Bonfire — Startup Profile

Cloud-based procurement and RFP platform for government and public sector

HQ: Kitchener, Ontario, Canada | Founded: 2012 | Employees: 81 | Stage: Acquired | Website: https://gobonfire.com

About

Bonfire provided a cloud-based sourcing enablement platform for government and public sector procurement teams. The platform went beyond basic automation of eProcurement suites, offering collaborative evaluation features for deeper analysis of supplier proposals. Bonfire helped organizations define sourcing objectives, engage suppliers, collect rich data from vendor proposals, and collaboratively evaluate options online. The company served 170+ organizations including BDO, Chicago Board of Education, Ivy Tech Community College, the City of Louisville, Medbuy (Canada's national healthcare GPO), and the San Francisco Bay Area MTC. Bonfire was founded in 2012 by Corry Flatt (CEO) and Alex Millar (CTO). Flatt previously led software companies and Millar was the technical architect. The company was part of Y Combinator's Winter 2015 batch. Bonfire raised $11M total: $3M seed from FundersClub, Garage Capital, and the Accelerator Centre plus YC, followed by an $8M Series A led by Battery Ventures with Crosslink Capital and Spider Capital. In September 2018, Bonfire was acquired by GTY Technology Holdings for $108M USD ($140M CAD), combining with IonWave, EqualLevel, and DemandStar to form what is now Euna Procurement.

The Take

Bonfire was a classic vertical SaaS play in the government procurement space, a market where 18% of GDP flows through procurement processes. The founding team understood that government buyers needed more than basic eProcurement — they needed collaborative evaluation, scoring, and compliance features. The $11M raise from Battery (also early investors in Coupa) validated the thesis. The $140M CAD exit to GTY Technology Holdings (a SPAC combining multiple govtech companies) was a solid outcome for a YC W15 company with ~$7.8M ARR. The company's tech now lives on as Euna Procurement.

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