Brokrete Rebrands to Tough Commerce, Adds $2M CAD in Funding and Announces Former Shopify Leader as Investor & Board Member

TORONTO, May 10, 2023 (Newswire.com) - Tough Commerce Inc., formerly Brokrete Inc., announces a rebranding, C$2mm in additional financing and the welcomed addition of Willem van Bergen as an investor and board member.

With its new brand, growing team and continued access to capital, Tough Commerce continues its expansion as the leading complex commerce platform for industries underserved by traditional e-commerce giants, such as the construction industry. The platform enables complex industries to create industry-specific workflows to completely digitize their operations, from e-commerce to delivery and back-office to payout.

"We're excited to launch our new name and brand, which we believe better represents our DNA and our mission," said Jordan Latourelle, CEO of Tough Commerce. "The construction industry is in dire need of a modern, robust and unified commerce engine, and we're proud to be at the forefront of this transformation."

Tough Commerce is also excited to announce new funding of C$2.0mm in addition to the C$2.1mm raised last year to fuel new customer acquisition, roadmap and organic growth, bringing the total amount raised by the company north of C$7.8mm. This latest funding round was led by Tough Commerce board chair and investor, Ronald Richardson. Tough Commerce is proud to recognize the continued support and investments from Boston-based ConTech VC firm Legacy Capital Ventures, Willem van Bergen, Montreal-based construction firm Groupe PSC, MaRS IAF, and its undisclosed U.S.-based ConTech investor partners. 

Last year, the company added over a decade of e-commerce experience to its investor group and board of directors with the addition of Willem van Bergen. Willem joined Shopify as its 25th employee in 2010 before its Series-A raise. During his 12 years at Shopify's headquarters, his roles included Infrastructure Engineering Team Lead, Sr. Developer Productivity Manager and Principal Production Engineer. Willem helped actively shape Shopify's internal culture, engineering team discipline, infrastructure design and product roadmap.

"What Jordan is doing at Tough Commerce is exciting, and I see strong parallels to the early days at Shopify. The team has the right energy, expertise and product needed to be the leader in this market, and it's a big market. It was an easy investment, and I am glad to be part of the team," said Willem. 

"Willem is an excellent addition and complement to our board and investor group. He brings the rare, operational-level experience of scaling Shopify's team, product and culture from seed stage to centicorn status (>$100b market capitalization). His guidance on our e-commerce growth playbook helps fast-track operational decisions," said Ronald Richardson, Brokrete Board Chair.

"What we are most proud of is seeing construction suppliers use our platform as the unifying layer to digitize and run 100% of their business - not just e-commerce. "Tough" is becoming the core operating system for construction suppliers, " said Jordan.

The Tough Commerce engine is fully operational and used by construction suppliers throughout Canada, the United States and Australia.

Source: Tough Commerce

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