βTorontoβs ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ is known for making its own road. The care marketplace startup, which has a portfolio of sites like Sitter.com and Housekeeper.com, has taken a unique approach to fundraising and growth: predominantly raising $4 million in seed funding from over 70 angel investors, and convincing RBC to supply $1 million in debt financing to gobble up the competitor which inspired its business. Today, ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ announced a strategic investment in Moncton-based Qimple.β
βThe C100 recently announced the names of Canadian startups selected to participate in the next 48 Hours in the Valley, the organizationβs flagship program. On December 7-9 2015, participating companies will engage in 2.5 days of programming, mentorship and networking in Silicon Valley. The 17 selected startups, which join some 200 alumni companies supported by C100 programs over the past five years, are: BONE Structure, ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½, Community Sift, CrowdRiff, Flatbook, Foko, Graphite Software, LoginRadius, MappedIn, PostBeyond, Roadmunk, Sensibill, Sharethebus, Statflo, Storybird, ThinkData Works and Vantage.β
βΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ has acquired CanadianNanny, the country's most popular nanny matching service.β
βΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ has acquired CanadianNanny, the country's most popular nanny matching service.β
βΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ is an online portal that owns a portfolio of other websites dedicated to matching various caregivers, such as babysitters or elder-care providers, with families. The company secured $5.5-million in capital last year from Canadian investors, a signal of just how large and still underserved caregiving needs are in Canada.β
βToday, ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ announced that it has raised $1 million in capital, as well as additional financial services, from RBC, the largest bank in Canada. The debt financing brings ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½βs total funding to $6 million in the last year, after previous closes in March and July last year.β
βWhen ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ founder John Philip Green set out to raise the first outside capital for his network of websites, his goal was $500,000 (U.S.). He ended up raising more than $1.5-million after seeking equity through the popular U.S.-based crowdfunding portal, AngelList.β
βWhen we last checked in with Torontoβs ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½, it was in the midst of closing a $1.5 million seed round from an impressive list of over 50 investors. Today, the startup has announced a second close of its seed round, adding an additional $2.5 million in equity and debt financing to its coffers. ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½βs total financing now stands at $5 million, while the investor crowd has grown from 50 to 70.β
βWhen a group of entrepreneurs of this caliber coalesces around a unique opportunity, itβs usually a good one. Of course, weβve already seen the evidence first hand β and the numbers donβt lie. We are very pleased that John has given us the chance to invest further into his vision, and look forward to watching him lead ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ into another phase of remarkable growth.β
βThis felt different,β said Sharwood, reflecting on the decision to invest. βIt felt like it had a lot of legs. I said βlet me help you put your forecast together,β and it went up from there. It was good, smart people when I looked under the hood.β
βThe Toronto startup has enjoyed double-digit monthly traffic and revenue growth since it launched its portfolio or sites two years ago.β
"Toronto-based ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ has closed its seed round and attracted venture backing from 35 prominent investors in Canada and the US."