Accel Shines $30M on LightSpeed to Acclerate Quebec’s Fastest-Growing Company

LightSpeed, Quebec’s fastest growing company, has raised $30 million from Accel Partners — its first outside capital — to fuel its already rapid expansion.

The company, which makes software for retailers that turns Apple iPads, iPhones and Mac computers into point-of-sale systems, has grown its revenue by more than 2,000% over the past five years and is “very profitable,” said Accel Partner Ryan Sweeney, who led the investment and will join the company’s board.

The deal was financed entirely by Accel Partners’ second Growth Fund, an $875 million vehicle. Sweeney declined to reveal the valuation, saying only that Accel made a “minority investment.”

Sweeney noted that the deal didn’t happen overnight. “We had to sell Dax [Dasilva, CEO and founder of LightSpeed] and his team on partnering with Accel over an 18-month period,” Sweeney said in an email interview. “Dax and team had been receiving considerable interest from VCs and strategic acquirers, particularly after they were named ‘the fastest growing company in Quebec’ the last two years. Dax had completely bootstrapped the company to this point.”

So what sold Dasilva on Accel? “I believe Dax finally reached a point where he realized the opportunity in front of him was larger than he could attack alone and could benefit from Accel’s help,” Sweeney said. “Earlier this year, LightSpeed got to a point where they couldn’t even process all the new leads that were coming in – I think that was a wake-up call for Dax that he could build a category-defining business with the right partner.”

Founded in 2005, LightSpeed makes software that is used by more than 10,000 retailers in more than 30 countries. It employs more than 50 people in Montreal (where it is based) and Ottawa, and it is “hiring aggressively,” according to a press release (see below).

The company’s annual sales are approaching $20 million, Sweeney said. Asked how big the company could get, he said: “It’s hard to say. We see huge potential though. This could be an Atlassian-like story – over $100 million in revenue over next few years.”

Image credit: Light photo courtesy of ShutterStock

PRESS RELEASE:

LIGHTSPEED RAISES $30 MILLION SERIES A INVESTMENT FROM ACCEL PARTNERS

Quebec’s Fastest Growing Company Enables Retailers to Reinvent the In-Store Experience

Leading Venture Capital Firm Partners with Rapidly Growing Software Provider to Reignite Growth in Retail Industry

MONTREAL, Canada, June 12, 2012 – LightSpeed, a leading software company that helps retailers revolutionize in-store shopping, announced today the closing of a US $30 million Series A investment from Accel Partners. The funding represents the first institutional investment in the Company’s history and will be used to further bolster LightSpeed’s rapidly growing team, enhance its product portfolio and drive international expansion opportunities.

LightSpeed’s technology arms retailers with powerful tools that reinvent the shopping experience for today’s iGeneration consumers. The Company was founded in 2005 in Montreal by software designer and CEO, Dax Dasilva. LightSpeed’s software turns Mac computers, iPads, and iPhones into cutting edge sales and retail management tools — bringing the access, value and speed of online shopping into the store environment. The Company’s solutions are used by nearly 10,000 retailers in more than 30 countries, ranging from boutiques in NYC’s trendy SoHo district, to large global brands like Adidas and Vespa, to improve the customer’s shopping experience, store sales performance and back-office efficiency.

“LightSpeed is helping solve the most crucial issue facing retailers today: creating an in-store experience exciting enough to compete against e-commerce,” said Accel partner, Ryan Sweeney, who will join the Company’s board. “LightSpeed offers the only solution we’ve seen that allows any retailer to create an Apple-like in-store experience, which draws people away from the computer and into the store.”

Over the last 5 years, the Company has grown revenue approximately 2,000%, earning the title of Quebec’s fastest growing company in 2011. LightSpeed’s success to-date has come without external funding, as Dasilva and team have bootstrapped the Company.

Raised on Macs, iPhones and iPads, today’s iGeneration consumers have become accustomed to shopping online from their couch–easily navigating through product selections and comparing prices across the web. By delivering an in-store experience that is as convenient, user-friendly and compelling as shopping online, LightSpeed holds the key to getting consumers off the couch and back into the store. LightSpeed’s solutions include the first truly interactive point-of-sale system for iPad, giving stores a personalized selling tool that scans inventory and details products not on the selling floor through its “Show & Tell” feature. In addition, purchases can be made from a mobile device anywhere in the store, without waiting in a long check-out line.

LightSpeed also allows sales associates to engage more deeply with customers — building a stronger connection as personal consultants instead of hunting through the stock room or ringing up purchases behind the checkout counter. Retailers can also increase operating e!ciencies through strong back office features including inventory management, sales/ordering workflows, e-commerce integrations, multi-store capabilities and developer-friendly open APIs.

“We see an enormous global market for LightSpeed,” noted CEO Dasilva. “To-date, our retail customers have ranged from boutiques to leading-edge brands that already engage today’s technologically advanced consumer. With our new capital resources and partners at Accel, we will further enhance our products and solutions that help virtually any store chain, anywhere in the world, to move ahead of the curve in the digital retail revolution and embrace the needs of today’s shoppers. We’re extremely proud of our terrific LightSpeed team and distributor network for growing our business to this level and positioning us for the exciting opportunities ahead, and we are thrilled to be partnering with Accel, who have a history of working with the most innovative technology companies globally.”

For Accel, the investment marks a growing theme of investing in best-of-breed technology companies that bring Apple into the enterprise. “We are constantly searching for innovative companies that capitalize on the superior user experience of Apple’s suite of products to deliver outperformance in the enterprise. LightSpeed and Dax have proven that the power of Apple’s intuitive products combined with disruptive technology can spark growth in retail,” said Sweeney, “We believe that bringing the Apple-store experience to retailers has the power to reinvigorate the retail landscape.”

By the numbers:

LightSpeed has grown revenue ~2,000% over the last 5 years
LightSpeed named fastest growing company in Quebec in 2011 and one of the fastest growing software companies in Canada
LightSpeed services nearly 10,000 retail customers today, ranging from SoHo boutiques to large retailers like Adidas and Vespa
LightSpeed software is resold by over 400 retail channel partners in more than 30 countries
LightSpeed has more than 50 employees in Montreal and Ottawa and is hiring aggressively

About LightSpeed

LightSpeed™, led by founder and CEO Dax Dasilva, is committed to its mission of fusing innovation, technology and design to produce the most compelling retail business solution on any Apple platform and help retailers attain their business aspirations. Founded in 2005 and based in Montreal and Ottawa, the LightSpeed team specializes in building next-generation retail software systems that o”er business owners powerful, intuitive retail tools for Mac and iOS. For more information, please visit LightSpeed’s web site at www.lightspeedretail.com.

About Accel Partners

Founded in 1983, Accel Partners has a long history of partnering with outstanding entrepreneurs and management teams to build world-class businesses. Accel today invests globally using dedicated teams and market-specific strategies for local geographies, with o!ces in Palo Alto, California, New York City, London and Bangalore, as well as in China via its partnership with IDG-Accel. Accel has helped entrepreneurs build over 300 successful companies, many of which have defined their categories, including Angry Birds (Rovio), Atlassian, Braintree, Facebook, Groupon, Kayak, Playfish, QlikTech, Spotify, and Wonga. For more information, visit the Accel Partners web site at www.accel.com or find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/accel.