Hubba (software company)
Hubba is a computer Software company in the retail technology space. The B2B network is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The company was founded in 2010 by CEO and founder, Ben Zifkin, and launched in 2014.
Hubba is a B2B commerce community in the retail space. Their network connects brands, buyers and influencers through machine learning and personal curation as well as providing tools for retail buyers that suggest new products to carry and allows them to search and discover brands within a set of search criteria.
Hubba has approximately 100 employees based in Toronto, 60,000 users across 140 countries, including AB InBev and Unilever, and retailers like Zulily and Urban Outfitters.
Hubba's executive team includes Ben Zifkin (CEO), Howard Lis (COO), Christopher Jordan (CBO), and Danielle Brown (CMO).
The company is on the board for Upside Foundation, Ladies Learning Code, and Canada Learning Code. The company is also on the HackerYou Advisory Board, MaRS Discovery District Entrepreneur Advisory Board, Innovation Economy Advisory Council, Sick Kids Tech Advisory Council, and StandUp Ventures Advisory Council.
The company is also part of the mentorship programs, The Next 36, Founder's Institute, and Loran Scholars Foundation.
Growth of the Company
In December 2014, Hubba raised a $3.1 million dollar seed from BrightSpark Ventures, Social Capital (venture capital), and other investors.
Announced publicly in October 2015, Hubba raised an $11 million dollar Series A round led by Real Venture’s, Kensington Venture Fund, and Brightspark Ventures.
In 2016, Hubba raised a Series B funding round with Goldman Sachs, as well as additional participation from existing investors such as BrightSpark Ventures and Real Ventures. The exact amount was not disclosed, but The Wall Street Journal suggested the amount was around $45 million dollars.
In February 2016, Hubba launched a product called the Hubba Discovery Network. It allows retail buyers to search for, discover and message with brands that they may not already know.
In August 2016, 1WorldSync and Hubba collaborated to develop the world’s largest product discovery network.
On June 20, 2017, Hubba launched Hubba Groups allowing those in the commerce community to ask questions, provide answers, build business opportunities, stay relevant, and initiate discussion on topics such as common business challenges.
Hubba Flares was launched in July 2017, which is an initiative that allows retailers to outline specific products they are looking for which will then be sent out to Hubba's community and allows for brands to respond directly to these requests.
Business Model
Hubba is based in Toronto, Ontario, and operates in 140 countries with over 60,000 users. Hubba operates under a “free-mium” model, therefore offering a free version with paid extra features.
Reception, Awards, and Recognition
In November 2013, Betakit called Hubba “A startup building out the world’s richest, most comprehensive dataset of product information”.
In May 2017, The Huffington Post wrote that “Hubba is routinely recognized as one of the most powerful companies powering the next generation of commerce”.
In January 2013, Hubba was selected for KPMG’s “Top 3 Best New Startups”.
In August 2013, Hubba was selected for Branham Group’s “Top 25 Up and Coming ICT Companies in Canada”.
In November 2013, CIX, the Innovation Exchange, placed Hubba on the “Top 20 Most Innovative Companies”.
In November 2014, Deloitte nominated Hubba for “Fast 50 Companies to Watch”.
In May 2016, Forrester Research selected Hubba as a breakout retail eBusiness vendor.
In June 2016, Hubba was a winner of the Red Herring Top 100 North America award.
Founder
Ben Zifkin, a repeat entrepreneur, is the founder and CEO of Hubba.
Prior to Hubba, Ben built three organizations which had successful exits and raised significant venture funding. He co-founded Axsium Group, which Next Canada referred to as “the world’s largest workforce management consulting practice”. Ben also wrote a best-selling book, “The Rise of the Craft Brand: Why Small is Going to Be Huge”.
He is an advisor of HackerYou and MaRS Discovery District, as well as being on the board of directors for Upside Foundation of Canada and Ladies Learning Code.
In 2006, Ben was nominated for Ernst and Young’s* “Top Three in Canada-Entrepreneur of the Year”. He was also listed in Toronto Life’s 2016 “Toronto’s 20 Most Brilliant Tech Innovators”.