22 Aug 2018 HyperGrowth Alumni: Where Are They Now?
HyperGrowth is BC’s premiere accelerator aimed at helping growth stage companies ($1M – $5M ARR) increase their revenue, grow their teams, strengthen their leadership strategy, expand into new markets, or attract funding.
For six months, the HyperGrowth cohort is immersed in an intensive residency program that assists them in building comprehensive sales, marketing, and financial strategies through expert-led learning and work sessions and connecting them with world-class advisors, mentors, and executives from Vancouver’s leading tech companies.
While these experts provide the backbone of the program, HyperGrowth is further strengthened by our growing network of alumni companies. Companies like RentMoola, EDP, and Jane have found success in BC, created new job opportunities, and given back to the ecosystem in many important ways as they continue their growth in the province.
As we gear up for our fourth cohort of HyperGrowth, we are proud to look back on three of our alumni companies that are finding tremendous success in BC.
Picatic acquired by Eventbrite
Picatic is one of the recent examples of what has become a proven track record of success for BC Tech’s HyperGrowth program. They announced their acquisition by San Francisco-based Eventbrite last week for an undisclosed amount. Picatic CEO Jayesh Parmar will continue to lead the team in Vancouver following the acquisition.
Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz is excited to be expanding the company’s presence into British Columbia and engaging with our community and ecosystem.
“Vancouver is emerging as a lively tech hub, full of world-class talent and innovative companies, and we feel a strong connection to it as a technology and cultural centre,” she said in Eventbrite’s statement of the acquisition.
Avenue raises $4.5MM
Led by Chris and Rebecca Troelstra, Avenue helps real estate agents and teams build and maintain their strong digital brands including marketing and website design so they can expand their customer base while staying focused on their clients.
In May 2018, Avenue announced that they had raised a $4.5MM round of funding to further their growth and continue to expand their team. At this time last year, Avenue was made up of approximately 20 full-time employees. Since then they have nearly quadrupled their team size.
Thinkific grows their Vancouver team
Thinkific, a participant in the first HyperGrowth cohort, continues to find success in BC with more than 10,000 users in 164 countries worldwide. Following their participation in the program in 2014, their team size more than doubled as they experienced 400% year-over-year revenue growth between 2015 and 2016.
From their Vancouver office, Thinkific builds an online platform for users to create, market, sell, and deliver their own online courses. When they started HyperGrowth in 2015, they had approximately 12 employees and grew to a team of 35 by 2016. Today, the team at Thinkific includes more than 70 employees.
Apply now to be part of HyperGrowth
This fall, we’re launching our fourth HyperGrowth cohort and are currently accepting applications. Join the ranks of Picatic, Avenue, Thinkific, and other HyperGrowth alumni like Arkit and Wiivv, to become one of BC’s next big success stories.
In our last HyperGrowth cohort, companies earned on average a 65% increase in revenue or up to $6.3M in new revenues and growth investment while participating in the six month HyperGrowth program. Some participants also experienced up to three times growth in team size, interest from VCs and investors, and new board members.
For more information on HyperGrowth or how to apply, please contact Sydney Goodfellow.
Applications for HyperGrowth are due at 11:59 PM on August 30. Learn more and request an application.