Toronto-headquartered electric toothbrush company Bruush Oral Care has filed to go public on Nasdaq with a $17.25 million initial public offering (IPO).
Initially incorporated in Vancouver in 2017, Bruush is a direct-to-consumer e-commerce business that provides oral care products. Currently, its suite of offerings consists of a sonic-powered electric toothbrush kit and brush head refills.
Bruush was founded by Aneil Manhas, a former investment banker and private equity investor. He was also the CEO of Surface 604, an electric bike company, from 2015 to 2019.
Sold in the United States and Canada, the company claims to have over 28,000 active subscriptions in its program, whereby a customer will receive a toothbrush head refill every six months.
In November, comedian and actor Kevin Hart joined Bruush as a partner and celebrity endorser. The oral care startup’s filing with the Securities and Exchange commission reported that it agreed to pay Hart two installments of $750,000 for a total amount of $1.5 million.
Bruush decided to go public at a time when most companies eyeing the public market have put their IPO plans on hold. Last year saw record-breaking activity in the Canadian tech sector, with 16 companies debuting on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) with more than $50 million.
Nearing the end of last year, those companies, like edtech firm D2L and Q4 Inc., reduced the size of their IPOs after seeing lower than expected demand from investors.
With war and geopolitical tensions in Europe, a hike in inflation rates, coupled with changes in consumer activity as COVID-19 pandemic restrictions subside, a growing number of tech providers are taking the hit – both in public and private markets.
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Multiple organizations across the global tech sector have imposed layoffs, impacting around 16,000 employees in June.
Some Canadian companies that made staff reductions in recent weeks include Wealthsimple, BBTV, Clutch, WonderFi, Thinkific, Bonsai, Legible, and Proposify.
Bruush’s Nasdaq filing, which included its most recent financial statements, shows that the company is currently operating with a negative cashflow. As of October 2021, Bruush has an accumulated deficit totalling $17.6 million.
According to Bruush’s independent auditor, the company will need to raise additional capital during the next twelve months and beyond to support current operations and planned development.
“While the Company has been successful in securing financing in the past, there is no assurance that financing will be available in the future on terms acceptable to the Company,” the filing reads.
Bruush previously raised $6.5 million in Series A funding in 2020, which was slotted for strategic marketing initiatives, increasing brand awareness, and growing Brüush’s subscriber base.
Last year, Bruush acquired The Dollar Brush for an undisclosed amount. In that same year, Crunchbase data shows that Bruush raised $1 million from GenCap Management.
Featured image from Bruush.