Round13 Capital, a Toronto-based venture capital firm led by Lavalife co-founder Bruce Croxon and seasoned technology investor John Eckert, has closed a CAD95 million fund to invest in growth stage Canadian companies.
Round13 has made three investments since the fund closed, primarily in early-stage B2B software companies including Statflo, Hubdoc, and TouchBistro. The team’s investments will be looking to fill the gap for startups in Canada needing up to CAD5 million in capital to drive sales and marketing.
“We launched Round13 because there aren’t enough venture firms led by seasoned entrepreneurs who have been in the trenches and successfully built a company from the ground up,” says Bruce Croxon. “We’re looking to invest in entrepreneurs who have found product-market fit, but who now need mentorship and hands-on involvement to accelerate growth.”
In addition to Croxon, who was previously the co-founder of Lavalife and a former Dragons’ Den investor, and Eckert, who has been a technology VC for 25 years, Round13’s partners include GrowthWorks investor Scott Pelton, and entrepreneur Craig Strong. The majority of the fund was raised from high-net-worth investors and family offices, as well as pension fund LiUNA and National Bank.
Round13’s differentiator is a focus on being a founder-driven fund, going beyond investment to offer assistance with strategy, operations, and marketing. Not only do the fund’s four general partners have extensive experience starting and scaling companies, but the firm has a unique Founder’s Board, which is a team of 20 seasoned entrepreneurs who have started, grown, and exited world-class companies in Canada. Each member of the Founder’s Board has invested and committed to serve as advisors to the portfolio companies. The board includes Axonify founder Carol Leaman, Shopify co-founder Scott Lake, and Clearnet Communications founder Bob Simmonds.
“As a fast-growing company, we needed value beyond just money to make sure we made the right decisions. We chose Round13 to lead our seed funding round because we needed smart money, and a true partner,” says Kevin Gervais, co-founder, Statflo. “Bruce and the team are business operators themselves, and they rolled up their sleeves to provide intros, mentorship and candid feedback that has helped us double our revenue in the last seven months.”
