The Venture Codex

Led · Seed · Feb 2023

Levr.ai operates an AI-driven loans platform that customizes loan matches using a business's data and provides free built-in resources such as guides and templates. The company was founded by Kaylan Pepin and Roman Hartmann and is based in Vancouver, BC. Levr.ai has onboarded over 2,000 small businesses across Canada and the US. It offers tools to help businesses optimize required documents and access debt capital solutions. The company plans to use recent funding to fuel expansion, particularly into the US market, and to further support small-business growth. Financially, the firm has raised additional seed capital and now has total funding of over $2.5 million. Levr.ai offers an artificial intelligence-driven loan marketplace that matches small businesses with a wide range of funding options, including term loans, receivables financing, merchant cash advances, and venture debt. Its platform aims to accelerate searching for loans, the application process, and ongoing loan management, and includes free built-in resources such as guides and templates. The company works with over 15 lender partners to provide those financing options. Levr.ai is positioning its product to serve all types of small businesses, from brick-and-mortar and mom-and-pop shops to online retailers and software companies. Following its recent funding, the company plans to grow its team and expand its reach to serve United States-based businesses. Levr.ai says its software is intended to help more businesses secure funding amid a forecasted recession in 2023.

Participated · Equity · Jun 2022

Care2Talk is a Victoria-based health‑tech communications company that provides a simple-to-use cloud platform for seniors in care homes to improve access to caregivers and loved ones. Founder and CEO Jordan Schley created the product after observing isolation at his grandfather’s assisted living facility and finding traditional communications solutions too complex. The company has gained early adoption with assisted living facilities across the country and is building partnerships with doctors and medical groups to expand telehealth services. Care2Talk reported rapid usage growth and plans to launch Care2Talk Health, a telehealth platform fully dedicated to senior care. In June 2022 it completed a $1 million fundraise from a group of Canadian investors. Sprout Fund said it will invest and help grow the company, bringing seed-stage capital and mentorship.

Participated · Seed · Aug 2021

Fable produces timeless, ethically made home décor with transparency about each piece, selling dinnerware, glassware, ceramics and accessories direct to consumers. The brand centers sustainability and social purpose, publishing an impact report and partnering with Mealshare to donate a meal for every bundle sold; in 2021 Fable purchases resulted in over 21,000 meals donated. After a successful debut last year the company has seen strong demand — a recent collaboration with California tastemaker Helen Owen (the Cloud White collection) sold out in key styles within days. Fable plans to broaden its glassware collection, expand its ceramics range, and pursue additional collaborations and partnerships. The company is opening a new Vancouver boutique in South Granville that is over six times the size of its existing space and will host curated events and experiences. Fable is also planning international expansion with specific plans for the U.K. and aims to use new funding to accelerate product development, hiring, and growth. Fable is a Canadian direct-to-consumer brand that designs minimal, elegant, sustainably produced tableware, including ceramic dinnerware and flatware. The collection is designed in Vancouver and crafted in Portugal, with planned expansion into glassware and additional categories. The company is currently pending B Corporation certification. Fable intends to use the CAD$3.4m seed proceeds for international expansion and new product development across several key business verticals. Founded in 2019 by CEO Joe Parenteau, the company emphasizes sustainable production and a direct-to-consumer distribution model.

Participated · Series C · Jun 2021

Introhive provides an AI-powered sales and revenue acceleration platform that works collaboratively with any CRM and integrates with marketing automation and business intelligence systems. The platform processes large-scale activity data to capture contacts and relationships and surface revenue insights for enterprises. In 2020 the platform processed more than one trillion transactions, captured over 60 million contacts and relationships, saved nine million employee hours, and supported users across 90 countries. Customers include PwC, Colliers International, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Plante Moran, and Clark Nexsen across industries such as technology, financial services, recruitment, and professional services. The company has more than 300 employees and 10 global office locations supporting customers in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Middle East, and Asia. Introhive intends to use new funding for strategic acquisitions, global expansion, and growth of its engineering, sales, and marketing teams. Introhive provides a SaaS platform that analyzes a company’s employee communications in a private, secure fashion and surfaces social connections to create an enterprise-wide view of relationships with customers and prospects. The product is positioned to help sales and marketing avoid cold calls by leveraging existing relationships and to improve hiring, prospecting, territory assignment, renewals and lead scoring. The company reports strong traction and says customers are seeing “clear ROI”; it has landed several enterprise customers and launched in the Salesforce AppExchange. Introhive has been active in industry competitions, named a CRM Idol semi-finalist and shortlisted for PwC’s Vision to Reality awards. Management includes former BlackBerry and Radian6 executives, and the business plans to use new investment to accelerate growth and expand sales and marketing activities. Founded in 2012 and led by Founder and CEO Jody Glidden, Introhive offers a relationship capital platform that analyzes the connections and relationships of employees to uncover who’s connected to customers and prospects. The platform is used to surface warm introductions to support sales efforts. The company plans to use new financing to accelerate sales team growth, pursue new product development and expand marketing activities. Introhive has previously completed a $1.8M Series A and earlier seed financings. Current fundraising activity adds to that prior capital base and is intended to support commercial and product expansion.