Sitebrand

Last updated
Sitebrand Corporation
Company typeCreditor protection
IndustryOnline marketing
Founded2000;25 years ago (2000) in Ottawa
FounderJustin Shimoon
Defunct2011 (2011)
FateAcquired by Cactus Commerce
Headquarters,
Website www.sitebrand.com on Internet Archive

Sitebrand was an online marketing company based in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. [1] Sitebrand created technology which assisted its clients in expanding the number of purchases of customers who click on advertisement links. [2] [3] One of its biggest clients was Roots Canada. [1]

Contents

History

Sitebrand was founded in 2000 by Justin Shimoon, who had previously worked at Nortel. [4] Originally based in Ottawa, the company relocated to Gatineau in September 2002. [4] In August 2000, investors gave the company $1 million, of which 75% came from private an angel investors and 15% came from venture capital. [4] It created InSite, a software it offered for an annual fee of $20,000 to $60,000, that conducts a review of how people access websites and tries to use bargains to lure them. [5] In June 2008, the company was listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and had 40 employees. [6]

In 2008, the company was acquired by Pretium Capital for $5.1 million in a reverse takeover. [1] In December 2008, Sitebrand partnered with email service provider Silverpop to enhance their email product offering to online marketers. [7]

In 2010, Sitebrand obtained creditor protection. [8] Chris Corman, who had taken over as CEO from Shimoon in 2009, resigned. [9] The company had difficulty becoming profitable over the years. [9] While Corman had initially been able to increase sales and decrease expenses, by December 2010 experienced substantial losses in its revenue. [9] During the Great Recession, the company laid off employees. [10]

On February 17, 2011, Cactus Commerce acquired all assets of Sitebrand.com. [11] On October 24, 2011, Sitebrand formally changed its name to Marchwell Ventures. It raised approximately $1 million in a private placement. It transferred its shares from the TSX Venture Exchange to the NEX. [12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Sitebrand hammers out deal with tool wholesaler". Ottawa Business Journal . 2008-08-19. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-10-25.
  2. Chow, Krystle (2008-03-24). "Sitebrand plans public debut as online shopping market explodes". Ottawa Business Journal . Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  3. Tiku, Nitasha (October 2008). "We see you want a list of nearby stores?". Inc.
  4. 1 2 3 Buckstein, Jeff (2002-10-10). "Still popping up: SiteBrand Corporation one of 300 companies founded since 2000 despite telecom slowdown". Ottawa Citizen .
  5. Buckler, Grant (2002-02-07). "Tech tools woo Web shoppers". The Globe and Mail .
  6. "Ottawa: Sitebrand gets listing". Canwest News Service. 2008-06-14.
  7. "Sitebrand Partners with Silverpop to Enhance their Email Product Offering to Online Marketers". Digital Commerce 360. 2008-12-22. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  8. Howell, Elizabeth (2010-12-02). "Sitebrand obtains creditor protection as CEO departs". Ottawa Business Journal . Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  9. 1 2 3 Hill, Bert (2010-12-08). "Mitel continues to struggle after going public". Ottawa Citizen .
  10. "What a tangled website we weave . . ". CTV News. 2010-03-27. Archived from the original on 2021-02-14. Retrieved 2021-02-14.
  11. Howell, Elizabeth (2011-02-17). "Update: Cactus Commerce picks up Sitebrand assets". Ottawa Business Journal . Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  12. "Sitebrand changes name, raises $1M". Ottawa Business Journal . 2011-10-25. Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2011-10-25.