#paid: Behind The Deal With Good News Ventures
On May 9, #paid, a Toronto-based company that connects marketers with influencers for campaigns and content creation, announced that it had closed CAD $9M in Series A financing from a syndicate of investors. The CVCA members involved in the deal included Good News Ventures, ScaleUP Ventures and Freycinet Ventures.
#paid was founded in 2014 and since then, has built up a network of influencers with at least 5,000 Instagram followers, spanning wide-ranging industries.
As part of the CVCA’s ongoing “Behind The Deal” series, we spoke with Marat Mukhamedyarov, Managing Partner from Toronto-based early stage tech VC, Good News Ventures, to find out a bit more about the Series A.
Why did Good News choose to invest in #paid and its management team?
We have known Bryan & Adam since they were part of the DMZ Ryerson Accelerator Program and invested in their pre-seed round back in 2015. We have been following the company’s progress closely since then. This time (Series A) was another opportunity to follow on with the investment via Good News Ventures Fund I and II. We like the management team and the vision of founders. They are leaders in influence marketing and have tier 1 customers with Coca-Cola and Toyota to name a few.
What will the invested dollars be used for?
They are planning to scale up the growth and open two more offices in the U.S. & UK.
Where did you hear about #paid?
Back in 2015 from York Angels Investors.
What is your anticipation about this sector in the short term and long term?
We see a shift to influence marketing from traditional media due to competitive pricing and reach over the last few years. We believe #Paid is strategically positioned to capitalize on the opportunity.
Is there anything particularly interesting about this deal with #paid that you’d like to emphasize?
The team already opened a second office in NY last year and we like the growth. Opening two additional offices will help them to become a global leader in influence marketing.
What is your exit horizon on this deal?
It’s hard to predict the exit horizon, but I think it’s within 5 to 7 years.
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