ServiceBox secures $600K seed financing led by Conexus Venture Capital

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By CPE News

CPE News (12/7/2020) – Jobbox Software Inc., dba ServiceBox, has raised $600,000 in seed funding led by Conexus Venture Capital, and with participation from Lex Capital Corp. and E. Craig Lothian, Executive Chair and former CEO of Lex Capital, a private equity firm focused on oil and gas investments.

Founded by Mike Schudel and Jon Clifford, Jobbox Software is the developer of ServiceBox, web based software that was designed originally for the Plumbing and Heating (HVAC) and now expanded to include service companies of all industries. ServiceBox allows companies to manage their business workflow of Quoting, Work Orders, Scheduling, Maintenance, Invoicing, Payments, Timesheets and Accounting Integration.

photo credit: Jobbox Software

News Release

Cultivator GROW startup, ServiceBox, closes $600K venture capital funding from SK investors

(Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020) –ServiceBox, a leading Canadian platform focused on Field Service Management, recently announced the close of a $600K CAD seed round, led by Conexus Venture Capital Inc., and with participation from Lex Capital Corp. and E. Craig Lothian.

ServiceBox was founded by Jon Clifford and Mike Schudel in 2012 and is currently part of Cultivator powered by Conexus’ GROW program. The Regina-based company is a cloud-based software helping the field service industry manage the end to end business from quoting and work orders to scheduling, inventory, invoicing, and more.

“We started this company to solve a simple problem for a handful of HVAC and plumbing companies, and quickly saw our product adoption take off with this customer base, along with electricians, security companies and a handful of other service-based industries,” said Jon Clifford, Co-founder, and CEO of ServiceBox. “As a couple of prairie entrepreneurs, raising capital has never really been on our radar as an option. However, over the past year, the number of inbound customers has been more and more challenging for us to keep up with and we figured now would be a great time to start adding fuel to the business. This funding will allow us to expand across North America and hire additional supports to assist with this growth.”

ServiceBox was one of the first companies selected for the test cohort of Cultivator’s GROW program in 2018, and the first Cultivator startup to receive funding from Conexus’ Venture Capital Fund.

“We’ve been fortunate to support ServiceBox as they’ve hit major revenue and now venture capital funding milestones,” said Jordan McFarlen, Cultivator Manager. “Jon and his team are poised to continue transforming the field services industry at a rapid rate and is one of the best-kept secrets in the Canadian prairies.”

“We’ve been fans of Jon Clifford and Mike Schudel as entrepreneurs for a long time now, and through our work with Cultivator have been able to track their continued success,” said Sean O’Connor, Head & Managing Director of Conexus Venture Capital Inc. “We’re thrilled to be investing in a company that plays such a critical role in helping small business owners running HVAC, electrical, plumbing, security, and many other services-based companies become more competitive, organized, and save money.”

The impact of technology adoption in the service-based industry as a result of COVID-19 has significantly increased ServiceBox’s growth throughout 2020. “Based on feedback from our customers, it seems like we’re seeing greater digital adoption for two different reasons,” said Clifford. “The first is just a byproduct of the whole world moving online. People are doing everything online, and they’re now more open to using software to help make their business run smoothly. The second reason is directly a result of COVID-19. Offices are closed, customers are less likely to be in the room with you, and some staff are not comfortable meeting in person. Our platform allows seamless organization in a transparent way that keeps your team, customers, and you all on the same page.”

Looking back at Saskatchewan’s entrepreneurial landscape just a few years ago, there wasn’t a lot of resources, funding, or space to help local startups launch grow, and scale their businesses. As a local co-operative, with a purpose of serving its members in ways that matter to them and improve their financial well-being, Conexus saw an opportunity to help reduce this barrier for local startups and in 2019 launched Canada’s first credit union led business incubator, Cultivator, and Conexus Venture Capital Inc.

Since launching, Cultivator has helped over 80 companies through its START and GROW program. Conexus Venture Capital Inc. has invested in seven startups so far and is in the works of creating another fund with a focus on agtech, to be launched in the next few months.

“Being a part of Cultivator has been fantastic. To be connected to a group that has a focus on our success is incredible,” said Clifford. “When we first started ServiceBox I felt like I was the only tech startup other than GasBuddy and iQmetrix. It has been awesome to meet weekly with other tech entrepreneurs and to hear of the constant success of companies that are developing tech in Regina.”

To learn more about Cultivator or Conexus Venture Capital Fund, visit Conexus.ca.

To learn more about ServiceBox or book a demo, visit www.getServiceBox.com.

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For media inquiries and interview requests, please contact:

Laura McKnight
Public Relations | Conexus Credit Union
Phone: 306-751-8201 | Email: publicrelations@conexus.ca

Jon Clifford
CEO and Co-founder | ServiceBox
Phone: 306-536-9939| Email: jon@jobboxsoft.com