Startup TNT Calgary invests over $300K into Calgary-based Queue Management Solution company, WaitWell, at the Investment Summit Finale at Platform Calgary.
Calgary startup WaitWell won Startup TNT Calgary’s Investment Summit IV held at the new Platform Calgary Innovation Centre last week. Approximately 30 Calgary-based investors participated in Investment Summit IV, which was live-streamed from Calgary, Edmonton, Regina and Saskatoon. The winning company in each location (Calgary, Edmonton and Saskatchewan) is guaranteed a raise of at least $150K with investor groups in each location, but the final tally with side-deals will be finalized in the coming weeks. With total anticipated investments exceeding $1M, Startup TNT will have expedited over $5M in angel investments in over 30 companies over the last 2 years.
“It was really an honour to be first up on the brand new pitch stage at the new Platform Calgary Innovation Centre. Pitching is tough business! We were up against some really innovative companies and we were delighted to take home first place,” said CEO Alina Martin. “We opened our raise at Startup TNT and this win really confirms that Calgary is a place where technology-driven companies can raise money and quickly.”
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“We opened our raise at Startup TNT and this win really confirms that Calgary is place where technology driven companies can raise money and quickly.”— Alina Martin
Startup TNT is a non-profit group which started in Edmonton to work with local angel groups, seed funds and early-stage VC funds to educate new and potential investors and fund the local ecosystems. Startup TNT has now expanded to Calgary and Saskatchewan to activate capital across the prairies and invest it into scalable startups. The investment summit provides an opportunity for multiple accredited investors to work collaboratively over a period of 8 weeks to select a start-up into which they pool their resources to inject a sizeable investment into local seed-stage companies.
“Startup TNT’s goals are to provide early-stage capital to these founders, and train angel investors, so the whole community can succeed,” commented Neil Vande Bunte, Lead Ambassador at Startup TNT.
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Jade Alberts, Lead Ambassador at Startup TNT in Calgary added, “Startup TNT is another avenue that puts our early stage companies on a national stage. Companies like WaitWell that have proven they are ready to scale and assembled a credible team, are investment ready. We are proud to be on this journey with them.”
WaitWell was founded in Calgary in 2020 to help organizations to offer a better wait experience for their customers by allowing people to manage appointments or join a waitlist using their mobile devices and receive a text when it’s their turn for service. Nearly 2 million people at locations across North America have used WaitWell to queue for service using their cell phones at medical clinics, retail locations, universities and events like the Calgary Stampede. “Since we have a product already in market, raising capital for us is all about building a team and a sales and marketing engine so we can expand our reach into larger markets and continue to offer the top-notch service that has won us so many loyal customers in our first year in business. Our goal is to position ourselves as a trusted expert in the area of customer experience excellence and the leading provider of choice for digital Queue Management,” said WaitWell co-founder and CMO Shannon Vander Meulen.
“There is so much wealth in Alberta, but tech companies used to have to leave the province to raise capital. A lot of that just comes down to the fact that investing in tech was unfamiliar for many investors here in Alberta. StartupTNT is really demystifying the tech investment process, activating capital and creating new venture capitalists right here in our province. We are grateful for everything they do to support seed-stage startups across the prairies,” said WaitWell COO Steven Vander Meulen.