{"id":4232,"date":"2016-12-20T09:30:28","date_gmt":"2016-12-20T14:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/?p=4232"},"modified":"2017-11-18T11:20:08","modified_gmt":"2017-11-18T16:20:08","slug":"prontoforms-max-szyc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/?p=4232","title":{"rendered":"ProntoForms growing through partnerships"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mark Scott, VP Marketing for ProntoForms Corp., just returned to the mobile app developer\u2019s Ottawa-based office after spending a week in sunny San Francisco. He met with various American partners such as Apple and ServiceMax to discuss strategic partnerships, saying that meetings like these are integral to advancing ProntoForms\u2019 brand.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe majority of our partners are out in California, where a good portion of the fastest growing software as a service (SasS) companies are,\u201d he says by phone from his Ottawa office, where he only spends several days each month. The Montreal native can usually be found travelling all over North America to discuss marketing strategies with ProntoForms\u2019 clients and partner companies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Growth over the years<\/span><\/h3>\n

ProntoForms was founded in 2011 as TrueContext Mobile Solutions. Its main service is to provide small and medium enterprises with mobile forms that allow companies to collect information electronically via tablets and smartphones. These replace traditional paper forms, such as those used for inventory reports and work orders, by eliminating the need to manually transport and scan them.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ProntoForms platform operates via a web portal that dispatches digital forms to companies\u2019 field users, who acquire the needed data via digital devices in lieu of having to return to their offices. The company offers two monthly plans for its platform: a $25 \u201cpro\u201d plan and a $35 \u201centerprise\u201d plan.<\/span><\/p>\n

An Oct. 4 press release states that ProntoForms has over 3,500 clients. Some of the company\u2019s key partnerships include major American companies such as Apple, which now distributes ProntoForms\u2019 platform. Scott says it is imperative to maintain these relationships in order to further the platform\u2019s global reach.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are a company with fewer than 100 employees in Ottawa, but we have the world\u2019s most recognized brands that trust us with being key influencers in mobilizing business processes,\u201d he says, adding how excited he is about these companies having confidence in ProntoForms.<\/span><\/p>\n

Importance of customer satisfaction<\/span><\/h3>\n

Even though the company has clients in Europe, South America and Australia, ProntoForms provides customer service from its sole office in Ottawa. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe live and die by customer satisfaction,\u201d Scott explains, adding that ProntoForms sends out monthly Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys to assess whether clients are satisfied with their product and if they would recommend it to their peers inside or outside their respective companies. He says that ProntoForms is doing very well from an NPS score perspective. <\/span><\/p>\n

Increased recognition<\/span><\/h3>\n

ProntoForms has recently obtained significant recognition and a slew of awards. Examples include placing on Deloitte\u2019s 2016 Technology Fast 50 list, which tracks the fastest growing Canadian companies. CEO Alvaro Pombo won an Ottawa Immigrant Entrepreneur Award, which acknowledges the business success of individuals born outside of Canada.<\/span><\/p>\n

“This award isn’t about me,\u201d Colombia-native Pombo said in a press release. \u201cIt reflects this city and this country, where someone with an accent and no connections can reach as high as one aims to.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Pombo\u2019s dream has definitely come true, as ProntoForms continues to post higher revenues each year. The company\u2019s latest quarterly report revealed that it achieved revenue of $3 million, up 25 per cent from the same quarter in the previous year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the increased revenue, the company still has yet to achieve profitability. The same quarterly report shows ProntoForms ending with a net loss of $718,904, up by $158,167 from the previous year\u2019s third quarter.<\/span><\/p>\n

A search for\u00a0funding<\/span><\/h3>\n

To remain in operation, ProntoForms continuously searches for funding. On Aug. 29, the company announced that it had entered into a financing agreement with BDC Capital Inc., the Business Development Bank of Canada\u2019s development branch. ProntoForms will receive a $4 million secured term credit facility over five years. BDC will provide funds in several stages at a fixed rate of seven per cent per year. The company received the first $2 million disbursement in September.<\/span><\/p>\n

Documents provided by Vahan Ajamian, an equity research analyst at Beacon Securities, show Ajamian complimenting the move and maintaining a \u201cbuy\u201d status for the company\u2019s stock in a report dated Aug. 30.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe this development offers ProntoForms financial flexibility and removes any requirement to obtain any external financing until the company first turns EBITDA positive,\u201d Ajamian wrote in the report, referring to when a company becomes profitable at an operating level.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ajamian also projects that the company will achieve profitability in 2018, but not before potentially experiencing a slower growth rate in its next two quarters. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThe operator channel may continue to be weaker due to churn,\u201d Ajamian states in a report dated Nov. 11, referencing a drop in the rate at which customers subscribe to ProntoForms\u2019 services.\u00a0 <\/span>He adds that it may take time for recent growth initiatives to show up fully in the results.<\/span><\/p>\n

Large market potential<\/span><\/h3>\n

There are 42 million potential mobile form users in North America, estimates consulting firm Frost and Sullivan in a report released in 2015. The firm compared the company\u2019s software to two unnamed competitors and praised the ProntoForms platform, adding that its competitors\u2019 products are more expensive and \u201ccomparatively under-featured\u201d when compared to ProntoForms. <\/span><\/p>\n

Scott, who believes the company is at the onset of a growth spurt in the market, remains optimistic about the company\u2019s opportunities. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve introduced\u2026 cutting edge capabilities this year that no other competitor really comes close to,\u201d Scott said. He explained that while some competitors have similar mobile app features, ProntoForms offers stronger workflow integration functionality and analytics that diversify the company\u2019s product from its competition.<\/span><\/p>\n

Heading into 2017, Scott will continue maintaining ProntoForms\u2019 strategic partnerships with companies in other countries, escaping Ottawa\u2019s intense winter snowfalls in the process.<\/span><\/p>\n

ProntoForms \u00a0went public in 2009. Its shares traded at\u00a0rarely more than\u00a010 cents until late 2013, eventually peaking at 55 cents in May 2014. As of Dec. 9, 2016, ProntoForms shares are trading for 26 cents. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mark Scott, VP Marketing for ProntoForms Corp., just returned to the mobile app developer\u2019s Ottawa-based office after spending a week<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[417,1],"tags":[420,399],"class_list":["post-4232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-corporate-profiles-2016","category-news","tag-max-szyc","tag-prontoforms"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/133"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4232"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4303,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4232\/revisions\/4303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}