When I was an independent board member for Assent Compliance, I got to know Martin Sendyk, who was then the chief product officer. He was responsible for modernizing Assent’s platform for scale, and I really enjoyed working with him during that time. The company has now raised close to $200 million and is on an aggressive path towards an IPO.
Last year, Martin became president and CEO of another Ottawa-based B2B SaaS company in the supply chain market: Lytica, which analyzes electronic component spend and performs risk analysis for an enviable roster of enterprise clients. And I’m so excited that we’re working together again, as York IE led Lytica’s recent $1.5 million equity investment round and I have joined the company’s board of directors, alongside Martin and Founder/CTO Ken Bradley.
The past year and a half has been difficult for the global supply chain, but Lytica has flourished, continuing to grow its annual recurring revenue by over 100%. How? By using artificial intelligence and machine learning to help enterprises navigate their challenges — specifically, to help them find better manufacturers and suppliers who can offer better prices.
As Lytica has evolved from providing services to selling software to, now, becoming a full, end-to-end SaaS platform company, it has built the foundation needed to scale — and the opportunity is massive.
“There is not a company in the world that’s not looking for more insights and intelligence into procurement,” York IE COO Joe Raczka told the Ottawa Business Journal. “It’s amazing to think how big the market is.”
I’m also excited about what working with Lytica represents for the future of York IE. Most of our portfolio companies and advisory services clients are startups and early-stage businesses, but Lytica was founded 16 years ago. They’ve unlocked a growth opportunity in scaling a SaaS business, and we’re here to catalyze that big vision.
Established companies entering hyper-growth phases also need help strategizing and executing around go-to-market, marketing, product strategy and finance. We can put our operational expertise to work to help them capitalize on their unique opportunities.
I’m looking forward to what the future holds for Lytica, and I’m thrilled to be part of the journey!
