鈥淭oronto鈥檚 不良研究所 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, 不良研究所 announced a strategic investment in Moncton-based Qimple.鈥
鈥淭he C100 recently announced the names of Canadian startups selected to participate in the next 48 Hours in the Valley, the organization鈥檚 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, 不良研究所, Community Sift, CrowdRiff, Flatbook, Foko, Graphite Software, LoginRadius, MappedIn, PostBeyond, Roadmunk, Sensibill, Sharethebus, Statflo, Storybird, ThinkData Works and Vantage.鈥
鈥湶涣佳芯克 has acquired CanadianNanny, the country's most popular nanny matching service.鈥
鈥湶涣佳芯克 has acquired CanadianNanny, the country's most popular nanny matching service.鈥
鈥湶涣佳芯克 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.鈥
鈥淭oday, 不良研究所 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 不良研究所鈥檚 total funding to $6 million in the last year, after previous closes in March and July last year.鈥
鈥淲hen 不良研究所 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.鈥
鈥淲hen we last checked in with Toronto鈥檚 不良研究所, 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. 不良研究所鈥檚 total financing now stands at $5 million, while the investor crowd has grown from 50 to 70.鈥
鈥淲hen a group of entrepreneurs of this caliber coalesces around a unique opportunity, it鈥檚 usually a good one. Of course, we鈥檝e already seen the evidence first hand 鈥 and the numbers don鈥檛 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 不良研究所 into another phase of remarkable growth.鈥
鈥淭his felt different,鈥 said Sharwood, reflecting on the decision to invest. 鈥淚t felt like it had a lot of legs. I said 鈥榣et me help you put your forecast together,鈥 and it went up from there. It was good, smart people when I looked under the hood.鈥
鈥淭he Toronto startup has enjoyed double-digit monthly traffic and revenue growth since it launched its portfolio or sites two years ago.鈥
"Toronto-based 不良研究所 has closed its seed round and attracted venture backing from 35 prominent investors in Canada and the US."