Anges Québec at the heart of the international success of the Quebec start-up Paper

Anges Québec at the heart of the international success of the Quebec start-up Paper

The Montreal start-up Paper recently placed itself among the fastest-growing Canadian start-ups with the announcement of the closing of a new round of financing of US$100M, led by the Silicon Valley venture capital giant IVP.

After just 7 years of existence, Paper, specialized in education which offers an application that brings together students and tutors from across North America, is today accessible to over 100 U.S. school districts and helps more than 1 million children.

A Great Team, powered by the Anges Québec network

Behind this exceptional success story hides a deciding chapter in which Anges Québec network angels provided capital with strong added value. In fact, it was after a meeting that took place in 2016 that the angels realized the high potential of the entrepreneurs and their technology, and that’s when they decided to become actively involved to carry Paper to the next level.

“Right from the first meeting with President and CEO Philip Cutler, we saw many very positive signals as to the potential of Paper, its CEO and its team. The business proposed a service which meets real needs, good technology – tried and tested by my children, its managers had an excellent strategic vision and solid commercial ambitions, both on the domestic and international market.”

- Emmanuel Guyot, angel investor

At the first seeding round in 2016, four Anges Québec members joined the round led by Pittsburgh-based Birchmere Venture. In 2018, a group of angels took the initiative to carry out due diligence, support the entrepreneurs and open the door to their networks of investors across the country. Next, the angels invested as part of the series A round, along with institutional investors, including Google's Assistant Investment Fund. We also saw the involvement of junior angel investors from the venture capital investment initiation program developed by Anges Québec, in collaboration with the Autorité des marchés financiers.

“The angels played a leadership role from the beginning of the adventure, to the most recent round of financing. After having introduced Paper to our network of investor contacts outside of Québec, they were able to raise another round of financing led by Framework Venture Partners of Toronto. Another demonstration of the crucial support by the angels: the initial backing and support are a springboard to our great business success stories.”

- Michel Lozeau, angel investor

"Anges Quebec played a critical role in Paper's growth from the beginning. Their ecosystem of angel investors allows companies like Paper to jump start with capital that may not be available through other channels. Working with them has been a privilege." - Philip Cutler, CEO of Paper

An exceptional made in Québec exit

Today Paper has an exceptional valuation, thanks in large part to the expertise and leadership of its Team and to the Anges Québec network, which believed in the business from the start. With the recent round of financing conducted in the United States, the Quebec angels hit a home run with the sale of their shares in this exit, a rare event in the Quebec market.

The young Quebec start-up continues its conquest of the North American market and, who knows, possibly other school systems around the world in the near future. A great local success story which, with the backing and support of seasoned Anges Québec network investors, sees another Quebec champion prosper and stand out on the international marke