Documents show digital product sampling startup has nearly $13 million in liabilities.
Toronto-based Sampler has filed for bankruptcy, BetaKit has learned.
The digital product sampling startup filed an assignment of bankruptcy on June 27 and held its first meeting of creditors on July 22, according to documents BetaKit obtained from Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy.
At the date of filing, Sampler had total liabilities of $12.9 million and total assets of more than $300,000. A representative of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice told BetaKit that no additional documents have yet been filed with the court.
The company told BetaKit last year that its revenues exceeded $10 million CAD annually, with Sampler set to break even in 2023.
Sampler CEO and founder Marie Chevrier declined BetaKit’s request for comment on the current state of the company and the circumstances that led to the filing. BetaKit has sent multiple requests for all relevant documents to the insolvency trustee handling the proceedings, Steven Goldberg of Rosen Goldberg, Inc.
Sampler matches packaged goods companies with consumers who receive packages of free samples by mail. The online platform allowed Sampler to collect targeted marketing data on products consumers used.
In February 2019, the company raised a $3-million Series A led by BDC’s Women in Tech fund, Shipfusion, and an undisclosed strategic investor, Factory LLC and Standup Ventures also participated in the round, along with follow-on funding from Freycinet Ventures and MaRS IAF. A few months later, CIBC issued $1 million in debt financing. In 2020, Sampler raised a further $4 million in a round led by StandUP Ventures and BDC Capital with participation from EDC, Factory LLC, as well as new investors from the Calgary-based financial platform, The51. This was its last publicized funding round, bringing the company’s total funding as of that date to $13 million CAD.
The startup acquired two companies last year—US-based Abeo and Toronto-based AdMass—with the company confirming to BetaKit that it had closed another internal round, but declining to disclose the details.
Last year, Chevrier told The Globe and Mail that, following the Abeo acquisition, the company financed much of its growth through receivables due to the Sampler’s large clientele.
According to its website, Sampler was available in 23 countries and claimed to have more than 4.5 million users join the platform worldwide. It has worked with companies in sectors such as food, vitamins, and beauty and wellness, among others, and inked contracts with more than 1,000 brands, including L’Oréal, Kroger, Unilever, Amorepacific, and Zevia.
In 2021, The Globe and Mail awarded Sampler the 160th spot in Canada’s top growing companies out of a list of 448. The company told BetaKit last year that its revenues exceeded $10 million CAD annually, with Sampler set to break even in 2023.
The company’s homepage remains up and running at this time. However, Sampler’s login, signup, and sales inquiry buttons on the website all lead to a blank page that says, “We are currently down for maintenance. Please check back later.” Clicking the contact buttons takes users to a page from a third-party provider, Zendesk, which says, “The company you’re looking for is no longer using our help center.”
Comments have been posted to Reddit claiming issues with Sampler’s website and the timing of sample deliveries for several months. BetaKit has not independently verified these issues with the company. Chevrier declined to comment on the timing of when Sampler’s operations ceased.
A LinkedIn search indicates Sampler had as many as 64 employees this time last year. According to LinkedIn, the company has shed more than 40 percent of its staff over the last 12 months.
RELATED: Sampler acquires AdMass to bring AI and user-generated content to its product sampling platform
Last year, BetaKit spoke to Chevrier about the trajectory of Sampler following the startup’s second acquisition in a matter of months. The founder said the timing then was right to invest in growth, because the rising costs of advertising, waning consumer interest in ads and growing privacy concerns, and regulatory and corporate policy changes have made it difficult for brands to track customers.
Chevrier said those headwinds indeed provided opportunities for Sampler.
“Incentive-based marketing is really on the rise and [Sampler has] scaled to a really good place to take advantage of this trend,” she added.
“I’m telling the team, this is the time to be bold.”
With files from Isabelle Kirkwood and Josh Scott.
Feature image courtesy Sampler.
