The SaaS Weekly is a weekly newsletter covering the major SaaS news from Canada and around the globe.
Subscribe to S|W using the form at the bottom of this page to ensure you don’t miss out on the most important SaaS news every week!
Rakuten Kobo acquires ebook startup Shelfie(BETAKIT)
“We’re proud of what we’ve built, and in Kobo, have found the perfect platform to expand on what Shelfie has to offer, on a global scale,” said Shelfie CEO Peter Hudson.
Drchrono raises $12 million in Series A to take on older EHR platforms like athenahealth(TECHCRUNCH)
Early-stage venture firm Runa Capital led the round, along with funding from Maxfield Capital, Quicken’s CEO Eric Dunn and FundersClub. Drchrono has plans to take its software and mobile applications to larger hospitals and medical clinics.
With $6.7 million seed round, Platterz wants to dominate corporate catering space with automation focus(BETAKIT)
The company’s funding round includes investors AltaIR Capital, Globalive Capital, Kevin Kimsa, Dennis Bennie, Ran Makavy, and Oren Zeev.
Canadian SaaS startups, you don’t need U.S. funding(VENTUREBEAT)
The money is here, and Canadian investors are ready to meet you.
dapulse raises $25 million to continue rapid growth of workplace management tool(YAHOO)
dapulse, which offers a SaaS tool that improves team management and communication, raised the round from Insight Venture Partners, with participation from existing investors Genesis and Entree Capital.
Whatfix raises $3.5M in Series A funding(FINSMES)
The company, which helps enterprises accelerate product adoption and user performance, raised the funds from Stellaris Venture Partners, with participation from existing investors.
You’re pricing your SaaS product all wrong(VENTUREBEAT)
A survey by OpenView Venture Parters found that most companies procrastinate on pricing and make decisions without the right data or the proper grasp of customer value. The result is a systematic failure to fully monetize SaaS products.
Street Contxt raises fresh round with Portag3, brings total funding to $15M USD(BETAKIT)
The round was led by existing investor Joe Lonsdale of 8VC and Point72 Ventures, the early-stage venture capital strategy of Point72 Asset Management. The round also included New York-based Palm Drive Capital and Portag3 Ventures.
The SaaS addiction to deferred revenue(FORBES)
Management teams frequently fail to recognize that their addiction to deferred revenue greatly increases their business risk and may cause their business to be far more fragile than they ever envisioned.
Zilliant raises $30M in financing(FINSMES)
The AI-driven SaaS platform for maximizing B2B customer relationships raised the round from Goldman Sachs.
Shopify launches stock photo website Burst(BETAKIT)
Burst, a stock photo website that offers images completely royalty-free, is the latest in Shopify’s series of add-on features which are meant to make it easier for anyone to start their business.
How SaaS startup Sales Neuron is looking to automate the potential $83 Bn Indian jewellery industry(INC42)
Sales Neuron wants to create an enterprise solutions platform for the gems and jewellery industry – offering inventory and sales management including an RFID scanner to reduce stock-taking time.
Business database Crunchbase raises $18 million and launches new enterprise product(VENTUREBEAT)
This round was led by VC firm Mayfield.
Hubba brings on Danielle Brown as CMO(BETAKIT)
Brown will oversee an integrated marketing and communication strategy, with a heavy data focus, to grow the Hubba brand.
Customer operations – An idea for maximizing efficient growth in SaaS companies(TOMTUNGUZ)
There’s one simple rationale for unifying sales operations teams: “to optimize the customer journey,” says Tomasz Tunguz, a venture capitalist at Redpoint.
Casalova receives $2.5 million investment from Aviva Ventures(BETAKIT)
This investment is a first in the Canadian market for Aviva Ventures outside of the UK.
ERP solutions provider Icertis raises $25 Mn Series C funding(INC42)
Icertis, which provides cloud-based SaaS solutions for managing enterprise-wide contracts, raised the funds from B Capital Group, with participation from existing investors Ignition Partners and Greycroft in partnership with e.ventures and Eight Roads Ventures.
Sharethebus rebrands to Bus.com, raises $6.5 million Series A(BETAKIT)
The round is led by Jackson Square Ventures, with participation from BMW i Ventures, Real Ventures, Y Combinator, and others.
