La Ruche
La Ruche is Quebec's leading crowdfunding platform, founded in 2013, enabling community projects, SMBs, and nonprofits to raise funds from 195,000+ contributors via online campaigns and additional financing programs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersQuebec, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What La Ruche does
La Ruche is a Quebec-based crowdfunding platform founded in 2013 that enables project creators to raise funds from individual contributors through online campaign pages. Its core technology is a self-serve web platform at laruchequebec.com supporting campaign creation, project discovery, and contribution processing, augmented by a separate finadd.laruchequebec.com module that provides supplementary financing to successful campaigns. Three integrated products compose the offering: the core crowdfunding platform, the additional financing programs (cumulative $34.3M disbursed), and personalized coaching/advisory services for campaigners.
The platform operates a direct-to-consumer go-to-market with a horizontal segmentation across Quebec project creators — including entrepreneurs, SMBs, nonprofits, and community organizations — and serves a third constituency of individual contributors (195,307+ cumulative). La Ruche charges a transaction-based commission on successful campaigns; specific rates are not publicly disclosed and additional financing is negotiated on a quote basis. Customer acquisition is driven by a multi-channel mix including the website, email newsletters, regional earned media, and institutional partnerships with MRCs (regional county municipalities), MAPAQ, and Desjardins.
The business model is supported by major institutional relationships with Desjardins and the Gouvernement du Québec, which provide both financial backing and legitimacy. La Ruche reports an 80% campaign success rate and $51.8M in cumulative community funding raised since inception. The company is privately held, headquartered in Quebec, Canada, and operates exclusively within the Quebec market with no disclosed international expansion.
La Ruche firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- La Ruche
- Legal name
- La Ruche
- Website
- https://laruchequebec.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- La Ruche is Quebec's leading crowdfunding platform, founded in 2013, enabling community projects, SMBs, and nonprofits to raise funds from 195,000+ contributors via online campaigns and additional financing programs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
La Ruche industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Crowdfunding Platform
- NAICS
- Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Creator Fundraising & Crowdfunding Platforms (Recurring/Project-Based) (MPACAFAJ)
Keywords
Where La Ruche is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Quebec
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
La Ruche business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Crowdfunding Platform Commission: La Ruche charges a fee or commission on successful campaigns that reach their funding goals on the platform. Project creators raise funds from contributors in the community, and La Ruche retains a percentage of the total raised amount.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
La Ruche product offering
Product offeringCore offering
La Ruche operates Quebec's leading crowdfunding platform where project creators launch community-backed campaigns to raise funds from individual contributors. The platform provides personalized coaching throughout the funding journey, supplementary additional financing programs for successful campaigns, and regional matching through partnerships with Quebec's regional county municipalities (MRCs).
Product overview
La Ruche operates as a unified crowdfunding platform with three integrated components: its core crowdfunding platform enabling project creators to launch and manage campaigns, an additional funding programs module that provides supplementary financial support to successful campaigns, and personalized support services offering coaching throughout the campaign process. The platform also facilitates regional matching to connect projects with local partners and resources.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Plateforme de sociofinancement La Ruche Quebec's leading crowdfunding platform enabling project creators to raise funds through community-backed campaigns with personalized support, additional funding programs, and regional matching services.
- Programmes de financement additionnel (Additional Financing Programs)
Quantifiable outcome
- 80% campaign success rate
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use La Ruche
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
La Ruche technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
La Ruche partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- MRC de la Côte-NordcoreRegional partnership agreement signed between La Ruche and the MRCs (regional county municipalities) of Côte-Nord. This partnership provides regional matching services and supports local project development in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec.
- MAPAQ (Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation du Québec)minorPartnership with Quebec's Ministry of Agriculture to support agricultural and food projects through crowdfunding, as featured in Le Soleil coverage titled 'Butiner le public pour se sociofinancer'.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
La Ruche competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Ulule: French-language crowdfunding platform founded in 2010, with a similar model of project-based crowdfunding plus value-added services. Highly comparable to La Ruche in language, community orientation, and mid-market project focus.
- HelloAsso: French nonprofit and association crowdfunding platform offering free hosting with optional payment processing fees. Directly comparable to La Ruche's community and nonprofit project segment, especially for charitable and association campaigns.
- FundRazr: Canadian-headquartered crowdfunding platform serving individuals, nonprofits, and community causes globally. Directly comparable crowdfunding mechanics and customer segments, with overlap in the Canadian charitable crowdfunding market.
Broad incumbents
- GoFundMe: Largest global crowdfunding platform with presence in Canada, supporting personal, charitable, and community causes. Operates broadly across verticals and geographies, with overlapping coverage of Quebec's community fundraising market.
- Kickstarter: Global leader in creative project-based crowdfunding, with all-or-nothing funding mechanics. Comparable reward-based crowdfunding model serving creators globally, including Quebec-based projects.
- Indiegogo: Major international crowdfunding platform supporting both keep-what-you-raise and all-or-nothing campaigns. Comparable reward-based model with a broader product and tech focus overlapping La Ruche's project segments.
- Benevity: Corporate social impact and employee giving platform connecting companies, nonprofits, and causes. Operates at a broader scale in the social-impact ecosystem that overlaps La Ruche's nonprofit and community segments.
Regional players
- FundedByMe: European crowdfunding platform based in Sweden, operating across multiple European markets with both equity and reward-based campaigns. Comparable in scale and ambition to La Ruche, though primarily European in geographic focus.
Emerging players
- Patreon: Creator monetization platform enabling recurring fan membership and tipping, rather than one-time project campaigns. Partial overlap with La Ruche's creator funding model, especially relevant for ongoing community projects.
- Bonfire: Crowdfunding platform focused on custom apparel fundraising for causes, schools, and nonprofits. Comparable community-fundraising model with an emerging niche focus that could intersect La Ruche's nonprofit segments.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
La Ruche social profiles
Digital presenceLa Ruche financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
La Ruche leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
La Ruche funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
La Ruche M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about La Ruche
What does La Ruche do?
La Ruche operates Quebec's leading crowdfunding platform where project creators launch community-backed campaigns to raise funds from individual contributors. The platform provides personalized coaching throughout the funding journey, supplementary additional financing programs for successful campaigns, and regional matching through partnerships with Quebec's regional county municipalities (MRCs).
Is La Ruche a public or private company?
La Ruche is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was La Ruche founded?
La Ruche was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is La Ruche based?
La Ruche is headquartered in Quebec, Canada, in the North America region.
How does La Ruche make money?
One revenue line is on record: crowdfunding Platform Commission.
Who are La Ruche's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Ulule, HelloAsso and FundRazr. Broad incumbents are GoFundMe, Kickstarter, Indiegogo and Benevity. FundedByMe is listed as a regional player. Emerging players are Patreon and Bonfire.
Does La Ruche have an API?
No public API is recorded for La Ruche.
What industry is La Ruche in?
La Ruche's product category is Crowdfunding Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPACAFAJ, Creator Fundraising & Crowdfunding Platforms (Recurring/Project-Based). Its NAICS code is 813410 and its SIC code is 8300.