It marks the single largest information and communication technology investment in the prairies since the Canadian Venture Capital Private Equity Association (CVCA) started collecting data in 2013.

The funds will be used to enhance the Vendasta Platform, including its owned and operated product suite and robust Marketplace of digital solutions. The company will accelerate its expansion into new customer channels such as banks, telcos, insurance companies and other enterprise organizations looking for a scalable technology solution to serve their SMB customers.

“SMBs worldwide are purchasing and relying on cloud-based software more than ever before. It’s projected that SMB spend on software as a service (SaaS) solutions will represent a $76 billion market opportunity in the US alone by 2020. They’re turning to trusted local experts to provide that software, and we are uniquely positioned to empower those experts with our cloud commerce platform,” said Vendasta CEO Brendan King.

An SMB who wants to move portions of their business online has to choose from more than 71,000 SaaS solutions to manage marketing, productivity, protection, operations, connectivity, and other business needs. The SMB often turns to familiar local experts, like telcos, marketing agencies, banks, media companies, and more to help manage their digital needs. The Vendasta Platform helps the trusted experts bring everything together in a cohesive experience for the SMBs they serve.

“At the end of the day, we’re passionate about driving local economies and helping small businesses succeed,” says King.

“The team is agile, smart, fun and they aren’t afraid of hard work. I’ve watched the company build, adapt, and over-deliver product and customer service, showing its true prairie roots of accountability. They have built a solid foundation, and they are just getting going,” said Amy Rae, Principal at Vanedge Capital.

“We are excited to partner with Brendan and his team, who are building a world class company and an excellent culture. In doing so, Vendasta is attracting talented technology professionals from around the world to Saskatoon as they grow and scale,” said George Rossolatos, CEO at CBGF.

According to the CVCA’s 2018 VC & PE Canadian Market Overview, $3.7 billion was invested in Canadian companies last year, of which eight deals in Saskatchewan made up $16 million of the total national investment (compared to $100 million in Alberta and $29 million in Manitoba). In the first quarter of 2019, $1 billion worth of investments were made in Canada, including three Saskatchewan deals totaling $19 million.

About Vendasta:

Vendasta is a software company that builds a platform for helping local businesses with their digital needs. Sold exclusively through channel partners — including agencies, broadcasters, publishers, banks, telecoms, and more — the Vendasta platform enables sales professionals to brand it as their own and provide re-sellable products and services to local businesses around the world. Vendasta has been named one of the 50 fastest growing technology companies in Canada and one of the top 500 fastest growing companies in North America by Deloitte. It has also been listed on Canadian Business Magazine’s Growth 500 for three consecutive years. For more information, visit www.vendasta.com.

Media Contact Information:

Rylan Morris
Director of Product Marketing, Vendasta
Mobile: +1-306-850-4609
Office: +1-306-955-5512 (ext. 112)
RMorris@Vendasta.com

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Cheung is a seasoned C-level executive with broad financial and operational experience in a range of high-growth, venture-funded, and early stage companies through to NASDAQ listed public companies. He has previously held the role of CFO at Vancouver-based TIO Networks Corp. which was sold to PayPal, Inc. for $305 million in 2017, and also served as Vice President of Business Development for Fusemail, a subsidiary of j2 Global, Inc.

“It is important to be part of a company that serves a large market, and also has a great corporate culture and strong leadership team. That’s what I’m finding in Vendasta,” said Cheung. “We’re positioned for enormous growth and are now building a foundation that will allow the business to scale to more than a $100 million annual run rate, which will make us a significant player in the digital marketing space.”

“Our current growth trajectory requires the skills and experience that Richard brings,” said Vendasta CEO Brendan King. “As we grow through $100 million, we will benefit greatly from his experience and knowledge in fundraising, public markets, and acquisitions. We are ecstatic to have him on board.”

Small and medium businesses are shifting to software as a service (SaaS), creating a $72 billion market in North America by 2020, according to a joint report by Google and Accel Partners.

Vendasta enables anyone selling products and services to small and medium businesses to transform into a SaaS cloud broker, unlocking monthly recurring revenue opportunities. The Vendasta platform allows small businesses to easily purchase, access, and use SaaS products in an affordable, accessible way on any device at any time.

“The evolution of Vendasta’s Platform will lead to enormous benefit for our company, as well as our vendors, our partners, and the SMBs they serve,” said Cheung. “We’re helping build trust for our partners because their SMB clients know they can access, select, and purchase ‘best of breed’ solutions from a trusted source: their cloud broker. I’m looking forward to being part of this vision.”

Cheung begins his role as Vendasta CFO immediately.

About Vendasta:

Vendasta provides an end-to-end e-commerce platform used exclusively by companies who sell products and services to small and medium businesses – including agencies, broadcasters, publishers, banks, telecoms, and more. Through the Vendasta Platform and its wholesale Marketplace, the SMB-serving companies become cloud brokerages, generating recurring revenue through the sale of SaaS productivity and marketing technology solutions. They are able to instantly provision, market, sell, deliver, bill, and provide reporting for their SMB clients. In turn, SaaS vendors and developers of SMB products receive access to Vendasta’s 1.75 million SMBs through its 10,000 cloud broker partners. The company has been named one of the 50 fastest growing technology companies in Canada and one of the top 500 fastest growing companies in North America by Deloitte. It has also been listed on Canadian Business Magazine’s Growth 500 for three consecutive years. For more information, visit www.vendasta.com.

Media Contact Information:

Dani Mario
Director of Corporate Marketing & Communications
Vendasta
+1-306-955-5512 (ext. 289)
dmario@vendasta.com

The post Vendasta welcomes new CFO Richard Cheung appeared first on Vendasta.