We’re excited to announce that the Government of Canada’s export credit agency, Export Development Canada (EDC), is among the investors in our Series B financing round.
Certn secured an additional $30M USD in Series B funding, with $29.5M USD coming from EDC. This brings our venture funding total to over $114M USD, including $80M USD from the Series B round.
This extension round follows a period of record revenue growth to the tune of 14533% from 2018 to 2022 — making Certn the second-fastest growing Canadian company according to Deloitte Canada’s Technology Fast 50™ program. We’re thrilled by the recognition we’ve received as we’ve expanded, and are excited to pursue the next phase as we grow internationally and move from a Series B startup to a Series C startup.
Here’s what Certn's global teams have in store to bring online background checks to more people:
Online Background Check - Certn's Global Expansion
This additional funding helps us expand our revolutionary online background screening technology in EMEA and APAC markets.
Without Certn, you could spend a lot of time ordering background checks, manually pulling results, and reading through long reports to weed out irrelevant data to determine red flags before making decisions. We’re happy to be able to bring our faster, easier background checks to more people.
| Without Certn | With Certn | |
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Ordering a background check |
Log into a different platform and order a check |
Order a check from your ATS |
|
Sending the request to your candidate |
Ask your candidate to fill out paperwork |
Ask your candidate to snap a photo of their ID |
|
Identity verification |
Ask your candidate to verify their identity in person at a post office or police station |
Ask your candidate to snap a selfie |
|
Gathering results |
Wait weeks for results |
Receive some results instantly and the rest in days instead of weeks |
|
Interpreting results |
Read through long reports to weed out irrelevant data |
Make faster decisions based on one easy-to-interpret report |
How does it work? Our online background checks pings data sources such as criminal history databases, blacklists, watchlists, news sources, and court records without human intervention to return accurate results faster. This helps you determine an applicant’s suitability for a job more quickly.
In addition to streamlining the process so you can make more informed decisions quicker, automating parts of the background screening process also frees HR to focus on other aspects of recruitment.
Self-Service Background Checks
In 2021, Certn launched its self-service background screening solution for small- and medium-sized businesses in the United States who require straightforward background screening solutions.
More recently, we’ve debuted self-service background checks in the United Kingdom, for basic DBS and DS checks, and ACIC police checks for businesses in Australia through the newest subsidiary in the Certn group of companies, InterCheck Global Pty Ltd.
About Certn
Andrew McLeod, Evan Dalton, and Owen Madrick came up with the idea for Certn in 2016. In 2017, they were joined by Daniel Faulkner, Will Nettke, Curtis Smith, and Chris Cook.
By 2018, Certn had launched its first product — a tenant background screening product for landlords and property managers. One year later in 2019, Certn started offering online criminal records checks.
Today, many products and services make up the background screening programs we help our clients implement. These include:
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Criminal Record Checks - A criminal record check uncovers and reports on any history of criminal activity.
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Identity Verification - Identity verification, like Certn's instant OneID service, is done before a background check to confirm that the identifying information a candidate provides matches a valid government-issued ID.
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Employment Verification - Employment verification checks verify that an individual has the experience and work history they say they do.
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Education Verification - This verification is often paired with employment and credential verification and is worth conducting as it validates that someone actually has the education, the degrees and certificates, they claim to have.
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Credential Verification - This check validates an individual’s professional credentials and any licenses that might be required for the job. This is an important piece of information to verify alongside a standard background check for highly technical positions.
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Reference Checks - Reference checks can be done over the phone or digitally over email. The customizable questionnaires are designed to reveal information about what it’s like to work with an individual. Outside of HR, property managers use these to vet prospective tenants.
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Credit Checks - Like reference checks, these can be used by both HR and property managers. A credit check is an inquiry on someone’s credit file and the reports include bankruptcies, public record and collection information, and a credit score (if it’s for tenancy).
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Driving Record Check - A motor vehicle record report shows an individual’s driving record. This includes license status, traffic citations, and accident history.
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Public Records Checks - Public records checks surface public information from databases such as sex offender registries, court records, and various watchlists including criminal history, global sanctions, and group and gang affiliations.
Funding Timeline
Our Series B funding isn’t the only exciting news we’ve shared about global expansion. In January 2022, we announced the acquisition of Credence Background Screening, one of the UK’s leading background check vendors, and in August 2022 we announced the acquisition of Australia’s InterCheck.
Certn Background Checks
Now, Certn is revolutionizing background screening with the easiest-to-use online platform, 24/7 customer support, and fast and compliant results from global databases. Trusted by 10,000+ clients, Certn helps businesses hire faster and manage risk — all while delivering user experiences that help them stand out.
Don’t wait. Let Certn help you hire compliantly and confidently with its easier online background check.
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Certn
Certn offers better and faster experiences for everyone. Certn is revolutionizing background screening with the easiest-to-use online platform, 24/7 customer support, and fast and compliant results from global databases. Why wait? Trusted by 10,000+ clients, Certn helps businesses hire faster and manage risk — all while delivering user experiences that help them stand out. Learn more at certn.co.