When you’re growing a business, investors want to see that you’re doing all you can to stretch your (and their) dollars as far as they can go.
After all, a scrappy and savvy founding team that achieves growth efficiently will be less bogged down by debt—and likely retain a greater stake in the business—than companies that don’t leverage the many non-dilutive funding programs available for Canadian innovators today.
This is the philosophy that Kris McCarthy and his founding team at FanSaves embraces.
FanSaves is a sports tech startup and digital platform that offers fans discounts and deals from sponsors of their favorite sports teams and organizations. They provide partners with unlimited digital sponsorship inventory that is trackable through the FanSaves backend dashboard.
Their product is unique in that it offers partners a true turn-key perk that can be added to their membership benefits, while being able to fully integrate into team websites and mobile apps. This allows FanSaves partners to drive fan traffic back to their own digital assets, helping drive engagement all year round.
As unique as the innovation that Kris is driving at FanSaves is, his journey into the startup space is just as interesting. Before entering the startup game, Kris spent seven years playing minor professional hockey while winning two championships before transitioning into the front office, serving as the Director of Sales for two minor professional hockey teams back in 2017.
Needless to say, he’s had a view into the world of professional sports from almost all angles, and we pick his brain about what’s in store for Kris, FanSaves and his take on the larger startup ecosystem as we dive headlong into 2024.
Scrappy founders for the win
Along with offering a path to non-dilutive capital and a way to recoup investments into innovation, SR&ED funding gives Kris McCarthy and the team at FanSaves credibility in the eyes of their investors by maximizing their returns.
That’s because R&D tax credits offer teams a way to recoup the investments they’re already making into R&D to stretch their budgets further and drive even greater results.
Along with leveraging SR&ED funding to drive innovation at FanSaves today, Kris McCarthy and his team have also leveraged an array of government grants and Canadian accelerator and incubator programs to give their innovative idea lift.
As Kris McCarthy of FanSaves explains, there will always be excuses for visionaries to avoid taking the leap into the startup space. But some of the biggest risks taken during economic downturns have borne amazing businesses and innovation.
