The rise of Shopify, based in Ottawa, Ontario, has boosted Canada’s tech scene in recent years. But what’s it actually like raising money for an early-stage startup in Canada these days?
Zack Elias and Ross Correia, two Shopify alums, are a case study of the possibilities and challenges that lie before Canadian startups. The two cofounded their startup, Reactiv, last year and were candid about the process of raising money. It was hard, they said—day after day, pitch after pitch. Elias and Correia often felt, especially in Canada, that investors didn’t understand how ambitious they were. But they pushed forward.
"We've been in the ecosystem for ten years, and we had this pure conviction that this was what the market needed," said Correia. "We believed we were the right team to do it. But, yeah, we bet the farm on it!"
Reactiv is an AI-powered platform that helps brands quickly launch and manage mobile apps. And now Elias and Correia's fundraising perseverance has paid off, as Reactiv has raised $5 million in seed funding. The round was led by Bonfire Ventures, with participation from Foxe Capital and Anthemis, Daher Capital, and Alumni Ventures. Though none of those firms are Canada-based, the company does have some Canadian angel investors.
The startup may be Canada-based, but the company is looking to meet retail market trends that are happening everywhere. (And there’s AI in the mix, too.)
Reactiv operates right in the place where a wide swath of consumers are increasingly doing most of their shopping—our phones. According to Pew, around three-quarters of Americans report shopping online with their smartphones, a trend that’s even higher among young demographics and at the average surpassing desktops, laptops, and tablets.
The startup’s AI-powered platform handles everything from setup to ongoing updates. By personalizing customer engagement and streamlining maintenance, Reactiv aims to make mobile apps the go-to for brand interactions over mobile websites. Bonfire Ventures principal Jennifer Richard is bullish on the company’s newly launched Reactiv Clips, calling its ability to give "online sellers the power to send free push notifications to customers who have interacted with an ad, even if they haven’t downloaded the app" a potential game-changer for customer acquisition costs (CAC).
Reactiv’s customers so far include Missouri Star Quilt Company, FragranceBuy, Top of the Mornin’ Coffee, and sneaker retailer Plus Shop.
"I think that the AI platform shift is exciting for VC because it is a reminder that every industry is subject to cyclical improvements based on emerging technologies and evolving customer expectations," said Foxe Capital general partner Ruth Foxe Blader via email. "We're seeing an explosion in commerce opportunities. Some will reach true venture scale. We believe that Reactiv is one of those."
For Elias and Correia, the funding is a validation of where they believe e-commerce is heading—and not just to your phones (in 2023, mobile commerce reached $2.2 trillion), but towards increasingly personalized experiences.
"We're going back to luxury shopping of the past—where you'd walk in, and they would open a bottle of sparkling water for you and ask you what you like," said Correia.
Though these are global trends and the two have found investor-believers internationally, Elias and Correia remain devoted to their Canadian roots.
"We were actually pretty adamant about keeping Reactiv a Canadian business," Elias texted me. "While fundraising, a lot of VCs asked if we’d move to be a Delaware corp. Shopify always said Canadian businesses didn’t need to 'go for bronze' like they typically do. We’re going for gold and keeping it here in Canada."
ICYMI…Simbe Robotics raised a $50 million Series C round led by Goldman Sachs’ growth equity fund, as reported by Fortune’s Jessica Mathews. And if you were really under a rock, Alphabet-owned Waymo closed a $5.6 billion led by, well, Alphabet, which was joined by Andreessen Horowitz and Fidelity among others. I keep asking myself—how often do you see an in-house company raise outside capital? As always, I’d love to hear your takes.
Join us...You're invited to Fortune Global Forum in NYC from Nov. 11-12. Speakers include seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady (we will not be reenacting Netflix's roast of the NFL legend) and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Wynton Marsalis. More information here.
See you tomorrow,
Allie Garfinkle
Twitter: @agarfinks
Email: alexandra.garfinkle@fortune.com
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