On July 15 BDC Venture Capital announced that they would be providing $1.5 million in funding for 10 Canadian startups that have recently completed accelerator programs. The Canadian VC is well known for its support of the Canadian startup scene with its $150,000 convertible notes for entrepreneurs and their companies. The latest news release marks a major milestone for the program which has now invested in a total of 49 different startups since it got started in 2011. BDC Venture Capital has doled out a total of $7.35 million so far to many firms including ones that have graduated from popular Canadian accelerators like FounderFuel, GrowLab, Extreme Startups, Execution Labs and HyperDrive.
Senia Rapisarda, vice president at BDC, said that, “Making first-time investments in such promising startups is part of our strategy to build a healthy Canadian ecosystem. We’ll also be looking at connecting these entrepreneurs with angel and venture capital as well as providing them with other forms of non-financial support.” Rapisarda went on to add that the BDC will “continue to explore additional ways we can support Canadian graduates of top accelerators.”
The BDC news release highlighted several firms including two startups that came from a New Brunswick-based accelerator called Launch36 that focuses on Atlantic Canadian startups. The first firm, Analyze Re, offers pricing and risk management software for reinsurers that it has developed using its deep understanding of the sector. The second startup, RUManalytics, helps ecommerce sites jump start their sales while also increasing conversions. The firms founder, Steve Mallett, is a veteran of the internet world and previously developed OSdir.com, an online directory for open-source and “just working” programs way back in 1999. TechVibes states that “his new startup will use the funding on the iteration phase of its minimal viable product, while driving towards product-market fit.”
Mallet also spoke about why his firm made the BDC Venture Capital cut by saying that, “I think we’re in a really hot space where Google, Amazon and Walmart are really talking about how web performance drives sales conversions, so we’re riding that wave,” said Mallett. “Plus I’ve got some grey hair.”
The remaining companies in the 10 startups include BeanEvo, ViewsIQ, Groupnotes, Dandy and Cream.hr, BRIKA, Instaradio and Koge Vitamins.
Koge’s Alex Hyssen spoke to TechVibes about the BDC and said it was an “incredible and supportive organization.” He also added that, “We graduated from Extreme but we’re still closing our round, so it gives us runway or opportunity to stay afloat. You really need it for the time being because summertime is slower. So upon graduation it was a nice thing to have.” Koge will use the new found cash to increase its number of subscriber.
BDC Venture Capital also got a thumbs up from Matt Scobel of Dandy who said that his firm will use the funds to increase their cimmunity size and also create a development team to launch their first app. Speaking of the BDC program he said, “I think it’s a great opportunity for young, high potential startups to be given access to the resources to execute on their business models and grow their companies.”
Source: TechVibes
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