Reston, Va.-based mobile app startup Canvas has spent the last 10 years expanding out of their roots in the D.C. area and into over 70 countries — and yet, said co-founder and CEO James Quigley, they're still pretty low-key.
"We're a quiet company. We don't do a very good job of bragging about ourselves," he said. "But we've built one of the fastest growing B2B businesses in the area."
They claim to be at the forefront of the digital transformation and business revolution, but maintain at the same time that they're a low-key group.
Canvas is a mobile app platform that optimizes and automates how organizations handle the logistics around paperwork. Users can either choose from one of over 20,000 pre-built mobile app-based form templates or create one specific for their business.
The company says creating an app using their software can take as little as 20 minutes.
"Our concept was instead of taking 1,000 hours to 200 hours, we take 200 hours and turn it down to 20 minutes for someone who knows no software at all," Quigley said. "So, if you want to automate one of these work processes, you could do that without having to know anything about building apps. But you know a lot about how your business operates... If you can use Powerpoint, you can build a Canvas app."
A window repair company owner, for example, could create a Canvas app to digitize the way employees provide quotes to customers.
"Instead of giving them that yellow form, they'll get a digital interactive copy of their invoice or quote," he said. "It isn't just a PDF, but it's interactive, so they can say 'Hey, here's a quote, but also, click here to watch a video on our window repair best practices, or leave us a review by clicking here.'"
Quigley founded the company in 2008, just a few weeks before the economic crash. "Not a great time to quit your job," he said. That's why it took them until 2010 to get a product off the ground.
Since then, Canvas has grown dramatically, he said. The company closed another $6 million Series D round just last week, Quigley said, bringing their funding total up to about $29 million. They've opened offices in five countries and earned over 6,000 small and medium business clients, plus 30 Fortune 500 customers, including Toys"R"Us, Comcast and PepsiCo.
In keeping with their increasingly global presence, they've developed international corporate partnerships, including some international mobile carriers, like Telstra in Australia, Singtel in Singapore, and CSL in Hong Kong. They're also working with Verizon, here in the United States.
Plus, Quigley said, they were recently selected to be part of Apple's Mobility Partner Program, a little-known effort by the company to improve iPhone and iPad sales to businesses.
The team has over 90 employees and Quigley estimates they'll be over 100 before the end of the year. By the end of 2018, the headcount will be around 160. And the year after that, around 250 strong, he said.
But while their expansion into the global market continues, Canvas' roots remain in the area.
"I'm a big believer in this area being able to foster the necessary components to be successful in your startup," Quigley said. "I'm a big believer in the talent pool, the ability to find like organizations that can self-mentor each other."
Canvas itself started a co-working space within their own offices called Refraction. The space has around 60 companies currently working out of it.
"It's just part of my ongoing belief and commitment to the startup community here," he said.
Image courtesy of Canvas
