GoFor Industries closes $9.8M tranched seed round

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By CPE News

CPE News (6/17/2020) – GoFor Industries has announced the closing of its tranched $9.8 million seed round of financing from Builders VC, CEMEX Ventures, Mucker Capital, Plug and Play Ventures, Panache Ventures, I2BF Global Ventures, and the Capital Angel Network.

The initial close in 2019 was led by Panache Ventures and with CEMEX Ventures joining the seed round later in 2019.

Founded by Basavaraj Halli, Brad Rollo, and Paul O’Driscoll, Ottawa based GoFor Industries is a last-mile logistics solutions provider for retailers and suppliers with a marketplace inventory of fleet operators and drivers. GoFor’s SaaS platform provides a full suite of logistics capabilities including eCommerce integration, dispatching, and reporting.

photo credit: GoFor Industries

News Release

GoFor Closes 9.8M Seed Round Led By Builders VC

Round will fuel expansion across North America.

OTTAWA, June 17, 2020 /CNW/ – GoFor Industries, a provider of last mile logistics solutions, announced today the closing of its seed round of $9.8 million led by Builders VC, CEMEX Ventures, Mucker Capital, Plug and Play Ventures, Panache Ventures, I2BF Global Ventures, and the Capital Angel Network.

The company’s on-demand logistics platform helps merchants in all aspects of the last mile; providing urgent or same-day delivery to customers, data transparency, and supply chain efficiency while reducing the massive overhead.

The investment comes at a critical moment where current global circumstances have forced retailers to rethink how they get goods to customers. As a result, the demand for GoFor’s last minute, last mile logistics marketplace and its SaaS-based dispatch platform has been overwhelming. This funding will enable GoFor to satisfy increasing demand from merchants who need to shift in-store visits towards a ‘Delivery First’ model.

“We have been focused on the full spectrum of efficient delivery systems and are grateful to help customers meet consumer demand during this global pandemic. This modernization will ultimately help retailers move their business into the digital world to survive” says Brad Rollo, CEO of GoFor. ” Delivery was typically handled by expensive and inefficient fixed asset fleets — limiting their ability to scale to meet demand and service levels.”

The new capital will drive the launch of GoFor Dispatch — a SaaS-based dispatch platform aimed at helping retailers or fleet operators scale, operate, automate, and fully modernize their fleet capability. The funds will also allow for accelerated growth across North America inline with the retail footprint of GoFor’s partner network, which includes some of the largest brands across industrial verticals from home improvement, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, lumber, and paint to industrial supplies.

Leading the round is Builders VC, a venture capital firm headquartered out of San Francisco CA that is focused on helping founders modernize antiquated industries. Mark Blackwell of Builders VC said, “Last-mile delivery has become table-stakes in the hyper-competitive construction materials market. GoFor has capitalized on this and witnessed tremendous growth in scaling its B2B and B2C merchants through the GoFor Marketplace with an opportunity to transform the last-mile in construction and home renovations. The team is laser-focused on reliability and customer service and has been able to expand from 5 cities to over 60 cities across Canada and the US in the past 18 months. We’re excited to work and help the company scale on their vision.”

Gonzalo Galindo from CEMEX Ventures: “The efficient delivery of materials to the site is one of the biggest challenges for the construction industry. We are excited to see how GoFor helps merchants and builders with a reliable, transparent, and flexible delivery, while offering an extraordinary customer experience. Now, more than ever, GoFor helps its customers meet the customer needs. We have been very impressed with the team, the growth into new cities and the launch of new customer-centric solutions like GoFor Marketplace and GoFor Dispatch.”

GoFor’s strategic advisors include Connor Thielmann – VP Business Operations at Service Titan, Alec Andronikov – Partner at Ligoi Partners, Andrew Leslie – retired Lt, General at Canadian Forces, John Mumaugh – VP Sales at GoFor Industries, Ken Taylor – CFO at You.i TV, Eamonn Garry – Co-Founder at Kyvr Connect, and Adrian Salamunovic.

For more information on GoFor, please visit: www.gofordelivers.com.

About GoFor

GoFor Industries is a leading last-mile logistics solutions provider. GoFor’s flexible on-demand platform matches the complex needs of retailers and suppliers with a marketplace inventory of fleet operators and drivers — providing fast, reliable, and affordable delivery to customers. GoFor’s streamlined SaaS platform encompasses a full suite of logistics capabilities including eCommerce integration, dispatching, and reporting. GoFor’s delivery model allows businesses to supplement their busy fleets or act as a complete out-sourced logistics partner.

About Builders VC

Builders VC is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on investing where technology meets new business models to modernize antiquated industries including healthcare, agriculture, industrials and real-estate. Our thesis involves applying technology and new business models to sectors where the percentage of IT spending vs. revenue is minimal. In these sectors, there exists a significant gap between what is technically possible vs. what is presently implemented. For more information on Builders VC, please visit: www.builders.vc.

About CEMEX Ventures

Launched in 2017, CEMEX Ventures focuses on helping overcome the main challenges and capitalizing on the opportunity areas in the construction ecosystem through sustainable solutions. CEMEX Ventures has developed an open collaborative platform to lead the revolution of the construction industry, engaging startups, entrepreneurs, universities, and other stakeholders to tackle the challenges in the construction environment and shape the industry’s future. For more information on CEMEX Ventures, please visit: www.cemexventures.com.

SOURCE GOFOR INDUSTRIES

For further information: GoFor Media Relations, JP Burdett, Director Marketing, jpburdett@gofordelivers.com