CPE News (4.12.2022) – Wavy Travel Inc. has raised $2.5 million in seed funding led by Laconia with participation of Garage Capital, Two Small Fish Ventures, Archangel, Backbone Angels, and others, including 12 early-stage women private investors.
Geri Kirilova, Managing Partner at Laconia, has joined Wavy board of directors.
Founded by Shawn Hewat and Neshay Ahmed, Toronto based Wavy is a platform that empowers teams to create meaningful company culture, wherever people are located. Its Culture Management Platform is purpose-built to keep hybrid teams connected, with tools to plan, manage, review, measure, and improve culture initiatives.
“When people get together, magic happens. Human connection is so important and it’s at the center of everything we do. In a remote or hybrid work environment, that can get lost,” said Shawn Hewat, CEO and co-founder of Wavy. “With this funding in place, we are incredibly well positioned to bring our vision to life for a solution that enables every company to build intentional culture and plan meaningful initiatives, regardless of where people are located.”
photo credit: Wavy
News Release
Wavy Raises $2.5M to be the Platform Where Culture Happens as Workplaces Evolve Beyond the Office
Wavy empowers hybrid teams to build and measure connection through shared experiences, and build culture with their people, not for them.
April 12, 2022 – Wavy today announced that it has raised CAD$2.5 million in seed funding to establish its platform as the place where culture happens. The round was led by Laconia Capital, with participation from Garage Capital, Two Small Fish Ventures, Archangel, Backbone Angels, and others, including 12 early-stage women angel investors.
Wavy empowers people leaders to plan flexible events, collaborate across teams, gain visibility on spend and engagement, and measure the impact of their culture and team building initiatives. The company will use the funding to fuel the ongoing development of its culture platform, grow its global team of Wavers, expand its marketplace of experience creators, and engage one million employees across its customer base.
“Wavy is the new operating system for culture and is tackling the biggest uncertainty at work right now – people. It’s a solution that creates intentional connection and belonging in a world of work that’s rapidly evolved to become digital by design,” said Brittany Forsyth, Founding Partner at Backbone Angels and former Chief Talent Officer at Shopify.
Wavy’s Culture Management Platform acts as a central hub that enables leaders to build company culture with their people, not for them. This helps companies attract new hires, create a sense of community, increase employee satisfaction, and ultimately, improve retention over time. Using Wavy, companies can seamlessly engage employees in the culture development process and ensure visibility of these efforts across teams. Wavy also equips leaders with the tools needed to measure the long-term impact of culture initiatives, for team building, learning, wellness, or social good.
Since launching its Experience Marketplace in 2020, Wavy customers have engaged in experiences across food, drink, games, arts, wellness, and entertainment. “Employees across our remote-first workplace report feeling 92% more connected after Wavy experiences. With events like game shows, painting and planting, magic lessons, and campfire sessions, we can measure a real sense of connection at Loopio,” said Alexis MacDonald, VP People at Loopio, which has more than 200 employees throughout Canada and the U.S.
Wavy has worked with hundreds of companies around the world who are shaping the future of flexible work and team engagement. This includes high-growth tech companies such as Wattpad, FundThrough, Guusto, Relay Financial, and Achievers; and large enterprises such as Intuit, Shopify, Deloitte and Intact.
“With over 80% of companies choosing remote and hybrid work for the future, the challenge of establishing culture and community has never been clearer. Every company is searching for ways to combat a lack of connection, increased employee burnout, decreased morale, and talent churn,” said Geri Kirilova, Managing Partner at Laconia Capital. “Wavy’s holistic approach tackles the problem head-on, bringing a fresh approach and a big vision to an underserved category.” Wavy is Laconia’s first investment in a Canadian company.
“When people get together, magic happens. Human connection is so important and it’s at the center of everything we do. In a remote or hybrid work environment, that can get lost,” said Shawn Hewat, CEO and co-founder of Wavy. “With this funding in place, we are incredibly well positioned to bring our vision to life for a solution that enables every company to build intentional culture and plan meaningful initiatives, regardless of where people are located.”
About Wavy
Wavy is on a mission to help companies build meaningful culture – with their people, not for them. Its Culture Management Platform is purpose-built to keep hybrid teams connected, with tools to plan, manage, review, measure, and improve culture initiatives. Together with its Experience Marketplace, Wavy is changing the way flexible teams come together. For additional information, visit joinwavy.com.
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Jodi Echakowitz
Boulevard Public Relations
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E: jodi@boulevardpr.com
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