Kitchener-based bitHound has raised a seed round of more than $2 million led by Michael Wekerle, the flamboyant investor and newest addition to CBC’s Dragons’ Den.
The round comes 11 months after the software company, which helps developers create cleaner code, was founded. bitHound was accepted into Communitech’s HYPERDRIVE program shortly after that.
“This round now is really to help propel and accelerate us into the market,” said Dan Silivestru, co-founder and CEO. “We are going to be focusing on building out the team and essentially customer acquisition.”
In addition to Wekerle, who is CEO of Toronto-based Difference Capital, the round includes BDC Capital and some undisclosed angel investors.
“We are thrilled with the momentum the company is demonstrating and believe that bitHound is one of the rising startups that is paving the way for improved code quality and software analytics,” Wekerle said in a news release announcing the round.
The bitHound team is equally thrilled.
“We’re very excited to be [Wekerle’s] first foray into the region with this investment,” Silivestru said.
Wekerle isn’t just investing in individual companies. He’s converting former BlackBerry buildings into what he calls the Waterloo Innovation Network, by filling them with high-potential companies.
“This is probably the first of many investments that you’re going to see [from him] in the region, and for us it’s a very strategic investor as well because of his connections,” Silivestru said.
This isn’t the first time Silivestru, a serial entrepreneur, has landed investment. Silivestru co-founded tinyHippos in 2009, which was acquired by BlackBerry in March 2011, and formed bitHound in 2013 from that original team.
“I think it’s a lot easier [to raise funds] once you have already sold a company,” he said.
He acknowledged that fundraising is never an easy path, but gave insight on key components to focus on during the process: a stellar team, solving a real problem, and a product or solution that gets people excited.
“Investors, just like customers, can see the excitement and can see the value that you’re bringing to the table, and they get excited as well,” Silivestru said.
Although the team is going to be focused on more features, customer acquisition and growth, Silivestru plans to pay the investment forward.
“The other thing that you’re going to see from us is a continued investment in the local tech community, both from mentorship and events, and trying to help other startups.”
