Over the past week, two Canadian tech companies have been acquired, including Toronto-based Founded and Vancouver-based 7Geese. Here’s the latest on Canada’s movers and shakers.
RBC venture Ownr acquires legal tech startup Founded
Ownr, a company operated by RBC Ventures, a subsidiary of RBC, has acquired Founded, a Toronto-based legal tech startup.
Ownr declined to disclose the purchase price of the acquisition, but told BetaKit Founded is also now 100 percent owned by RBC Ventures. Following the deal, Founded’s technology and platform will be merged with Ownr to expand Ownr’s offering. Founded’s entire team, including its leadership, has joined RBC Ventures and will be working alongside the existing Ownr team.
“By bringing Ownr and Founded together, we will provide additional tools to ease the pain and burden on small business owners.”
Founded is a legal automation platform targeted toward businesses and lawyers, that automates routine legal tasks using technology with an aim to provide a collaborative, transparent, and intuitive legal experience. The startup helps automate tasks such as incorporations, equity management, and legal agreements.
RBC Ventures launched Ownr in 2017. Ownr aims to help users determine what business structure works best for them and then helps customers incorporate and register their business at what it claims is a fraction of the cost of hiring a lawyer. Ownr claims it has helped start over 20,000 businesses in Canada.
“By bringing Ownr and Founded together, we will provide additional tools to ease the pain and burden on small business owners, and offer more solutions to allow them to focus on what matters the most—growing their business,” said Shane Murphy, co-founder of Founded.
The news follows shortly after Ownr launched a fund aimed to help small businesses alongside Shopify, Moneris Solutions, and Staples.
Vancouver’s 7Geese acquired by Paycor
Human resources (HR) software company 7Geese has been acquired by Paycor, a human capital management firm based in the United States. The purchase price of the acquisition was not disclosed.
Following the acquisition, 7Geese’s platform will be fully integrated into Paycor’s product portfolio. The Vancouver-based startup will still offer its existing tools and expertise, with the addition of broader HCM solutions for customers who want it.
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Founded in 2010, 7Geese has developed a performance management software aimed to empower employees to better achieve goals and receive continuous feedback in an engaging social environment, using objectives and key results (OKRs).
OKR is a critical thinking framework and goal setting approach intended to help companies align goals and ensure teams are working collaboratively. OKRs can be implemented using spreadsheets or with OKR software.
“The HR tech space is experiencing a period of consolidation and we noticed that many of our customers are looking for an “all-in-one” solution for their HR needs,” said 7Geese CEO and founder Amin Palizban, in a company blog post. “Even though we offer a best-of-breed goal setting and performance management solution, being part of a broader HR package has many benefits for our customers.”
Image source Unsplash. Photo by Thomas Lefebvre.