The Launch36 Demo Day on Thursday night celebrated more than just pitches by seven of the 20 companies that passed through the Atlantic Canadian accelerator this autumn.
It celebrated the fact that PropelICT, which operates the accelerator, vastly out-performed the lofty goal it set for itself three years ago. And it laid out ambitious plans for the coming few years.
In the fall of 2011, the technology development organization that had developed in New Brunswick set out to launch 36 new companies across Atlantic Canada in 36 months. At the celebration at the Delta Fredericton last night, the Propel execs joyfully proclaimed they had actually launched 49 companies from all four provinces in just 33 months.
“We did not hit our target – we fucking crushed it,” the proud but pottie-mouthed Executive Director Trevor MacAusland told the enthusiastic crowd.
The highlight of the evening was the pitches by seven graduating companies, who together are seeking $4.3 million in equity financing. But they were almost overshadowed by the sense that the organization has over-achieved and will keep on growing.
The big announcement was that Propel has hired a new CEO, St. John’s based entrepreneur Gary Dinn. MacAusland will become the Vice-President of Business Development and focus on what he enjoys most – coaching young companies.
Dinn outlined the growth plans for the organization, which hopes to be offering programs across Atlantic Canada by 2018. By 2019, it hopes to have 20 companies going through the elite Launch36 Build program (there were five in the current cohort). Propel plans to hire two professional entrepreneurs-in-residence and a Vice-President of Program Development.
“Propel can best be described as a knowledge-based, or virtual organization – we’re always going to be decentralized,” said Dinn, who will continue to work from St. John’s. “To set the goals we have set, we need support from all the organizations in our ecosystem across Atlantic Canada.”
Propel Co-Founder Gerry Pond said the organization’s goal is to build a few companies valued at $1 billion or more, and predicted the first one would reach the goal in 2019.
MacAusland noted that the pitching session featured the first Launch36 company from Newfoundland and Labrador, Sentinel Alert, and its first international company, Bungalo, which is based in Halifax and Iceland.
The seven companies pitching were:
Bungalo – Launched in Iceland, the company is now a tenant at Volta. It offers an online reservation system for cottages, and has been expanding rapidly in Nova Scotia. It has leased $2.3 million in cottages and never raised capital. It is now looking for $1 million.
Fundmetric, Halifax – Another Volta tenant, Fundmetric offers a software-as-a-service, or SaaS, product that helps charities organize fund-raising campaigns. The company has just signed its first contract with a client and is in talks with three others. It’s seeking $550,000.
Pacta, Halifax – This five-month-old company is developing a SaaS product helps manufacturers manage their contracts, saving them time and money. Pacta has two early adopters lined up for its product and is looking for $250,000 financing.
Sentinel Alert – The company is developing wearable technology that can tell companies or organizations if a remote worker has had an accident. It is now in talks with four major Canadian oil and gas companies and is looking for $450,000 in funding.
Simptek, Fredericton – Simptek is developing algorithms to work with any home-automation system help homeowners improve the energy efficiency of their homes. It is looking for $500,000 in funding.
Smartpods, Dieppe – Smartpods is developing workstations whose working surface moves up, down, left and right to help workers avoid being too sedentary during their work day. Its latest funding round has an $800,000 target and is 70 percent committed.
Swapskis, Halifax – Swapskis lets women to barter their skills with one another, so they can build up resumés and networks and eventually charge real cash for their services. Having launched 14 days ago in Halifax, the service has attracted 1,100 users who have so far swapped $12,000 in services. The company is setting its site on launches in Toronto and New York in the new year and a $750,000 funding round.
Entrevestor receives financial support from government agencies that support start-up companies in Atlantic Canada. The sponsoring agencies play no role in determining which companies are featured in this column nor do they have the right to review columns before they are published.
