βΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ has always been a company unafraid to play in multiple marketplaces at once. Since its inception, launching in five different markets at once, the company has looked for novel approaches to accelerate growth for its suite of home care services. Today, ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ announced another novel move to expand its offering to the wider βcareβ market β this time in the FinTech space.β
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
βΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ has acquired CanadianNanny, the country's most popular nanny matching service.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 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
βJohn Philip Green was fed up. The founder of Torontoβs ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ had raised a significant seed round last year from prominent investors in the U.S. and Canada. But it wasnβt easy.β
"Toronto-based ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ has closed its seed round and attracted venture backing from 35 prominent investors in Canada and the US."