A woman takes pictures with Nokia’s new smartphone, the Lumia 1020, with a 41-megapixel camera, after its unveiling in New York, July 11, 2013. Toronto-based Keek Inc. was an early entrant in what is now a sought-after corner of social media, the sharing of short videos. (A keek is a Scottish term for a quick peek.) Keek’s user base is soaring, with more than 45 million users worldwide as of last month.SHANNON STAPLETON/Reuters
Toronto-based Keek Inc., a Canadian social media startup, seems to be rising out of the ashes after a financing disaster and a cash crisis spooked investors last year. The mobile video social network, that rivals Vine and Instagram, has recently made a number of high-level hires and is expanding rapidly into the U.S. and Europe.
It's a far cry from 8 months ago, when the cash-strapped company failed to raise venture capital money, had to be rescued by its investors, and saw its CEO resign abruptly. Keek then fumbled into public domain through a reverse takeover of a junior oil and gas firm, rather than what some had speculated would be a blockbuster IPO.
Alexandra Cameron, who took the helm as chief executive of Keek in April following several changes at the top, was tight-lipped on specifics about the hiring spurt, but said that Keek is "on solid footing" and that the company will become stronger as it rounds out the management team.
In April, Keek announced plans to set up shop in New York and, in addition to hiring Ms. Cameron as CEO, also announced Lin Dai as chief marketing officer. Through June and July, Keek has since brought Rockstar Games (Grand Theft Auto, Manhunt) co-founder Jamie King on board as chief product officer, as well as a senior vice president of monetization, and, on Tuesday, a vice president for EU business development, signalling its intentions to expand its presence in Europe.
"Europe is an important part of Keek's global story," Mr. Dai said in a press release. Some 19 per cent of Keek's 67.5 million users are European.
In March, Keek's former CEO said the company's goal was to build itself back up so that a large tech giant would want to buy it. Ms. Cameron says this is no longer the plan.
"There is no strategy to be acquired," said Ms. Cameron, adding that any acquisition will be due to "the right opportunity at the right time," and that this is not Keek's objective.
The company has more legs in it still, said Ms. Cameron. "Keek is highly underestimated, and we're about to change that."
Investors aren't yet convinced. Keek's stock price has sagged lower since going public in March, now trading at $0.14. It's market capitalization is estimated around $45-million, compared to once-lofty murmurs of a billion-dollar valuation. But in a world of social media hype and wild swings in tech startups' fortunes, Keek shouldn't be counted out just yet.