstock. Avantium has found a replacement for TPA called Furan Dicarboxylic Acid (FDCA) which can be produced more cheaply from biobased sugars. Putting Ethylene glycol and FDCA together results in PEF.

Apart from the usage of FDCA, the PEF production process is very comparable to the PET process. The main feedstock is high fructose corn syrup, which is freely available and most often produced in Brazil, America and Asia.

Avantium claims that PEF is actually superior to PET, in that it is 2-6 times more impermeable to oxygen, carbon-dioxide and water and withstands heat better. Bottles produced with PEF look exactly the same as PET bottles. Customers are large chemical companies that already produce chemical building blocks or large brand owners who want to switch to bio-based, recyclable materials. In both cases, customers license the technology from Avantium.

While PEF could address a huge market, it is not alone. Avantium competes with companies such as Gevo, Virent, Draths and Anellotech, which develop production routes for bio-PTA. Coca-Cola introduced a 30 percent plant-based PET PlantBottle™ (which uses biobased ethylene glycol) in 2009, although it is still not available in many markets. PepsiCo announced a 100 percent plant-based PET bottle earlier this year. Avantium is developing PEF bottles for beverages, food, cosmetic products and detergents as well as PEF fibers for textiles and carpets.

One interesting aspect of the deal is the involvement of Aster Capital, which is funded by Alstom (a massive European power grid operator), Schneider Electric (one of the 4 horsemen of the smartgrid) and chemical manufacturer Rhodia. Do Alstrom and Schneider see applications for Avantium’s technology beyond packaging and textiles?

Avantium is based in Amsterdam, was founded in 2000, has 200 employees and raised previous funding of $18 million.