CPE News (3.23.2022) – MaxSold has raised $16.1 million in Series B funding led by new investor Framework Venture Partners, with participation of investor Canadian Business Growth Fund (CBGF). MaxSold has also raised $5 million in venture debt from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).
Ajay Gopal, Partner at Framework Venture Partners, has joined MaxSold reconstituted board of directors that includes founder Barry Gordon, CEO Sushee Perumal, and CBGF’s Dale Tingley.
New funding will facilitate ongoing expansion throughout the US and particularly in Boston, Atlanta and Philadelphia. It will also enable MaxSold to grow the team and drive new partnerships in previously untapped industries.
Kingston, Ontario based MaxSold is North America’s leading online platform for auctioning a large volume of contents quickly, whether for downsizing, decluttering, estate sales or excess inventory.
photo credit: MaxSold
News Release
MaxSold Secures $16.1 Million in Series B Financing to Continue the Digital Transformation of the Auction Industry
Financing demonstrates MaxSold’s success in recommerce and its unrivaled market value
TORONTO, March 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ – MaxSold, the global leader in online auctions for estate sales and downsizing, is proud to announce it has raised $16.1 million in financing. The investment was led by new investor Framework Venture Partners (‘Framework’), with support from existing investor Canadian Business Growth Fund (‘CBGF’). Alongside investors, MaxSold has also secured $5 million in growth capital from Silicon Valley Bank (‘SVB’).
MaxSold has established itself as an industry leader in recommerce through its simplified, customer-focused and sustainable approach to the auction business. MaxSold’s origins in the auction industry have transformed it into a recommerce powerhouse, solving a tremendous problem at a vulnerable and challenging time: what to do with a house full of contents when downsizing or settling an estate. Now that MaxSold has reinvented estate auctions, the company is set to expand into new recommerce industries through their digital solution, which manages everything in the auction pipeline: photographing and cataloging items, posting the auction online, digital marketing, scheduling buyers on pickup day and collecting payments. Recommerce is one of the fastest growing categories of goods purchasing in North America with a massive, untapped market that remains highly fragmented due to technological limitations that MaxSold has been able to overcome.
“Deepening our recommence market presence in existing locations has been the focus of our team since we began expanding. With each entry into a new market, we build relationships with B2C partners helping them to fulfill their clients’ needs and we establish our value for one-time sellers who rely on MaxSold to help them resell items they no longer want,” said Sushee Perumal, CEO of MaxSold.
“The ongoing support of investors validates our mission — to make the process of selling a large volume of items approachable, quick and fun, and enables us to continue our commitment to customers all over North America, providing the best solution for reselling a large volume of goods and for buying items second-hand,” said Perumal.
The new funding follows a period of unprecedented growth for MaxSold. During the pandemic, there was an uptick in household decluttering and reorganizing to better suit pandemic life, and MaxSold safely facilitated the reselling of goods while most other options were unavailable. As a fun way to purchase second-hand goods online, the pool of registered bidders has grown to almost 500,000 in 1400 cities and communities across North America.
“MaxSold is quickly becoming a centralized recommerce platform for estate sales, downsizing and businesses, with emerging cross functional utility for all other recommerce market participants,” said Ajay Gopal, Partner at Framework Venture Partners. “Beyond individuals and businesses using MaxSold’s platform, resellers are shifting their inventory to MaxSold from other platforms because of the technological superiority and depth of buyer base.”
“We’re excited to work with MaxSold as they continue to grow and scale,” said Daryl Johnston, Managing Director at Silicon Valley Bank in Canada. “MaxSold has made a name for itself in recommerce across North America and are now poised to bring more innovative solutions to the new recommerce industries.”
The funding will facilitate ongoing expansion throughout the US and particularly in Boston, Atlanta and Philadelphia. It will also enable MaxSold to grow the team and drive new partnerships in previously untapped industries. “MaxSold has continued to execute on its vision of becoming the leader in its space since our initial investment in 2020, and we are excited to partner alongside new investors to further grow the business,” said George Rossolatos, CEO of CBGF.
“Every person will face the scenario in which they will downsize or assist their loved ones to downsize and need to clear a household’s worth of goods, accumulated over a lifetime,” said Jason Suderman of LifecyclePro in Carlisle, Massachusetts, a senior relocation management company servicing Boston and surrounds. “Whether it is estate liquidations or estate inventory needs to assist families with equitable dispersals, this can be an emotional and challenging time for people, and MaxSold makes it easy–not to mention being the best solution for re-selling items quickly and without a drawn-out process or cost to the seller.”
About MaxSold.
MaxSold is North America’s leading online platform for auctioning a large volume of contents quickly, whether for downsizing, decluttering, estate sales or excess inventory. A leader in the recommerce marketplace, MaxSold has been named to the Financial Times 2020 ranking of fastest growing companies in the Americas and The Globe and Mail’s Top Growing Companies. MaxSold has a presence in 75 major cities across North America. To learn more, visit MaxSold.com.
About Framework Venture Partners.
Established in 2018, Framework Venture Partners exists to embolden exceptional management teams that are building the next generation of world-class technology companies. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada and investing throughout North America, Framework combines a unique, data-driven investment decision process with a high-touch, collaborative engagement model to help management teams scale globally. Framework operates under a set of guiding principles to put people first, to iterate with data and to always do the right thing. With a focus on investing in North American technology or technology-enabled marketplaces, Framework is the trusted partner of many companies that have successfully scaled and succeeded in their missions. For more information, please visit www.framework.vc
About Canadian Business Growth Fund.
The Canadian Business Growth Fund (CBGF) provides long-term, patient, minority capital to ambitious entrepreneurs to fund growth and expansion of mid-market businesses with investments between $3 to $20 million. An evergreen investment fund with capital commitments of $545 million, CBGF is committed to long-term partnerships with the companies it invests in. As part of its mission to drive growth, CBGF connects business leaders and sector experts to help its partner business achieve their full potential. For companies seeking investment opportunities, please email us at contact@cbgf.com. To learn more, please visit us at cbgf.com.
About Silicon Valley Bank.
Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) helps innovative companies and their investors move bold ideas forward, fast. SVB provides targeted financial services and expertise through its offices in innovation centers around the world. With commercial, international and private banking services, SVB helps address the unique needs of innovators. Learn more at svb.com/canada.
SOURCE MaxSold