![\"\"](\"https:\/\/farm6.staticflickr.com\/5634\/20852983136_bb7acfdba1_b.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This original series documents the stories of Canada’s modern tech companies from inception to today.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2008<\/strong><\/p>\n In 2008, Vancouver-based digital agency Invoke Media released a tool called BrightKit<\/a>. At the time, BrightKit was an app that allowed users to manage multiple Twitter accounts from a single interface.<\/p>\n 2009<\/strong><\/p>\n In 2009, BrightKit’s name changed to HootSuite<\/a> (then with a capital “S”). The name was suggested by user Matt Nathan<\/a>, who contributed his idea when the startup asked its Twitter followers for a new name.<\/p>\n 2010<\/strong><\/p>\n After a White House endorsement<\/a>, Hootsuite (which would lowercase its “s” in 2014) added Facebook and Linkedin integrations<\/a>, becoming the fully fledged social media dashboard we know it as today. It followed up this evolution with its first round of capital: $1.9 million in early 2010<\/a> from Hearst Interactive Media, Blumberg Capital, and angel investors.<\/p>\n That summer, Hootsuite started to monetize, utilizing the “freemium” model by adding optional paid accounts<\/a> with additional features. By the end of the year, the company had hit its first major customer milestone: one million users<\/a>.<\/p>\n 2011<\/strong><\/p>\n Within a year of that milestone, Hootsuite had already reached two million users<\/a>. At 32 months old, Hootsuite was responsible for the sending of 500,000,000 messages across 4,000,000 unique social profiles.<\/p>\n In the months following, Hootsuite would raise $3 million in capital<\/a>, acquire competitor TwapperKeeper, and expand its executive team<\/a>. The year ended with an acquisition of Geotoko<\/a> and rumours of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg being in Vancouver to buy the blossoming startup<\/a>.<\/p>\n 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n The year 2012 started with CEO Ryan Holmes stating his ambitions: he wanted to build Hootsuite into a billion-dollar company<\/a>, ultimately taking it public. Just weeks later, Hootsuite would reach three million users<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the spring of 2012, Hootsuite raised $20 million<\/a> in a round led by Omers Ventures. The round valued Hootsuite at roughly $200 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the fall, Hootsuite acquired competitor Seesmic<\/a>. Five months after hitting four million users, the company announced five million<\/a>.<\/p>\n 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n Seven million members<\/a> by the summer of 2013 had Hootsuite on an incredible growth trajectory. Even so, the size of the company’s titanic $165 million Series B round<\/a> caught many off guard.<\/p>\n With more than 300 employees, and paying customers in 156 countries, Hootsuite was a force to be reckoned with. Holmes was named one of Vancouver’s most powerful people<\/a>. Before the end of the year, Hootsuite was at eight million users<\/a>.<\/p>\n 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n In January, the company was named Employer of the Year 2013<\/a> in the Canadian Startup Awards. Meanwhile, IPO rumours started ramping up<\/a>.<\/p>\n As Hootsuite passed nine million users<\/a>\u2014including 75% of Fortune 1000 companies\u2014the company changed its logo for the first time<\/a>. And, as IPO rumours persisted<\/a>, Hootsuite hit 10 million users<\/a>. In the fall of 2014, the company raised $60 million<\/a> and acquired social telephony company Zeetl<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/farm6.staticflickr.com\/5743\/20853966165_cf82944a79_c.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/farm6.staticflickr.com\/5835\/20665915750_eda0c14bb6_c.jpg\")
<\/p>\n