Bridgit, a startup developing software for the construction industry, has officially opened its first satellite office in Toronto. The Kitchen-Waterloo-based startup feels the move will help establish it as a major player in Toronto’s tech community.
“It was the easy choice given that a lot of our investors are there, our customers are there, and it’s a really strong talent pool.”
The new office is located in the city’s King East Design District, near King East and Parliament, and is intended to give team members a space to conduct business when their schedules require them to be in the city. The move is part of an effort to reduce travel time and improving employee work-life balance, while also ensuring Bridgit has access to Toronto’s talent pool, so it can continue growing the company.
Co-founder and CEO Mallorie Brodie told BetaKit that since founding, the business has been focused on growing in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, but is now focused on ramping up recruitment efforts.
“We’re really hoping to open up the overall pool for our recruitment efforts, and Toronto, of course, has an amazing tech scene as well,” she added. “So it was the easy choice given that a lot of our investors are there, our customers are there, and it’s a really strong talent pool.”
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Brodie said Bridgit’s employees live or spend a great deal of time in Toronto, so the new office will give these team members a space to operate. The intention was to have as flexible a space as possible. Brodie also plans on dropping into the Toronto office each week to ensure she’s available for face time with the teams in both locations.
It’s been an active year for the software startup, which has been able to grow faster in the last six months than it did in its first three years. In March, Bridgit announced its Series A financing. This year, the startup also launched its workforce planning product, Bridgit Bench and raised funding from FedDev Ontario and CIBC Innovation Banking.
“It’s been an exciting year,” co-founder Lauren Lake told BetaKit. “It’s been really great to see the strong revenue growth, and with that, some aggressive plans and exciting plans for next year.”
Bridgit employees began working in the new office at the beginning of November. Bridgit currently sits at 50 employees across its offices, with the company noting the Toronto office space has the ability to expand and accommodate the needs of more employees and new talent. Bridgit did not disclose the number of employees it is looking to add.
For the year ahead, Brodie and Lake told BetaKit their company will continue with its physical expansion in Toronto, and will also focus on geographic expansion to net new markets within Canada, as well as in the United States and Europe. The startup will also continue to add more modules to Bridgit Bench.
Image courtesy Bridgit