After years spent helping companies with government and private sector funding, the founders of Fundica realized something profound: all companies – be they small startups or multinational corporations – struggle to find the right source of funding. Recognizing this industrywide need for an automated, efficient means of accessing available funding, they launched Fundica.com, a search engine that identifies the most relevant grants, tax credits, and loans across Canada.
Since its inception in 2011, Fundica has been developing web discovery and tracking bots that – alongside its funding research team and hundreds of funders – keep the platform up-to-date and comprehensive. This intelligent and evolving search engine technology works to match entrepreneurs with funding programs that best suit their needs.
Though the growth of Fundica’s technology, user base, and platform have helped it become the most awarded funding tool in Canada, the team behind it is the true secret to this success. Fundica is led by President Mike Lee, a tech entrepreneur and engineer with a strong background in software and funding, who prides himself on creating a company culture that is dependable, educational, and inspirational for employees and clients alike. Mike has been the recipient of the CFO Canada Entrepreneur of the Year Award as well as Startup Canada’s Entrepreneur Promotion Award. The Bronfman Foundation also identified him as one of Quebec’s Top 25 Emerging Entrepreneurs. Further supporting Fundica are fellow co-founders Heykel Limaiem, who brings a Master of Computer Science as well as over fifteen years’ experience in web development and machine learning to the table, and Sahar Ansary, a product management expert with a Master of Engineering. Finally, there are Fundica’s award-winning data science, communication, and partnership teams, who work tirelessly to improve the platform and connect with the funding community.
“Though I’ve lived in many cities across Canada, Montreal’s irreplaceable atmosphere has always kept me coming back. The city’s vibrant culture, coupled with its burgeoning tech scene, have made it the ideal place to deploy my interests in technology and finance.”– Mike Lee, Co-Founder and President of Fundica
As Fundica grew, so too did the team’s ambitions, and in 2013, they launched the Fundica Roadshow, a coast-to-coast pitch competition for Canadian tech startups. With stops in major cities across Canada, the Fundica Roadshow has quickly become a travelling hub for those at the forefront of the tech ecosystem, attracting everyone from new entrepreneurs to established CEOs to top-tier investors.
Operating out of downtown Montreal has allowed Fundica to integrate and connect with companies at the heart of the Canadian ecosystem and solidify its position as a tech trailblazer, but there is still a great deal that can be done to make funding easier. Through the online platform and the Fundica Roadshow, the team continues to improve this process as well as educate and inspire entrepreneurs across Canada.
