The startup, which provides capital to e-commerce brands, closed the funding round consisting of equity and debt in December, co-founder Vadim Lidich told The Logic. Gaingels, Techstars Ventures, the Ontario Centres of Excellence and strategic angel investors, including former executives of Wealthsimple and Clearco, participated and Star Strong Capital provided debt. Lidich would not specify how much funding was debt nor the name of the Clearco executive. (The Logic)

Talking point: With its new lending facility, Paperstack said it aims to grow its e-commerce portfolio by 1,000 per cent or more by the end of 2023. “Given that many e-commerce lenders have pulled back from the market in recent months, we saw a massive (upwards of 487 per cent increase) in inbound inquiries for our product,” co-founder and CEO Assel Beglinova said in a statement. Paperstack will also use the funds to continue building its product, invest in proprietary underwriting technology and hire more staff. Lidich said he’s keen to hire employees who were laid off by its competitor Clearco, especially those with experience building the company from the ground up. Paperstack currently has eight employees, including its two founders.