Payfirma raises capital while planning for 2016 IPO

Payfirma, led by CEO Michael Gokturk raised C$13 million from capital funding and plans to go public by 2016. The company currently has business ties with Apple Inc and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

The company's private placement financing is headed by Dundee Capital Markets. While Payfirma has already raised a total of C$26 million to date, Gokturk expressed its plans for another funding round. Payfirma intends to use the funds for expansion efforts in the US. 

Payfirma's main customers are businesses that use a payment method to manage their daily transactions. It help businesses that use several payment terminals and multiple vendors to accept various forms of payments such as debit and credit cards by consolidating all those transaction info in one payment system.  Payfirma provide a single view of the clients' transactions made all in-store and online, through mobile devices or through debit and credit cards. Payfirma introduced mobile payment method in Canada and has since grown to be a leading payment systems provider in the country.

Gorturk shares lessons from a successful startup leader. The CEO and founder of Payfirma say that having a mentor has always been a part of his business and personal life. He adds that all it takes to have a mentor is to ask. Specific to the development of Payfirma, he says is its focus on the development of corporate culture, something he would have done in the earlier stages of his business.  The CEO's financial background and entrepreneurial ideas contribute in the company's growth.

Last year, Payfirma partnered with another Canada-based payment platform provider Lemon Stand. Lemon Stand says that the partnership offers secure payments made both through the store as well as through company websites.

Startup companies blow away investors through the combination of innovation and practical business applications. This shows that a company's years in business is no longer a big factor in the competition.