Source: Easly  May 21, 2020

'Easly has been very good to us. They give us financial options at a rate and frequency that small technology companies absolutely need. And it's not about survival. It's about strategy.'

Dom Kwong, Co-Founder and CTO, Damon Motorcycles

Damon Motorcycles kicked off 2020 in a big way. They were the recipient of this year's Innovation Award at the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2020 in Las Vegas. As Dom recalls it, 'We had a big debut at CES… I still can't describe the success'. Receiving that award helped propel the British Columbia based manufacturer of fully-electric, smart motorcycles into the spotlight, garnering hundreds of pre-orders for its products. With all the innovation happening at Damon Motorcycles, Dom recognized that 'everything that we do qualifies (for SR&ED) because it's never been done before.' That made Easly's SR&ED backed financing an attractive option for Damon Motorcycles. 

For those unfamiliar with the SR&ED (Scientific Research & Experimental Development) Program, it's a tax incentive program administered across Canada to help ease the financial burden businesses face while conducting R&D. While this program is an excellent source of capital that many Canadian businesses rely upon, the annual frequency of the refunds doesn't always meet the cash management needs of a growing company. 

With Easly, Damon Motorcycles receives quarterly cash installments instead of waiting for an annual lump-sum payment from the government. At the end of every fiscal quarter, the company's accrued SR&ED value is assessed, and funds are released based on that amount. These predictable quarterly installments give Damon Motorcycles a consistent flow of capital they can plan for. 'We use Easly quarterly draws as part of our financial model,' says Dom, 'you don't want to be reactive to things, you want to be proactive, and being able to map these funding draws just allows us to be proactive in how we deploy.'

Easly offers competitive financing backed by SR&ED tax credit refunds to companies like Damon Motorcycles. From Dom's point-of-view, 'you don't want to wait significantly long periods for your return. Having to wait for 12 - 18 months for a SR&ED return is difficult for any company.' Accelerating that access to capital improves a companies cash management, giving them more flexibility throughout the year. 'It's all about the timing of the funds,” says Dom, “make the funds available sooner so that companies like ours can get on with the work that they're doing. The funds we get from Easly go right into paying for the most important OPEX we have, which for us is staff salaries.'

Companies like Damon Motorcycles bring Canadian innovation to the world stage. With groundbreaking safety technology and an all-electric powertrain that can propel the rider from 0 - 60 mph in under 3 seconds, Damon Motorcycles' Hypersport motorcycle is positioned to make a significant impact in the market. 'To be able to generate hundreds of pre-orders, in the 10s of millions of dollars, that is something else. That means that we do have a product-market fit and that our audience is listening. So we are addressing a very real problem,' Dom said of their recent success. Easly exists to support companies like Damon Motorcycles as they grow from conceptualization to product deployment.

To find out more about how Easly can be a strategic part of your capital mix visit fundeasly.com or contact Alastair Nimmons at alastair@fundeasly.com.