BCF Ventures

We believe in the « fit ». In the interest of both parties, we play open books on what we want and let you decide if there is a likely match. If our investment focus doesn't blend with your business model or capital strategy, that means we are simply not meant for each other. Here is an overview of our target investment profile across Canada and US:
1) Sector: We are focused on Technology startups. Technology R&D of some type must play a key role in any company we fund.
2) Stage: Pre-Seed. (Sometimes very early Seed)
3) Traction / Progress: Usually, initial revenues. No ideas or prototypes.
4) Valuation: $1M - $3M. (up to $10M on exceptional companies)
5) Total Round Size: $300K - $1.5M. (Rare exceptions outside of range)
6) Cash Burn: Strong bias towards companies with low cash burns.
7) Headcount: Usually at least 2 full-time founders. Often a few full or part-time workers.
8) Exit Potential: We are biased towards capital efficient business models that can produce strong investor returns at sub-$100M exits.
9) Progress and Traction: Below are the rough minimum traction levels for different types of startups, corresponding to the lower end of our valuation range...
*B2C*: We have the highest bar for B2C companies. To be successful, you need to acquire paid or heavily engaged users cheaply at scale. Consumers can be unpredictable and there is much competition for their attention. Therefore, we require strong user engagement metrics and evidence of compelling CAC, LTV, and retention.
*B2B w/low price point*: If your company has a B2B product with a low price point, our traction bar is also usually higher. We want initial evidence that you can acquire customers economically at scale. Usually, this requirement translates into least 40-100 customers, most of which you acquired through a cost-effective, repeatable sales model.
*B2B w/high price point*: If your company has a B2B product with a price point high enough to support a sales force, our traction bar is lower. We like to see a proven price point, evidence of a strong customer value proposition, and at least a few customers that have gone through sales cycles with decent acquisition economics.
*Large Enterprise*: If you have an enterprise SaaS product with a price point in the thousands to tens of thousands of dollars per month, we'll be interested in exploring an investment when you have live pilot customers with promising usage data. Paid pilots make an even more compelling case. more