Hockeystick announces acquisition of LaunchSpot at SaaS North conference

Today Canada’s leading private market data network, Hockeystick, announces its acquistion of Waterloo-based LaunchSpot at SaaS North, Canada’s largest gathering of its type.

Hockeystick chose the appropriate venue of SaaS North in Ottawa to announce the acquisition of LaunchSpot, a software product used by accelerators and startup funders, as the event is in full swing today.

“With the acquisition of LaunchSpot, Hockeystick will now offer a suite of operations and data tools for innovation organizations,” said Raymond Luk, Hockeystick’s Founder and CEO, adding, “LaunchSpot is a proven product with a similar customer base and we look forward to expanding its reach and scale through our network.”

This is Hockeystick’s first acquisition and the company is expecting to partner with more products in the future as it continues to expand its standardized data platform.

The strategic acquisition of LaunchSpot will help accelerate the development of Hockeystick’s product offering for innovation organizations — accelerators, incubators and innovation hubs.

LaunchSpot was created to simplify and automate how accelerators manage applicants, collect portfolio data, connect companies with mentors and report to funders.

“This acquisition is a great win for innovation organizations. I am confident that LaunchSpot will thrive in its next phase with Hockeystick,” said Rob Darling, LaunchSpot’s Founder and CEO.

Thanks to Hockeystick’s partnership with Wilfrid Laurier University’s Lazaridis Institute, Canadian accelerators will now have the option to use LaunchSpot free of charge.

“By leveraging Hockeystick’s market leadership, expertise and partnership with the Lazaridis Institute, LaunchSpot’s technology will be quickly utilized by more innovation organizations across Canada and around the world,” added Darling.

SaaS North

Expanding upon last year’s inaugural Software as a Service conference, SaaS North, this year’s installment is focusing heavily on AI from November 29 – 30 at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa, Canada.

Read More: AI will be major focus at Canada’s largest SaaS gathering in Ottawa

For the second year in a row, the L-Spark accelerator teamed up with CUBE Business Media to host the event, which drew over 60 distinguished speakers from the SaaS industry in 2016.

L-Spark, Canada’s largest SaaS accelerator and its Executive Managing Director Leo Lax (who also co-founded the SaaS North conference) aim to make Canada the SaaS capital of the world.

Leo believes that Ottawa has now become a safe zone for SaaS startups. The experience of going through the tech boom of the 90s, coupled with a strong education system and good financial support, have all contributed to Ottawa’s resurgence.

“Ottawa has been the birthplace and long-term home of global companies who dominate their respective categories,” says Lax. “It’s no wonder we are poised to be Canada’s capital of SaaS.”