A Canadian tech firm that helps companies better purchase software is establishing its U.S. presence in Chicago with an office that plans to grow.
Olive, a startup that helps firms evaluate software and find the best tech that fits their needs, has opened an office in Chicago. It comes as the startup raised a $3 million seed round led by Chicago Ventures.
The Chicago outpost has a handful of employees, including Olive's head of marketing and head of customer success, CEO Chris Heard said. It expects to grow to 10 by the end of the year, and it will be the startup's "growth area" as it adds more marketing and sales employees, Heard said.
Olive, which is based in Vancouver and has 16 employees today, builds a software management platform for businesses and consulting firms that makes it easier to find the right software. It helps companies save time by looking at all relevant software vendors in one place and filter options based on needs. Heard said it replaces the often manual task companies currently use, which involves spreadsheets and Word Docs to make software buying decisions.
The startup sells to businesses and consulting firms, and its clients include the Federal Government of Canada, Home Hardware and A&W Canada.
Heard said Olive chose Chicago in part because of its access to sales and marketing talent, as well as the city's culture and its attitudes around work ethic.
"We're not a 'take a picture of your food and post it to Instagram every five minutes' kind of company. We're very much more of 'let's get the job done first, then we can sing about it' kind of company," Heard said, adding it was a mindset he sees in many of the people he's interviewed in Chicago.
Chicago is also home to several of the startup's customers, and being near Fortune 500 firms and consulting firms with offices in Chicago was enticing to the startup, Heard said.
"I don't understand why [Chicago] is not automatically looked at as one of the hubs for all tech companies," he said. "Because there's so much business to be done there."
