Old City tech: WebLinc borrows $6M, will hire sales, marketing pros

Retailing-software provider WebLinc, a 21-year-old firm based upstairs from its owners' National Mechanics bar in Old City, says it has raised $6 million from investors through Silicon Valley debt placement companies Montage Capital and Partners for Growth to boost its Workarea Commerce Platform and other products.

The company, which claimed sales of over $50 million in 2016 to clients including Urban Outfitters and Do It Best Corp., and has since added brands including Reformation, Lonely Planet and BuzzFeed, employs more than 100 locally, and more at its  Orderbot satellite office in Vancouver and sales offices in major cities.  "The investment will go directly toward our cloud commerce products, including improvements in content, search and insights, things retailers and brands actually need," said CEO Darren Hill in a statement. He also plans to hire sales and marketing people.

The company's prior backers include Wayne-based Safeguard Scientifics, which has been liquidating some of its investments recently. Safeguard has invested $15 million in WebLinc, starting in 2014. "Nothing has changed in our very positive relationship with Safeguard Scientifics. They continue to support WebLinc," Hill told me.

The new investors were drawn by WebLinc's "capital efficient approach combined with its significant growth potential," and the "flexibility, customizability and scalability" it offers retail clients, said Eric Gonzales, managing director at Montage. Managing Director of Montage Capital.