Windsor-founded tech company Picsume — already drawing attention for its cutting-edge AI-powered approach to workforce recruitment — has taken on an even greater local flavour with the announcement Tuesday it has secured $1 million in seed money from a local investor.

It’s the second such announcement of a large investment in a local tech startup in the last month, and observers say it’s a positive indicator of a growing Windsor-Essex tech community.

The funding received from University of Windsor alumnus Jeremy Brown will be used by Picsume to bolster its workforce and expand the sales and marketing areas of the three-year-old firm.

Brown co-founded the management software company Contractors Compliance. Brown, who lives in the area, sold his share of the firm in January for nine figures.

“There’s no better external validation than from someone, who has walked in your shoes, actually putting money into your company,” said Jordan Goure, president and one of three co-founders of Picsume.

“This signals to the greater market, not just the investment side, but to all enterprises that are going to see our sales teams out there across Canada in the next few months, that we’re ready to grow as a team, as a company and that it’s a financially supported company.

“It shows you have a financially supported, more polished product and it shows you have the team in place to support their needs. That’s why this is so important to us.”

The company is also in line to pick up additional funding in the coming months from two federal agencies — Scientific Research and Experimental Development and Industrial Research Assistance Program.

Goure said if Picsume hits certain revenue and sales targets, it’ll trigger further significant investment.

Picsume uses artificial intelligence to create a dynamic individual profile that is constantly updated, allows for employees and employers to communicate better, offers onboarding services, scours sources for the latest job openings across Canada and uses proprietary technology to better match individuals and companies.

“From my first meeting with the Picsume team, I recognized that they had something special,” said Brown, who will join the Picsume board and be involved in the day-to-day activities of the firm in the sales area.

“They are true innovators solving the current workforce crisis by using clever new ideas and leveraging AI to do so. With the help of my experience scaling SaaS (software as a service) start-ups, we’ll be able to bring these new concepts to a mass market, creating workforce solutions for everyone.”

Goure said Picsume is really a local story, one that turned down requests to pull up stakes and move to bigger cities on either side of the border.

“Just about everyone involved in building or who is on the board of Picsume is from the region or went to the University of Windsor,” Goure said. “They care about the region as a whole, not just this company.

“People don’t know it, but there are a lot of significant players in tech in Canada from the Windsor area. They’ve helped us with things, but just giving their time is the most valuable.”

Goure, who started the firm with his brother Joshua (chief creative officer) and Nick Mastromattei (chief technical officer), said Picsume is currently being used by local firms such as the The Job Shoppe, Mercato Fresh and will be used by Invest WindsorEssex on a project expected to be announced shortly. The company is also working to integrate its technology with some national firms.

Picsume is the second announcement of large investments in local tech startups in the last month. The mobile, automated robotics firm Optimotive received $2 million in funding from venture capital groups based in San Francisco and Waterloo.

Goure credited WEtech Alliance for playing a major role in helping both companies develop, and for growing a local tech community that he said really didn’t exist when they first conceptualized Picsume in 2011.

“To an organization like ours, it’s a dream,” WEtech Alliance’s director of venture services Adam Castle said of the investments.

“People who have succeeded, coming back and helping, that’s the flywheel that created the tech centres in Waterloo and San Francisco.”

Original Article on the Windsor Star