Profile: Meet CrowdRiff

What is CrowdRiff?

CrowdRiff is an AI-powered content marketing platform, purpose-built for the travel and tourism industry, based in Toronto, Canada. The platform combines content discovery, digital asset management, and short-form video creation tools that enable destination marketers to source and share authentic and engaging visuals with their respective audiences, at scale. To date, the company works with over 900 leading travel and tourism brands, including Destination BC, Visit California, Discover Philadelphia, and Visit Phoenix. 

With multiple open job positions across teams like Engineering, Sales, Product, and Customer Success, we’re looking for kind, driven, and travel-loving humans across Canada to join our remote-first team. 

What is the story behind CrowdRiff?

CrowdRiff started in a small apartment in 2014, with only a handful of extraordinarily committed folks and a vision to make travel good for people and the planet. We work toward this vision by powering travel brands with content and insights that inspire travelers to see the world differently and explore sustainably. The values we live by guide this mission, drive our strategies, influence our culture, and everything else in between. Today, the incredible work of our engineers, designers, and innovators makes it possible to provide the finest solutions to the leading travel brands worldwide. 

Why did you launch CrowdRiff?

At CrowdRiff, we recognized the potential in people sharing their perspectives and experiences on social media. As phones became more powerful, sharing became more visual, and never was this more important for the travel industry. We knew that if we could tap into the captivating and authentic photos and videos shared by everyday people, we could motivate more people to embark on life-changing trips and local adventures. It was this idea that gave rise to CrowdRiff. 

What else should people know about CrowdRiff?

• We have ~94 employees and are looking for more kind, dedicated, travel-loving people to join us. Check out their 6 open roles here

• Series A round: $11.6 million (2018) led by Leaders Fund, with participation from Alpha Capital, Gibraltar & Company, and BDC Capital

• Notable customers include Destination Canada, Visit Europe, Visit California, Destination British Columbia and Destination Toronto, Greater Miami & Miami Beach, and San Francisco. 

What is the goal for the next 12 months?

CrowdRiff has set its sights high for 2023 and beyond, and we are eager to continue shaping the future of travel through the power of visual storytelling. We have ambitious plans for 2023, with a focus on continued growth and innovation. Our first priority is to expand our reach and increase the number of travel brands we work with globally to over 1,000.

Additionally, we aim to enable our customers to fully leverage the power of short-form video content across different marketing channels. By growing our community of content creators, we aim to offer a wider range of visually stunning and authentic experiences to travelers.

Over the next few years, CrowdRiff is poised to become a leader in the travel industry, powering the majority of photos and videos encountered when planning trips or experiences, whether it’s a nearby hiking trail or a journey around the world.

What is your company culture?

Make an impact: Our culture is a reflection of our people and their experiences. We are a caring team that believes in the power of compassion and caring for one another. Every project at CrowdRiff is aimed at helping our clients manage and distribute visitor traffic in order to support local communities. No task is too small, as your efforts will have a direct impact on making travel a better experience for everyone.

Work your way: Our culture embodies flexibility, granting you the freedom, autonomy, and resources to reach your highest potential. We provide a range of benefits, opportunities, and travel-focused programs, such as up to 8 weeks of vacation, up to $3000 towards your next trip, travel and work from a country of your choice for 90 days, and access to a personal travel concierge! 

Remote-first: We understand that physical barriers are not necessary for productive work, which is why our remote-first policies accommodate both office and work-from-home work styles. You can even log in while traveling abroad! No matter how or where you choose to work, Crowdriff will provide an inclusive environment and the tools you need to excel.

Join them today and be part of a team that wants you to succeed

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Quick Takes: This 9-figure raise is the first for Canada this year

What is the news and what is Jobber?

Edmonton-based Jobber announced a $100m USD round of financing led by General Atlantic.

Jobber is the Shopify for home services providers. It provides a digital platform for this business, think HVAC, to run its business. Offering anything from quoting to invoicing to scheduling.

What is notable about this round?

Besides being the first nine-figure round of the year, according to Jobber's CEO, the terms are clean as the company is growing nicely and has $100m+ USD in annual revenues and their customers generated $13b+ USD in revenues.

What do clean terms mean?

Many later-stage deals in the market now have financial or control terms that were absent during the bull run. These include items like liquidation preferences - the investor is guaranteed to see X times their investment before anyone else sees a return; warrants; additional board seats or restrictions on what the company can do without board permission.

Why was Jobber able to raise clean terms?

This round is possible due to the financial approach Jobber has taken, the value it creates for customers, and the market it operates in:

1. When you look at past financings and results it appears that Jobber has been capital efficient with its growth and has not maximized valuation in any round. This means that it does not have a valuation hangover from the last round. Jobber has not disclosed what the valuation of this round is but if you look at the rumors it is between 6x to 8x last year's revenues which is not high.

2. When you have a product that works and creates value it is easy to sell and it is sticky. Jobber's customers have $130 in revenue from every $1 they spend on Jobber. If Jobber makes their life easier and they can trace $10 of that $130 in revenue to Jobber it is delivering tremendous value for customers.

3. The home service market is huge and has been late to adopt the technology. This means that there is still a lot of opportunity for Jobber to grow.

What are the takeaways for the community?

 Sometimes it is great to sprint to a high valuation or quick customer win but this can backfire and not result in a winning company. Being capital efficient and driving value for customers in a huge market is not sexy but the best way to win.

*Reply to this email and let us know your takes on the week in Canadian Tech*

A New Episode of Quick Takes drops on February 9

Quick Takes returns LIVE at 12:00 pm ET/9:00 am PT tomorrow February 9 across the TechTO platforms.

Episodes dropping every other Thursday all year long!

Catch up on past episodes here, while you wait.

Subscribe to Quick Takes on Apple Podcasts, and Spotify so you never miss an episode as it drops.

Headlines and Content

• #ICYMI - Catch up on past newsletters if you hadn't yet subscribed!

• Canadian Startup news of the week - READ HERE

• Why you need startup advisors to support your newest hires - READ HERE

• 4  hypotheses for the internet of tomorrow - READ HERE

• More on Jobbers $100m growth round - READ MORE HERE

TechTO Talent

Multiple Opportunities, CrowdRiff (Toronto, ON)

Build your career at the intersection of travel, tech, and visual media with CrowdRiff. Join the passionate team as a Staff Engineer, iOS Developer or Senior JavaScript Developer today!

Director of Portfolio, Antler Canada (Toronto, ON)

Why is this cool? Antler is a global early-stage venture capital firm that invests in the defining technology companies of tomorrow. Antler is on a mission to fundamentally improve the world by identifying, investing in, and challenging the world’s most exceptional people to build groundbreaking technology companies. As Director of Portfolio, you will lead work within both pre-investment and post-investment founder support. APPLY HERE

Co-Founder Match

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Reach out to [email protected] with the following info:

• What you're looking for in a Co-Founder

• What you're building

Events and Links

Check out the interesting content, events, and happenings for the community here:

• Startups Mentorship Program: February 11, 2023 - Virtual Event - REGISTER HERE

• TechTO Talent | Virtual | February 22, 2023 - Meet and mingle with top tech talent and employers hiring now! REGISTER FOR FREE

• TechTO #IWD2023 Event: March 6, 2023 - Come celebrate women in tech with us! REGISTER HERE

• TechTO Special: Web3: March 22, 2023 - Learn all about one of the hottest topics in tech from the top innovators in the business - REGISTER HERE

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