Wink Messenger

Ivan Junior Millette and Dominic Sebastien, from Montreal/Blainville, Quebec, asked for $225,000 for 5% of Wink Messenger, an app that lets users send text messages tied to a specific time or location so the recipient only sees the message when they arrive somewhere or at a set time, with plans to add merchant gift certificates and software licensing as revenue models. The company had raised $400,000 in an initial round at a $2 million valuation, had about $50,000 of that left, and had done only about $3,000 in sales, while the founders were now valuing the company at $4.5 million; Dominic Sebastien said he has had seven exits in the past five years through a Montreal consulting firm working with tech start-ups.

Manjit Minhas, Lane Merrifield, Michele Romanow and Arlene Dickinson all went out over concerns about the leap in valuation, minimal sales, and doubts about the consumer messaging space. Vincenzo Guzzo and Jim Treliving offered a joint $400,000 for 10%, split 5% each, so they could integrate the product into their own platforms, which the founders accepted.

Wink Messenger is still operating and sells through its website.