Hardbacon, a Montreal-based FinTech startup, has raised an seed round of over $680,884 through FrontFundr‘s crowdfunding platform.
“Having investment advisors invest in our round is so much more strategic than having any VC firm invest.”
FrontFundr’s online market for equity and debt financing allowed Hardbacon to raise upwards of its original $500,000 goal from over 800 investors. The company, which launched its campaign in June and closed it August 8, will use the funds to scale the company, upgrade its bank account synchronization, and launch a platform for financial advisors. Currently, an additional $452,000 is still being processed by FrontFundr, which would bring Hardbacon’s seed round to over $1.1 million.
“The successful capital raise for Hardbacon on FrontFundr is a great example of how companies can combine getting funding with creating awareness in the market around their products and services,” said Peter-Paul Van Hoeken, co-founder and CEO of FrontFundr.
Hardbacon’s mobile app was designed to allow users to better monitor their investments and make better financial decisions. The startup’s mobile app initially relied entirely on user subscriptions, but Hardbacon soon switched to a B2B model, enabling it to generate revenue by helping financial institutions acquire and retain customers. It signed a strategic partnership with Desjardins Online Brokerage, and is now seeking funding to further develop its platform and to sign strategic contracts with other financial institutions.
“To make ourselves known, we had to distinguish ourselves from all the other financial institutions and robo-advisor marketing, who could pay 20 times more than us to acquire a client,” the company wrote on its campaign page. “In addition, a substantial number of people who downloaded our app did not yet have any stock market investment, so they did not convert to paid subscribers.”
RELATED: David R. Beatty joins FrontFundr as chairman of the board of directors
Hardbacon has launched an online directory of 120,000 financial advisors across Canada, and says it intends to launch a platform for financial advisors, allowing them to share the Hardbacon application with their clients and giving them a snapshot of their clients’ overall financial situations.
The FrontFundr campaign allowed anyone to become a Hardbacon shareholder for an investment of as little as $99 and up to $10,000, which is the legal cap for members of the general public.
“Having investment advisors invest in our round is so much more strategic than having any VC firm invest. Not only [do] we get investment from them, but they are becoming customers and ambassadors,” said Julien Brault, CEO of Hardbacon.
Image courtesy HardBacon
