Happy new year!!

We’re more than a week into 2018 and while this is typically a time to look ahead, we wanted to take a few minutes to highlight all the news from Q4 2017. We’ve said it before, but the Version One portfolio is filled with great startups doing incredible things. And as we gear up for the new year, let’s ride the momentum from the last quarter.

Here are some of the key highlights from last quarter:

Top Hat and Figure 1 were named by Maclean’s magazine as top Canadian tech startups that could be the next billion dollar breakouts.

For the second year in a row, Jobber placed at top of the Gartner’s SoftwareAdvice FrontRunner report that highlights the top software products for North American small businesses.

Coinbase, an app that lets you buy, sell and store cryptocurrencies, ranked as the number one iPhone app in the U.S in early December, thanks to the crypto frenzy and surge in Bitcoin and Ethereum. In case you missed it, The New York Times wrote a great profile on Coinbase: Coinbase: The Heart of the Bitcoin Frenzy. The article outlines the company’s incredible growth (“In late November, Coinbase was sometimes getting 100,000 new customers a day — leaving the company with more customers than Charles Schwab and E-Trade”) and the challenges of keeping up with that growth.  

Blockstack announced the close of their $50m token sale. In all, over 800 individuals and funds participated with some notable investors: @usv, @FoundationCap, @lux_capital, @dcgco, @winklevosscap, @blockchaincap, @kevinrose, @arrington, and @qasar.

Clio’s Jack Newton has received yet more well-deserved accolades… this time being named a 40 under 40 winner by Business in Vancouver. You can read the full profile here.

Booster Fuels was featured in the Wall Street Journal: The New Corporate Perk: Gassing up at Work. Booster has agreements with eBay and 300 other companies to access their corporate campuses to deliver fuel.   

Outreach, Coinbase, and Shippo were named as part of Business Insider’s 51 enterprise startups to bet your career on in 2018. From Business Insider: “These companies have all the markings of long-term hits, or those likely to be snapped up by a bigger player for a hefty sum when the time is right.”  

Varage Sale was acquired by VerticalScope, a digital media company with more than 600 enthusiast websites and interest-based online communities.

Shippo announced their $20M Series B, led by Bessemer VP. And, CEO Laura Behrens Wu penned a great piece for Inc: “Do Not Take Money From Anywhere or Anyone: 3 Lessons We Learned From Raising $20 Million For Our Startup.”

Last, but not least, HandUp was acquired by one of its longtime non-profit partners, the Detroit-based South Oakland Shelter. This means that the team’s vision and hard work will live on and continue to make a very tangible difference in communities and lives.

That’s the recap from Q4 2017. And a reminder that as we go into this new year, we’re excited to build out our crypto and bio portfolio.

Follow @VersionOneVC for up to date news from us and our portfolio!