Led · Equity · Dec 2025

Gander Social operates a social media platform designed to prioritize user safety, data privacy, and overall community well-being. The service, partially named after the town of Gander in Newfoundland & Labrador, attracted more than 34,000 organic sign-ups prior to opening its investment round. Led by CEO Ben Waldman, the company has enlisted high-profile advisors including Arlene Dickinson, Amber Mac, Taylor Owen, and Blaine Cook. The team positions the product as a markedly more ethical option compared with traditional social media giants. To date, the firm has secured $1.5 million through an equity crowdfunding campaign on FrontFundr and has kept the round open through the end of January in pursuit of a $2.5 million maximum offering. More than 2,000 Canadians have already invested in the campaign, underscoring early community enthusiasm. No revenue figures were disclosed in the article, but the initial user uptake and investor response illustrate solid early traction.

Led · Equity · May 2022

Hardbacon is a Montreal fintech that aggregates tools to help Canadians plan, budget, invest, and compare financial services such as credit cards, bank accounts, online brokers, robo-advisors, mortgages and crypto exchanges. The app has more than 38,000 users and Hardbacon.ca records 232,000 monthly unique visitors with 17% month-over-month user growth. The company has agreements with over 200 financial products and serves 56 active clients, including 20 Canadian financial institutions. Since 2021 it has acquired three sites (simplerate.ca, grattecenne.com, and FindmyTotal.com) to expand reach. Hardbacon aims to be the go-to tool for everyday financial decisions and to help users save on insurance, maximize credit-card cash-back, find better plans, and reduce debt. The company has raised more than $2.35 million in total financing to date and is currently pursuing additional capital via equity crowdfunding. Hardbacon markets a mobile personal-finance app that connects to users' accounts to help them plan, budget and invest. The product includes comparison tools for credit cards, bank accounts, online brokers and robo-advisors, and the company also markets its technology to financial institutions. Proceeds from the latest financing will be used to accelerate growth and consolidate the lead generation market in financial services. The company plans to continue improving its comparison tools and to develop a web version of its mobile application. The financing will support creation of marketing and software development positions and finance efforts to go public. Prior to this round the company had secured $1.1 million in funding. Hardbacon offers an iOS app that helps self-directed investors with portfolio analysis, asset management and financial education through courses, magazines and an encyclopedia. The company’s development team focuses on portfolio analytics and financial-planning technologies while partnering with Bulldozer to share mobile development. Hardbacon plans to release an Android version next September and to build a financial-planning module using AI. The company said it will use funding to develop a new app version and to market the app in the United States. Hardbacon previously launched its iOS app in February and in March 2017 raised $50,000 via crowdfunding and BMO SmartFolio.

Led · Equity · Dec 2017

RED Mountain operates as an independent ski resort offering downhill and resort experiences from its base in Rossland, British Columbia. In 2016–2017 the company launched a crowdfunding initiative called “Fight The Man. Own The Mountain,” offering Class D Units to retail investors with minimum investments starting at $1,000. The campaign positions RED as a community-owned alternative to corporate consolidation in North American skiing and emphasizes accessibility and authenticity. The resort reported pledges of over $13 million during the campaign period, and has converted enough subscriptions to exceed its $1.5 million minimum offering. Having accepted the first round of subscriptions, RED says initial funds can be accessed to improve the guest experience and that investor perks will be available as early as the ski season. The company plans to continue accepting subscriptions and expects to raise additional equity after this initial close. RED Mountain operates as a full-service ski resort offering 2,877 acres of terrain and recently opened nearly 1,000 acres on Grey Mountain. The resort markets itself as Western Canada’s oldest ski resort and emphasizes community and independent ownership. RED reported a record winter in 2015–16 with deep snowfall and very strong sales. It launched a crowdfunding initiative, “Fight The Man. Own The Mountain.,” to broaden ownership and finance future sustainability. The campaign gained rapid traction on StartEngine, signaling strong consumer interest and engagement. Operational metrics highlighted in the campaign include 7.6 meters of annual snowfall and in-bounds cat-skiing as part of the guest experience. The resort has significant earned media and social reach, including nearly 200,000 video views for the campaign.