Ottawa-based software company Welbi says it plans to double its headcount after being bought by a U.S. firm. Charleston, S.C.-based Further announced Wednesday it has acquired Welbi, which specializes in a platform that helps retirement and long-term care homes design recreation programs and other activities for seniors and monitor residents’ levels of engagement. Terms of […]
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Ottawa-based software company Welbi says it plans to double its headcount after being bought by a U.S. firm.
Charleston, S.C.-based Further announced Wednesday it has acquired Welbi, which specializes in a platform that helps retirement and long-term care homes design recreation programs and other activities for seniors and monitor residents’ levels of engagement.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Launched in 2016, Welbi serves about 1,000 care facilities in Canada and the United States.
Founder and CEO Elizabeth Audette-Bourdeau told OBJ the firm has doubled its customer base in the past 12 months. She said she hopes that joining forces with Further, which makes artificial intelligence tools that help senior living and behavioural health operators attract residents, will accelerate the company’s expansion in the U.S.
Audette-Bourdeau said she expects Welbi to have about two dozen employees by the end of this year, about twice the current number.
“We were in hypergrowth,” she said. “(The acquisition) comes at a time when we really need to fuel that growth and continue having the impact that we’re hoping to have.”
Audette-Bourdeau said the firms’ offerings are complementary. Further focuses on sales and marketing, while Welbi has traditionally concentrated on social and recreation programming at seniors communities.
But she said a growing number of care facilities have started using Welbi’s platform to help their marketing teams tailor site visits to prospective residents’ interests.
“Every time we would talk to clients, they would always say, ‘Hey, Further is really similar to Welbi,’” Audette-Bourdeau explained. “Our clients were starting to push for us to work with them. That just shows that it was the right home for Welbi.”
Welbi initially started discussing a potential partnership with Further about a year ago, she said. Eventually, the two sides decided a merger made more sense.
“The more we talked, the more we saw how we could really complete each other’s platform,” Audette-Bourdeau said. “By combining both companies together, we’re now able to personalize the journey from a prospect all the way to them becoming residents and to their last day within the community.”
Audette-Bourdeau will remain in charge of Welbi’s operations. She said the company plans to continue hiring workers across Canada.
Welbi and Further have a combined reach of about 8,000 senior living communities, but Audette-Bourdeau said that’s still only a fraction of the more than 60,000 senior and long-term care homes in North America.
“There are tons of growth opportunities ahead of us, for sure,” she said.
