AvenueHQ Continues Rapid U.S. Expansion with $4.5 Million Funding Round

The growing tech scene in Canada has led to some meteoric rises, and one company on a high trajectory just passed another milestone.

AvenueHQ has closed a second seed stage funding round of $4.5 million, led by VFF and supported by the BDC Women in Technology Fund as well as Pallasite Ventures. This new seed round builds on a $2.35 million seed round AvenueHQ (then named Realty Butler) announced late last year.

The Vancouver-based AvenueHQ is a SaaS marketing platform built for real estate agents. It helps users manage personal websites, social media, advertising and newsletters so the agents can focus on connecting with clients and selling homes in a meaningful way.

“We’ve been seeing amazing sales results in the U.S. so far, and this new round of funding is going to help us push that momentum even further,” said Chris Troelstra, CEO and co-founder of AvenueHQ. “We’re building an exceptional team and I’m really excited about what we can accomplish together.”

AvenueHQ has been growing at a quick pace over the past few years, Originally only accessible in a few cities, they have expanded to every major market in Canada. When they announced their rebrand three months ago, they burst onto the U.S. scene at the same time and since then have built a following in Silicon Valley, Seattle and Los Angeles—some of the hottest real estate markets in North America. AvenueHQ has plans now to expand into at least two new U.S. markets per quarter over the next year.

This new funding will go towards that rapid expansion and be used to hire new talent to focus on emerging areas and product deployment. AvenueHQ’s Vancouver office has grown from 15 to 60 employees over the last 12 months.

The seed round is also an important milestone in that it recognizes the contributions from AvenueHQ’s co-founder and COO Rebecca Troelstra. The BDC Women in Technology fund looks to empower organizations with women in executive roles, and the decision to be a part of AvenueHQ’s latest rounds shows support for women in Canada’s tech scene.

“Being a female founder has never been something I’ve focused on, but I do recognize that there’s a lack of gender diversity in the tech industry and we need to change that,” said Rebecca Troelstra. “I’m proud to be leading a company that’s working to reverse that trend, and I’m thankful for the support of the Women in Technology Fund.”

That BDC fund has been actively investing in startups led by women and added another $20 million to the fund late last year.