For five years, the Fundica Roadshow has supplied funding to startups across Canada, and in one week, we’ll continue this tradition with our first event of 2018. Though we’ll soon be celebrating the accomplishments of a new group of gifted entrepreneurs, we also continue to recognize those who have made our show such a spectacular success in the past. 

Andrew Lockhead, CEO of Stay22, is a previous Fundica Roadshow participant breaking ground in the world of event management, ticketing, and discovery.  

Stay22 is a map-based accommodation system that allows event attendees and destination travelers to find lodging that is closest to their venue or destination for the lowest prices available online. The company’s product, which is quick to generate and easy to integrate into existing platforms, has already attracted the attention of event moguls like Pearl Jam, who will be partnering with Stay22 to facilitate their U.S. Summer 2018 Tour.  

Between raising $750,000 in seed round funding and joining forces with Evenko—Canada’s top independent event promoter—Stay22 has had a great first quarter, but this success hasn’t come without struggle.  Last week, we sat down with Andrew to discuss the company’s formative years.       

Tell us more about the early days of your venture. How did you come up with the idea for your company? 

Before founding Stay22, I co-founded a ticketing platform for students called StudentSphere, which is the highest-ranking tool of its kind in Canada. Around the same time, I was traveling regularly, and when attending out-of-town events, I was often frustrated by the amount of friction involved in booking a convenient room. Even on intuitive platforms such as AirBnB, it was difficult to gauge things like the distance from my lodging to the event. I’d often find myself switching between booking sites and Google Maps, struggling to determine my best option. I knew there had to be a better way.  

My co-founder Hamed Al-Khabaz put together an MVP of Stay22 and published it on Reddit. Reddit hosts a very divisive community; users either hate or adore what is posted on the site. Fortunately, Stay22 elicited a positive response. One person even went so far as to call our product a godsend. After this initial test, we knew there was sufficient interest in our product. We began reaching out to organizations in Montreal such as the C2 Montreal, and from there, things took off. 

What was the biggest challenge you faced while attempting to raise funds??* 

One of our greatest challenges was creating a compelling narrative, one that would convey our passion and dedication as well as the solution Stay22 offers. The only way to resolve this challenge was to meet with people, determine where their demands lay, and then shape our message so that it addressed those demands.  That said, Stay22's applications are so diverse that no single message applies to all our audiences.  

Our story has changed since Stay22 gained traction, and it's still evolving. Our marketing and sales team meet every day to determine how to present our brand in future.  

How did pitch competitions, such as the Fundica Roadshow, help you grow your business?? 

The Fundica Roadshow provided us with an opportunity to practice our pitch and narrative, to determine what was working and what was not. It also elevated our credibility. After pitching, people approached us to chat about our product, and this face-to-face marketing was invaluable.  

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Stay22 is hiring in their marketing, sales, and product divisions. To view their job openings, click here.  

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Want to compete against startups like Stay22? Then apply to pitch the 2018 Fundica Roadshow. We've already selected our Montreal startups (see here for the full roster), but there's still room to pitch at our Vancouver and Toronto events.

Click here to apply.

Or, if you rather spectate than compete, be an attendee! Our first Montreal event is just days away, so be sure to buy your tickets if you'd like to see us there.

SALES ENDING SOON: Montreal, May 1st, 2018: Tickets here

Vancouver, May 31st, 2018: Tickets here

Toronto, June 28th, 2018: Tickets here

Finale, Montreal, July 12th, 2018: Tickets here

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About Fundica

Fundica, Canada's most successful traditional funding identification and connection platform, matches entrepreneurs, private investors, public funders, and advisors. Through our award-winning crowdsourcing/crawler technology, Fundica provides an up-to-date, comprehensive, and intuitive platform. Additionally, Fundica manages the Fundica Roadshow, an annual cross-Canada initiative.

For more information, visit www.fundica.com or contact Loic Souetre, general manager at Fundica:

loic@fundica.com / 1-855-386-3422