L-SPARK Selects Nine B2B Saas Startups To Join Second Incubator Session

OTTAWA, ON – Nine B2B SaaS and cloud software startups have been chosen to join L-SPARK’s second Incubator program that begins this month. Following an application process that attracted over 175 startups, 14 companies were selected to participate in a Pitchfest held at the end of January. A selection committee including representatives from HIGHLINE VC, BDC Capital, IBM, MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, Mistral Venture Partners, Microsoft Canada, Real Ventures, Wesley Clover International and Whitecap Venture Partners chose the winning applicants. Having anticipated selecting up to eight companies, the oversubscribed program will draw companies from Montreal, Waterloo, Toronto and Ottawa.

“The L-SPARK team found some of the most promising startups from across Canada to join their next cohort. The quality of the businesses was of the highest levels. The L-SPARK mentors knew the right questions to ask and the program is setting these companies up to grow,” Alexandre Shee, Real Ventures.

The selection comes on the heels of Mydoma Studio’s announcement of their $275,000 seed round, an L-SPARK Incubator Alumni. L-SPARK will facilitate similar opportunities for the new cohort of companies to pitch their businesses to angel investors and VCs over the four month program, with the purpose of incubating the companies to a seed investment.

“Having participated on the selection committee for the second Incubator cohort I am looking forward to observing as these high potential companies grow their revenues and become investment ready with L-SPARK’s support and mentorship,” Marcus Daniels, HIGHLINE VC.

The nine selected companies will move into L-SPARK’s office space for four months starting immediately, and will have access to a range of key resources including dedicated guidance from high-profile mentors, who have scaled their own B2B SaaS companies. The companies will also meet one-on-one with L-SPARK’s champion partners, including Google, Microsoft BizSpark Plus, Citrix, OpenText, Mitel and IBM to identify customer or partnership opportunities.

“The team at L-SPARK brought forth an exceptional collection of startups that showcased the quality of entrepreneurs in Ottawa and across Canada. “– Marc Gagne, Technical Evangelist, Microsoft Canada.

“Microsoft is dedicated to helping Canadian startups accelerate their businesses and we look forward to engaging with these inspiring entrepreneurs,” said Mary-Ellen Anderson, Vice President of Developer Experience & Evangelism at Microsoft Canada. “By providing access to software, services, tech support and Azure cloud services, Microsoft is empowering startups to achieve more.”

Applications to the third Accelerator session will open in the spring of 2016. More info via the L-SPARK website https://www.l-spark.com/programs/accelerator/

2016 L-SPARK Incubator Cohort:

  • Amplify by Pixelera is a breakthrough online platform designed specifically for member-based organizations to help you grow membership, automate common data-driven tasks and strengthen member engagement.
  • BidFoundryis a specialized online retail and auction platform that connects qualified buyers of investible collectibles with trusted dealers and auction firms through targeted marketplaces.
  • Buildmetric is a deficiency management platform used by home builders to minimize the financial risks associated with construction related defects.
  • EssayJack is an interactive web-based application that pre-structures essays for students, reduces writing anxiety, and allows for educator customization and feedback.
  • Fitchek is a fully automated transactional marketplace and management platform that seamlessly connects local health & fitness service providers with more customers.
  • Friendefi provides a configurable audience engagement platform that enables companies to better understand, recognize, and motivate customers, employees, or channel partners using a combination of gamification, social referral, and digital rewards to drive target behaviors.
  • Intelocate optimizes retail supply chain management execution and collaboration to deliver increased profitability and a remarkable store experience. Intelocate replaces legacy communication channels, reducing employee effort while increasing operational capability.
  • Optimity is an employee wellness and engagement platform that achieves the industry’s highest participation rate using mobile apps, wearables and an online portal to cultivate powerful habits.
  • TitanFile is the easiest and most comprehensive way for professionals to communicate and share files with each other and their clients in total security.

About L-SPARK

L-SPARK is the only Canadian Incubator and Accelerator that focuses exclusively on Enterprise SaaS and cloud start-ups. With established relationships with key venture capital firms, angel investors, and the investment community at large, the goal is to support a deal flow of fundable Enterprise SaaS startup companies in Canada. Visit us at www.l-spark.com, connect with us on linkedin.com/l-spark or follow us on Twitter @LSPARKGlobal.

If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Jamie Keeley at 613-791-2761 or email jamie@l-spark.com.