NEXT INVESTOR DINNER
We will be hosting our next investor dinner on Thursday, September 12th. Would you like to bring a guest as a potential member? Please contact Terry Kadwell.
We are looking to expand our group in 2019!
ONGOING DEAL UPDATES
Weever Apps Nabs $1.6M from FedDev, MaRS IAF, GreenSky
NAN investee company Weever Apps, a Hamilton based workforce apps developer has raised over $1.6 million in financing. Weever Apps will use the funding to commercialize Process Manager, a new solution designed for food and drug manufacturers and reach new markets. Click here to read full article
NAN Set to Close Another 4 Deals
The Niagara Angel Network is currently closing 4 deals over July:BoomersPlus, CoHealth, ColdBlock Technologies, and Luisella Foods. As a refresher, please click on the company name above to download the executive summaries for each company.
If you would like more information on these deals, please reach out to the following members for their take on these investment opportunities.
BoomersPlus
Tim McAvoy tmcavoy@mcavoy.com
CoHealth
Peter Brown peter@copperbeechco.com or John Yardleyjohn@metricsatwork.com
ColdBlock Technologies
Terry Kadwell tkadwell@niagaraangels.com
Luisella Foods
Lorna Kane sales@kanesvending.com
Funding Flows to Factory Bucket
At the last meeting, we reported on Factory Bucket, a London based company which offers a cloud-based web app for the manufacturing industry. Adding to the funds already closed with the Niagara Angel Network, Factory Bucket raised an additional $205,000 from other Angel groups, $500,000 from private investors, and $125,000 from the Ontario Centres of Excellence to support commercialization. Congratulations to David Uram, CEO and the entire Factory Bucket team.
Chickapea Now in 3,500 to 4,000 stores across North America
NAN investee company, Chick-a-Pea Pasta was recently featured in the June 9 Globe and Mail article “Ontario entrepreneur’s gluten free pasta takes off with consumers.” Shelby Taylor, founder and CEO recalled her journey in launching the company and securing the necessary Angel funds pre-product. Following investment from NAN and other Angel groups, Dragon’s Den personality and businesswoman Arlene Dickinson and District Ventures Capital helped to shore up the company’s expansion costs. Click here for the full article
Sean Simpson
Sean Simpson is a compounding Pharmacist and owner of Simpson’s Pharmacy and Simpson’s Apothecary. Sean graduated from the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto in 2006 and also has an honours degree in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Western University. In 2015, he completed a Fellowship in Nutritional and Metabolic Medicine with the Metabolic Medicine Institute affiliated with the University of South Florida school of medicine.
He is the past chair of the board of the Ontario Pharmacists Association, and past Campaign Chair of St. Catharines United Way.
Andrews Moses
As Founder and CEO at CloudChoice Andrews brings over a decade of experience with CRM solutions and supporting clients in solving business problems through customized SaaS solutions. Andrews played a key role as part of the “A” team at Freshworks (Formerly Freshdesk), a unicorn startup, with investors like Accel Partners, Google Capital, Tiger Global and Sequoia. Andrews is heavily involved with the Niagara community and Brock University to foster Entrepreneurship in the Niagara Region.
Dave & Barb Peters
Absolute Change Management (ACM) is a boutique consulting firm owned and operated by Dave and Barb Peters here in Niagara. They work with clients in a variety of industries across Canada and internationally who rely on them as a trusted resource in their pursuit of organizational improvement. Their team of professionals includes experts in the fields of process improvement, employee engagement and change management.
Dianne Kane
Along with her late husband Ron Kane, Dianne helped grow Kanes Distributing into a leading vending and distribution company in North America. Operating since 1952, Kanes was a distributor of new and remanufactured vending machines, representing many major US manufacturers. The company also has an IT division which manufactures WEB based, cashless vending machine inventory control systems and Satellite monitoring systems for explosives magazines.
Ford Government Cuts all Provincial Funding to Angel Investors Ontario and its 13 Other Angel Groups
As previously reported, Angel Investors Ontario is looking to work with the Province to create a similar version of the cancelled program. Premier Doug Ford has agreed to meet with the 13 Ontario Angel Groups. More details will be announced following the July 27 Manager and Chair’s teleconference. In the meantime, Niagara Angels will work to increase the number of sponsors and new members to offset the loss of government funding.
“[NAN] alone has invested $13.4 million in start-ups, so when you combine the investments from all the Ontario groups, I think it’s safe to say the province is getting excellent value for their money.” Terry Kadwell, Canadian Start-Up News, June 7, 2019 Click here to read more