Wagepoint, which has developed a SaaS payroll product, has issued the following press release. The company is a former Volta member, and still has a development team in Nova Scotia.
Wagepoint Announces $2 Million in Seed Funding to Expand US Small Business Market Presence and Product Lines
Led by Extreme Venture Partners, with Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agencies (ACOA), and Canadian and US angel investors
Waterloo ON and New York, NY, December 09, 2014 – Wagepoint, an HR tech company specializing in online payroll, today announced $2 million USD in seed funding led by venture capital firm Extreme Venture Partners, with Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agencies (ACOA) as well as Canadian and US angel investors. Wagepoint will use the funding to accelerate its penetration into the US market, and enhance its product portfolio to make the online payroll experience even better.
According to US Census Bureau, in 2011 there were 5.6 million employer firms, and 99.7 percent of those firms were operating with fewer than 500 employees. There are an additional 1.1 million small businesses operating in Canada. Since launching in 2013, Wagepoint has been on a mission to help make payroll simple, fast and friendly for small business owners, specifically targeting companies with less than 100 employees.
“Very simply, we’re redefining payroll for small business, making it as easy for a small business owner to use as Facebook,” said Shrad Rao, CEO of Wagepoint. “Over the last eighteen months, we have built an amazing product that dramatically simplifies life for small business owners, with a customer base of nearly 700 companies that we love and who love us back. One of our core beliefs as a company is to surround ourselves with individuals who can help us achieve our business goals and who we genuinely like to be around. This group of investors was carefully handpicked as they meet these criteria perfectly. We are excited about 2015, as we roll out further products to automate workflows surrounding payroll and compensation as a whole.”
Wagepoint’s online payroll solution helps small business owners automate and simplify processing payroll with direct deposit; payroll calculations; federal, state and local taxes; 1099s, W2s and W3s; wage detail reports; new hire reporting; additional deductions; payments to contractors; additional incomes and online paystubs. The company today operates throughout Canada and all fifty US states and territories, serving nearly 700 customers in a wide range of industries from technology startups, to retailers, to consultants and service providers.
“The Human Capital Management (HCM) tech startup market has been an exciting space over the last couple of years, as employers seek to simplify and streamline aspects of workforce management,” said Sunil Sharma, Managing Partner, Extreme Venture Partners. “Within this HCM space, Wagepoint has carved out its niche, creating a simple, intuitive payroll solution that small business owners and HR managers actually want to use. This kind of disruptive thinking, aimed at a small business market that has literally millions of potential customers, presents huge potential for success. We look forward to helping the Wagepoint team realize their vision for small business payroll simplicity.”
“As a fellow technology entrepreneur, I was immediately attracted to Wagepoint’s vision to simplify and streamline small business payroll. Plus the team is so fun and friendly,” said Jerry Kestenbaum, founder of BuildingLink and a US Wagepoint angel investor. “The US small business market represents a huge market opportunity, and I truly believe Wagepoint and its products can transform the way small business works.”
About Wagepoint
Wagepoint is a simple, fast and friendly online payroll software for small businesses across North America. Payroll is mission critical to small and mid-sized businesses, and Wagepoint gets the job done quickly, easily and without the drama. Trusted by hundreds of businesses across North America, Wagepoint can handle direct deposits, government reporting and all year-end reporting for either salaried or hourly employees and contractors. For more information and a free 30-day trial, visit http://www.wagepoint.com
About Extreme Venture Partners
Extreme Venture Partners (EVP) is one of Canada’s most successful venture capital funds over the past decade. With its focus on mobile, EVP (launched in 2007) achieved superior investment returns while helping to launch and help grow more than 20 companies which ultimately lead to over 1000 well-paying technology jobs in Canada. Now having launched its second fund, EVP has broadened its focus to include many of the exciting software and hardware companies in the vibrant Toronto-Waterloo technology corridor. http://www.evp.vc