Q3

2015

QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER
In This Issue
Company Summaries
2
Venture Capital Market Update
3
Dstillery
Google Database Sets Foundation For Ad Techs Master Blacklist Of Bad Bot
4
MediaMath
MediaMath Appoints Execs, Board Members as It Considers Next Steps
6

MediaMath turns to Ying for APAC Expansion
7

MediaMath app on Oracle Marketing Cloud helps marketers navigate ad landscape
8
Integral Ad Science
Digital firm Integral Ad Science raises $67 million in new funding
9
Skyword
Skyword Cited for Highest Gross Customer Satisfaction Scores in Independent Content
11

Skyword Relocates to One PPG Place, Plans for Continued Pittsburgh Expansion
14
Localytics
Announcing the Twitter and Localytics Partnership: Attract and Understand Your Most Valuable Users 14

Localytics Celebrates Significant Growth Milestones
15

Localytics Announces Marketo Integration
16
Pixability
Pixability Makes Inc. 5000 List of Americas Fastest Growing Private Companies
17

Pixability Taps Seasoned Media Sales Management Executive as VP Sales
18
Qualia
Qualia Partners With Ibotta To Deliver Cross-Platform Sales Attribution
19
Crave Labs
CraveLabs Announces Real-Time Mobile Attribution, Media Planning Features
21
LISNR
LISNR Honored for SXSW V2Vs V2Venture Competition
23

LISNR Hires P&G Veteran
24

White House Honors Cincinnati Entrepreneur
24
Iris.tv
Iris.TV and SpotX Partner to Streamline the Streaming Ad Space
26
TruOptik
Tru Optik Closes $1.7 million in Venture Financing from Alex Blum and Progress Ventures
28

Friends,
We are pleased to provide you with an update on Progress Ventures for the third quarter of 2015.

Fund 1
Dstillery is helping other industry leaders in the Trustworthy Accountability Groups (TAG) efforts to curtail fraudulent ad requests.
MediaMath continues to grow considerably, exhibited by new senior level hires, strategic partnerships, and office locations.
Integral Ad Science raised $67M over the summer, made up of $27M in equity from Sapphire Ventures and $40M in debt from SVB.

Fund 2
Skyword has furthered expanded its office space in Pittsbrgh, and continues to receive high marks customer satisfaction of its products
Trust Metrics provides data-driven planning tools to improve campaign performance on advertising networks.
Simpli.fi extends the capabilities of its programmatic platform for localized campaigns with GPS-based geo-fencing.
Localytics was named to the Inc. 5000 and partnered with Twitter to help mobile marketers optimize their campaign performance.
Pixability was also named to the Inc. 5000 and has a hired new VP Sales based in the New York office.
Qualia has partnered with Ibotta to deliver cross-platform sales attribution with conversion data down to the SKU level.

Fund 3
CraveLabs expects a general roll out of irs location tech platform, DropIn, in 2016. The platform is currently available to select partners.
LISNR continues to garner industry acclaim with honors at SXSW V2 Venture Competition and an invite to White House Demo Day.
IRIS.TV is scaling considerably and has partnered with SpotX to serve more effective revenue generation for media publishers.

Venture Capital Market Update

During Q3 2015 the venture capital (VC) market experienced a slight pullback compared with the strong performance seen over several
previous quarters. There were a total of 1,066 deals, which amounted to slightly more than $16.3B, compared with $17.3B in Q2 2015. Despite
the dip, the VC market remains strong with Q3 2015 representing the seventh consecutive quarter with $10B or more invested, according to a
report published by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA).
The third quarter also brought about a more diverse group of large deals, with VC funds shifting some of the focus away from the Software and
Biotechnology space and turning their attention to the Media & Entertainment, Medical Devices & Equipment, Information Technology and
Industrial sectors. While the total dollars invested in the Software industry fell 21 percent, this group of companies continues to dominate the
space overall with 412 deals totaling $5.8B last quarter.
The venture capital fund market continues to remain attractive to recent start-ups, with total dollars invested in Seed stage companies and firsttime financings rising 23 and 7 percent, respectively. Conversely, expansion stage investment fell by 14 percent in total dollars compared with
Q2 of this year. While venture capital activity did slow slightly over the last three months, the overall VC market is still on record pace for 2015.
The $47.2B invested over the course of the first nine months of 2015 represents a higher capital investment than 17 of the last 20 annual totals.

Progress Ventures Update

One trend that has historically been largely reserved to Private Equity activity is co-investment activity between GPs and their LPs. That said,
as we increased our exposure to a broader set of LPs, we have seen an abundance of interest to allow the same exact co-investment model in the
venture markets. All the published empirical data on the subject is still reserved to Private Equity activity, but anecdotally, there are LPs that
straddle between the two asset classes, and we are seeing a lot more interest to support co-investment.
To take this concept and apply it to our funds, we thought it best to step back and determine how our investments and fellow investors
have played out across the portfolio. The third quarter of 2015 provided an opportunity for us to reflect a little and continue our work as
investors, advisors, and companions to the companies we support. Specifically, we adopted a new lens to review the nineteen Progress Ventures
investments and found some data worth sharing.
Overall, weve put $6.4M into our collective portfolio (Fund 1, Fund 2, and Fund 3) as participants in early stage rounds (typically Series
A). Those rounds total just under $50M of invested capital when we first put money to work in each portfolio company. In turn, nine of our
nineteen companies have gone on to raise almost $360M of capital. This reveals a storyline that we never fully appreciated, and ultimately were
never capitalized to pursue. Co-investment will be something we aim to track in the venture market and will be sure to include broader market
activity in co-investment as part of future Venture Capital Market Updates.
As always, thank you for your support and interest in our firm. We encourage you to reach out with any questions or comments

Nick MacShane
Founding Partner
nick@progressventures.com

Sam Thompson
Founding Partner
sam@progressventures.com

TOM PHILLIPS | DSTILLERY CEO

Google Database Sets Foundation For Ad

Techs Master Blacklist Of Bad Bot
Marketing Land

| July 28, 2015

http://mklnd.com/1jVVUaf

Dstillery (formerly Media6Degrees) is at the forefront of

advertising technology, pioneering new ways to create
brand value for marketers by extracting signals from the
complete customer journey and activating them across all
screens. The company is building on five years of leading
the data revolution in marketing to drive even greater
impact for each of its brand. They work with over 400
top-tier brands, and have been recognized as one of Forbes
Top 100 Most Promising Companies in America and
Crains Best Places to Work in New York.
For more information, visit: http://www.dstillery.com

To fight malicious activity in the programmatic advertising ecosystem,

the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) is aiming to create a

master blacklist of IP addresses associated with driving fraudulent

bot-generated ad requests from data centers.

In the new pilot, Googles database of data center IP addresses will

lay the foundation for the blacklist. Other ad tech leaders partnering

in the effort Facebook, Yahoo, Dstillery, MediaMath, Quantcaast,

Rubicon Project and TubeMogul will add to it with their own
blacklists and internal data.

Industry leaders like Google are stepping up to the plate to provide

the information and tools we need to block fraudulent and illegitimate

ad traffic at its source, said TAG CEO Mike Zaneis. This program is

another piece of the interlocking set of solutions TAG is building to

fight fraud across the entire ecosystem. The industry is galvanizing its
efforts and we will win the war against fraud.

A Google blog post added that the blacklist will include bots that are

running in data centers but have avoided inclusion in the IAB/ABC

International Spiders & Bots List, a list that includes submissions
from IAB members and is updated monthly.

Data centers are large server networks that allow companies to run
software at scale, including legitimately scanning large numbers
of websites using bots to perform tasks such as search, comparing

product prices and measuring ad campaign performance. Scammers,

however, can mask data center bots to appear as human visitors to
websites and ads systems.

The information-sharing platform being developed in the Anti-

Fraud Working Group will include data center IP addresses identified

to be running these fraudulent or deceptive software bots, explains
TAG.

The ad tech industry then can act to block traffic from blacklisted IP
addresses. This effort follows on TAGs Fraud Threat List, a shared list
of Web domains driving fraudulent traffic.

The group has announced plans to release a set of principles for

public comment and a final anti-fraud tool based on the balcklist to
the industry by the end of the year.

JOE ZAWADZKI | MediaMath CEO

MediaMath Appoints Execs, Board Members as

It Considers Next Steps
AdvertisingAge

Based in New York with 12 locations across five

| August 27, 2015

http://bit.ly/1PuWLf8

continents, MediaMath develops digital marketing

technology and offers deep industry expertise, enabling
marketers to connect with consumers individually and
at scale across the entirety of the worlds digital media.
MediaMaths TerminalOne Marketing Operating System

Hires this year by MediaMath, one of the few large independent

ad tech companies that hasnt gone public or sold, suggest that
its gearing up for change, beit an initial public offering or more
aggressive growth as a still-private player.

enables marketers to customize their own technology

Most recently, Rich Schmaeling joined MediaMath this month as

infrastructure and leverage their data and industry data

CFO, filling a post that had been vacant since Jeannie Mun left

in the planning, execution, optimization and analysis of

digital marketing programs, resulting in smarter decisions
that grow their business. Powering the operations for

in March to join an e-book startup. He had been a consultant at

Media General and before that was CFO at Lin Media, which Media
General merged with, and VP-finance at Dow Jones, where he
worked on its integration with News Corp.

thousands of marketers, including those representing 55

percent of the Fortune 100, TerminalOne enables its users
to drive transformative business results across the entire
digital ecosystem.
For more information, visit http://www.mediamath.com

His arrival follows Peter Piazzas appointment as general counsel in

June, succeeding Brian Miller, who left in March. Mr. Piazza had
been deputy chief legal officer at Nielsen.
Both were chosen partly because they had been involved in M&A
deals and understand how large private and public companies
operate, according to MediaMath.
And Richard Beattie was named to the newly created post of senior
VP-commercialization for Europe, the Middle East and Africa in
January; he had held an international role at Oracle.

MediaMath has also expanded its board, handing seats to Jeffrey

scaling it that way, versus constantly requiring financing.

Rayport, professor at Harvard Business School and founder of

Marketspace, and Bill Wheaton, head of media content at Akamai.

Theres been a cloud over ad tech since the flurry of ad tech IPOs

The companys demand-side software helps advertisers serve video

between 2013 and 2014 left Wall Street unimpressed. Early this year,

and display ads across mobile devices and desktop computers using

Ad Age reported that four out of seven hot ad tech companies that

data and analytics software.

went public during the IPO flurry were trading below their opening
prices.

Mr. Schmaeling can help the company along any of several possible
routes, according to MediaMath CEO Joe Zawadzki. We absolutely

Some large ad tech firms such as like MediaMath are looking to

wanted someone who could handle any of the range of options that

invest in broader capabilities through M&A, and large marketing

help us thoughtfully reinvest profits in order to continue to scale the

technology companies like Salesforce are investing in ad tech

business, and do it in more geographies with more departments, and

companies to bolster their own capabilities.

in an overall more complex business, Mr. Zawadzki said. We want

to make use of his public market expertise so the notion of an IPO,

Programmatic ad tech has grown beyond its start in unloading

and living as a public company, is not foreign.

unsold digital inventory, Mr. Zawadzki said, and now helps

marketers determine which audiences to buy and how much to pay

But an IPO is not imminent, much less the the only option.

for them as part of larger business objectives. Were in the early

MediaMath may remain private, Mr. Zawadzki said. Selling to a

phases of the long-term transformation thats happening, he said,

behemoth, a third possible scenario, is the least likely move for

about how programmatic and the use of technology and software is

MediaMath, which would rather be a buyer than the seller, he added.

ultimately changing the nature of an industry.

We did six acquisitions last year, Mr. Zawadzki said. We plan to

continue to be acquisitive.

MediaMath turns to Ying for APAC

Expansion

Mr. Piazza will support those goals, as someone with very strong
general counsel chops in terms of building a really good commercial

PR Week | September 24, 2015

team and also being really good at M&A, said Mr. Zawadzki.

http://bit.ly/1OOM3ie

MediaMaths investments in the near-term will likely expand its

Ying Communications has been hired by US digital marketing outfit

cross-platform ad-buying and analytics capabilities, spanning not

MediaMath to drive its communications across Singapore, Australia

just desktop and mobile but TV, digital signs and radio, among other

and New Zealand.

media, he said.
After opening its first Asian office in Singapore almost 18 months ago,
MediaMath, which says it employs over 700 people, increased its

the New York firm wants to boost its awareness in Asia-Pacific.

gross revenue excluding refunds and discounts to $470 million last

year, up from $322 million in 2013, according to Mr. Zawadzki.

Naeema Ismail, general manager of Ying PR, said: We have watched

In May, the company raised $84 million in equity and another

Singapore become a regional hub for the digital advertising industry,

$120 million in debt lines, which Mr. Zawadzki calls a bit of an

and MediaMath is known in the industry for its revolutionary digital

abnormality.

marketing technology.

Last year was certainly a building year in terms of acquisitions and

Emma Williams, MediaMaths senior director of regional marketing for

global expansions, he said. Were largely growing organically and

APAC, said: APAC is one of the fastest growing regions globally and

a key focus for MediaMaths business, but there is still so much more

explained Chris Victory, vice president of global partnerships and

opportunity here to educate people on the benefits of programmatic

business development at MediaMath in a statement.

advertising.
The MediaMath app for Oracle Marketing Cloud is just the tip of the
With the appointment of Ying Communications, we hope to tap

iceberg when it comes to our plans for collaborating and merging the

on their industry knowledge and experience to build further brand

worlds of paid and owned media, said Victory.

awareness for MediaMath in the region.

On the bigger scheme of things, the trend towards programmatic

MediaMath App on Oracle Marketing Cloud

Helps Marketers Navigate Ad Landscape

media is impossible to miss, as better technology and increased

digitization makes media buying agencies less relevant with each
passing year. Indeed, some executives in the marketing industry
that CMO Innovation have spoken to are quietly confident that it

CMO Innovation

| September 26, 2015

represents the shape of the industry to come.

http://bit.ly/1Puuzcj

What about you? Are you leveraging programmatic advertising for

MediaMath has announced their work with Oracle Marketing Cloud

your organization?

on an app designed to help marketers drive engagement to navigate

the ad landscape, including across both paid and owned media.
On its part, Oracle Marketing Cloud is a platform that gives chief
marketing officers (CMOs) and marketers access to data-driven
solutions designed to simplify marketing resources and deliver more
personalized customer-centric experiences across multiple channels,
which includes managing both multi-channel content and data for
B2B and B2C marketers.
MediaMaths TerminalOne for Oracle Marketing Cloud application
is now available on the Oracle Cloud Marketplace, an online shop
for Oracle customers looking for the appropriate business apps and
services to improve or extend their Oracle Cloud experience.
According to MediaMath, the app allows marketers to extend and
align their email messages by leveraging retargeting tactics across paid
media channels, and also allow marketers to build more actionable
customer profiles by activating email-based audiences across paid
channels.
By working with Oracle, we are integrating powerful and
complementary advertising and marketing technology to provide
marketers with the complete end-to-end infrastructure they need to
target their audiences at every stage of the customer journey, from
awareness and engagement to purchase and retention - and beyond,

SCOTT KNOLL | Integral Ad Science CEO

Digital firm Integral Ad Science raises $67

million in new funding
Crains New York

Integral Ad Science is a technology company focused

| July 31, 2015

http://bit.ly/1IGDY8u

on ensuring safe, quality media environments for

online advertisers. Employing the industrys only media
valuation platform, Integral Ad Science evaluates the
media environment and establishes a TRAQ Score (True
Advertising Quality), a first-of-its kind, quantifiable

Digital advertising firm Integral Ad Science raised $67 million in its

latest round of fundraising, the company announced Friday.
The total amount is 26% more than the roughly $50 million it has
raised in total since the company started taking money from outside

measure of media quality that ultimately benefits every

investors in 2009. The latest round, which included $27 million in

media buyer, seller, publisher and trading platform. TRAQ

equity, was led by venture-capital firm Sapphire Ventures. Silicon

score supports an advertisers ability to plan, execute

Valley Bank also contributed $40 million in debt financing in the

and target their audience in an environment that reflects

their brand image and drives ROI, while simultaneously

round.
Its difficult to raise funds in the current ad-tech market, said Integral

setting benchmarks for publishers who wish to improve

Ad Science CEO Scott Knoll. Companies who have gone public

the quality of their media, content and design. Integral

havent seen favorable stock prices, which makes investors hesitant.

is headquartered in New York with operations in San

Not to mention, they still have the scar tissue from being previously

Francisco, Chicago, London, Tokyo, Singapore and Sydney.

For more information, visit http://integralads.com

burned by investments in smaller firms.

Integral, which specializes in ad placement, helps brands avoid
running campaigns on websites that dont generate a lot of traffic.
Among its clients are global brands Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and
American Express.
Mr. Knoll said the company sought additional funding with an eye
toward expansion. He also didnt rule out the firm going public in the

future.
Advertising is no longer a desk job. It has become less about the art
and more about the science, said Mr. Knoll. We will make more
acquisitions, hire more data scientists and engineers and continue to
create new products.
Thanks to high demand from marketers to assure ads are both regularly
seen and protected from fraud, Integrals revenue rose 92%, to $52
million in 2014, from nearly $4 million in 2011. The firm doubled its
staff last year and is expected to do so again by the end of this year.
Earlier this month, the New York-based company opened offices in
Paris and Tokyo, bringing its global total to 11.
Integral has demonstrated strong financials and exceptional growth,
with a bright future ahead, said Adam Millsom, director of Silicon
Valley Bank in New York, in a statement.
Integrals fast growth garnered multiple awards in 2014: It was named
No. 7 on Crains 50 Fastest Growing Companies, No. 15 on Forbes list
of Americas Most Promising Companies and No. 115 on the Inc.
500 list.

10

TOM GERACE | Skyword CEO

Skyword Cited for Highest Gross

Customer Satisfaction Scores in
Independent Content
Marketing Platform Report

| July 1, 2015

http://bit.ly/1M7L9vT

Skyword delivers all that marketers need to reach and

engage their audiences with quality, original content
designed to succeed in search and social media. Quality
content is essential for reaching and engaging consumers

Skyword, the leading content marketing technology and services

company, was among the select companies that Forrester Research
invited to participate in The Forrester Wave: Content Marketing
Platforms, Q2 2015. In this evaluation, Skyword was cited as a strong

today, but the creation process is messy, inconsistent and

performer, and the company received the highest gross customer

immeasurable. The Skyword Platform makes it easy to

satisfaction scores in the evaluation.

produce, optimize, and promote content at any scale to

create meaningful, lasting relationships with customers.
Skyword also provides access to a community of thousands

The hectic pace of marketing in an always-on world demands a

high level of cross channel and cross team visibility and interaction,
the report said. Forresters latest Wave Report evaluated nine of the

of professional writers, and its content strategy and

most significant CMP vendors, and selected them for their ability

editorial teams can help ensure the ongoing success of

to deliver content across multiple channels, produce and distribute

clients content programs. Skyword is a privately held,

written content, images, and video, and provide more than mere point

privately funded company headquartered in Boston,

Massachusetts. Investors include Allen & Company,
Progress Ventures, Cox Media Group, and American
Public Media Group.
For more information, visit http://www.skyword.com.

solutions to enterprise clients.

According to the report, Skyword is known by most content marketers
only for its pool of writers, photographers, and videographers, offered
as a service. A secret known only to its customers, who gave the vendor
the highest gross customer satisfaction scores in this evaluation, is the
rich functionality of its content marketing platform software.
The report also stated that Skywords acquisition of a video

11

management tool gives it unique functionality including frame-byframe, time-stamped comments.

Our mission at Skyword is to turn the best brands into the best brand
storytellers, said Tom Gerace, founder and CEO of Skyword. We
are helping transform marketing teams at todays leading brands into
publishing powerhouses as they connect with audiences in all parts of
the world in any format people choose. These organizations include
IBM, Veracode, HP, AutoTrader, Iron Mountain, United Way and
more.
Through Skywords enterprise-class technology, network of 4,600
vetted freelance writers, videographers, and photographers; and its
strategic and editorial services, the company helps large enterprises
throughout the world connect with audiences through original
sustainable storytelling.
To date, 660,000 original stories have been published on the Skyword
Platform, generating 800 million organic visits, 5 million Likes on
Facebook, and 2 million Tweets. Earlier this year, Skyword launched its
global capabilities, with an internationalized platform that is currently
available in 11 languages, 18 dialects and unlimited currencies.
Freelance writers and videographers are currently creating brand
stories in 22 countries including Brazil, China, Germany, Russia, and
Singapore.
Forrester confirmed that although the CMP vendor landscape is in its
infancy, growth potential is huge. [Users] see CMPs as collaboration
zones that feed into or draw insight from other products, the report
said. Much of the promise of CMPs is to provide higher visibility
across organizational boundaries.
Content marketing is clearly working, but there is tremendous
potential for where we can take it, said Gerace. Brands are investing
on a much larger scale to connect with people through stories they
love rather than interrupting them with ads and marketing methods
that no longer work. We will continue to work with our customers to
develop their story craft and innovate new technologies, formats, and
channels to deliver their stories anywhere in the world.

Skyword Relocates to One PPG Place,

Plans for Continued Pittsburgh Expansion
Skyword Press Release

| September 24, 2015

http://bit.ly/1MzE97D

Skyword, Inc, the leading content marketing platform and services

company, announced the opening of new, expanded office space at
One PPG Place. The company moved its operations from Three
Gateway Center to the new location to accommodate its continued
need to grow its development, engineering, and product management
teams.
Skyword brings together enterprise-class technology, a network of
4,600 professional freelancers, and in-house editorial and project
management services to help global brands connect with their
audiences through original storytelling. Using Skywords platform,
brands have the ability to publish stories at scale, establish a seamless
workflow, and manage the creation process in one place.
Skyword powers content marketing initiatives for brands and
publishers, including Autotrader, Entertainment Weekly, IBM, Iron
Mountain, MasterCard International, United Way Worldwide, and
more.
Headquartered in Boston, the companys technology and development
team is based in Pittsburgh, led by Chief Technology Officer John
Mihalik. Mihalik plans to grow the team 20 percent by the end of this
year.
The move to PPG marks a major milestone for Skyword, said Mihalik.
Over the past few years, weve built software that empowers brands
to adopt an entirely new model for reaching customers. Technology is
key for brands to scale these efforts, and were proud of the work our
team in Pittsburgh is doing to make the Skyword Platform a critical
tool.
As brands look to differentiate themselves among audiences that have
become blind to many forms of traditional advertising, informing and
entertaining consumers through original, sustainable storytelling is
becoming a key way to build audience and revenue. According reports

12

by Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, more than 86

percent of B2B and 77 percent of B2C organizations use content
marketing.
Were thrilled about the expansion of Skywords offices, said Tom
Gerace, founder and CEO. This move allows us to take advantage of
the software development talent in Pittsburgh as we transform how
todays leading brands are marketing today.

13

RAJ AGGARWAL | Localytics CEO

Announcing the Twitter and Localytics

Partnership: Attract and Understand Your
Most Valuable Users

Localytics is the leading marketing and analytics platform

Localytics Blog

for mobile and web apps. Localytics works with some of

http://bit.ly/1NRbGjE

the worlds most well-known brands, like eBay, Salesforce,

Microsoft and The New York Times, helping them create
great experiences for their customers and maximizing
profitability, engagement, lifetime value and loyalty.

| July 23, 2015

We are excited to announce that today we have partnered with Twitter

as a Twitter Mobile Measurement Partner (MMP) to help mobile
marketers optimize their Twitter acquisition campaign performance.

Localytics provides analytics and marketing for more than

In the mobile marketing world, its increasingly important to measure

1 billion devices across more than 20,000 apps. Localytics

not just downloads, but the true value of users. The Twitter and

headquarters are located in Boston, MA.

Localytics partnership enables our customers to take advantage of the

For more information, visit http://www.localytics.com

over 300M monthly visitors by giving them the best insights to acquire

powerful reach and targeting opportunities available across Twitters

high value users and the most powerful engagement tools to turn app
installs into loyal customers.
As the only app lifecycle engagement platform to become a Twitter
Mobile Measurement Partner, Localytics offers granular downstream
analytics about in-app activities, and has the unique ability to tie
customer acquisition campaigns to post-install user behavior and
in-app conversion events. This helps our customers use rich data to
improve campaign performance, evaluate the success of their Twitter
ad campaign investments beyond just app installs, and understand
what ultimately drives conversion.
At Localytics, we want to empower our customers to identify and

14

reach their most valuable customers. Thats why weve created an

even more difficult to find seamless and meaningful ways to re-engage

attribution platform that covers over 85% of the mobile ad market.

them on mobile. The Twitter and Localytics partnership addresses

Our new partnership with Twitter expands this reach and is

these challenges so that customers can focus on building strong

particularly valuable because of Twitters increasing value as a user

customer relationships.

acquisition platform and our ability to provide the best insight into
Twitter-acquired users right from the Localytics Dashboard.

Were currently hard at work building new functionality to help you

use the insight you gain from Localytics to go even further and fuel

In order to engage and retain your most valuable users its important

hyper-specific remarketing campaigns across a range of leading

to understand the kinds of behavior these users exhibit in your app.

acquisition platforms.

Localytics customers can now leverage robust, real-time analytics to

develop key insights into what their Twitter-acquired users do in their

In addition to todays announcement, Localytics is also excited to

app.

announce additional support for post-download and event postbacks

support for Google (AdWords), AdColony, AppLovin and Liftoff.

Imagine a restaurant reservation app that ran a Twitter campaign

to acquire new users, by using Localytics not only can they see how
those users travelled in their app engagement funnel.

Localytics Celebrates Significant Growth

Milestones

They can delve deeper into their app analytics and begin to establish

PR Newswire

trends and patterns for their most valuable users, for example, by

http://prn.to/1M2uI6z

many users downloaded the app, but they can also determine how far

| August 17, 2015

slicing the data by device you can see if users are more likely to browse
restaurants on their tablet at the weekends and make a reservation on

Localytics, the leading lifecycle engagement platform for mobile and

their smartphone on a weekday morning. As a Twitter MMP Localytics

web apps, announced today that it has passed another significant

allows you to prove and disprove a range of value hypotheses for your

milestone in its growth, processing more than one trillion app actions

app users.

and surpassing 37,000 app installs on more than 2.7 billion devices.
Additionally, the company was named NO. 274 on Inc. Magazines

The end goal is to understand how many users are performing a

34th annual Inc. 5000, an exclusive ranking of the nations fastest-

conversion activity like making a booking, instead of simply measuring

growing private companies. Localytics joins the ranks of other fast-

the number of installs. Now app marketers using Localytics can see

growing organizations, such as Yelp, Pandora, Timberland, Dell,

which Twitter-acquired users are performing valuable conversion

Dominos Pizza, LinkedIn, and Zillow.

activities.
Surpassing one trillion events and being recognized as one of the
What is equally important for this partnership is that user behavior

fastest growing companies in America is a testament to our team

data that is already being captured in Localytics can be shared to

and their effort to make our company the leader in the app lifecycle

Twitter using event postbacks for Twitter. Event postbacks extend app

engagement category, said Raj Aggarwal, CEO and Co-Founder of

user insights beyond the app marketer side of the table so that Twitter

Localytics. While these milestones are certainly significant, this is

can learn what valuable users look like, specifically for your app. This

also just the beginning of our growth story.

helps ensure that future campaign spend is optimized to attract only

the most valuable users for your app.

The 2015 Inc. 5000 is the most competitive crop in the lists history. It
measures revenue growth over a three year period, ending in 2014. In

It can be difficult to pinpoint where your acquisition dollars are best

that timeframe, Localytics achieved a revenue growth rate of 1,674%.

spent. Even after youve identified the right target audience, it can be

The average company on the list achieved a three-year growth of 490%.

15

on their smartphones. So a department store, for example, could

The story of this years Inc. 5000 is the story of great leadership. In

target mobile app users who have displayed certain buying

an incredibly competitive business landscape, it takes something

inclinations in the past via email. Using Localytics auto-profiles like

extraordinary to take your company to the top, says Inc. President

Last Session Date and/or Last City, a marketer can see when and

and Editor-In-Chief Eric Schurenberg. You have to remember that

where a user may have recently engaged with the brand and can

the average company on the Inc. 5000 grew nearly six-fold since 2012.

build on this information with a Localytics profile like Shoe Buyer

Business owners dont achieve that kind of success by accident.

to craft a campaign that resonates with the targeted email recipient.

Additionally, in the first six months of 2015, Localytics raised $35

Localytics said the integration is part of its commitment to helping

million in funding, announced predictive app marketing features,

marketers deliver relevant app experiences to their customers in every

analytics for the Apple Watch and new email marketing capabilities,

stage of the app lifecycle, adding that more third-party integrations

acquired Splitforce (an automated optimization tool) and became the

would be announced over the coming months.

first app lifecycle engagement platform to be named a Twitter Mobile

Measurement Partner.
In addition to the Inc. 5000 recognition, Localytics has been named
a finalist in the Digiday Signal Awards, the MassTLC Leadership
Awards and the AlwaysOn Global 250 Top Private Companies.

Localytics Announces Marketo Integration

Mobile Marketing Magazine

| August 28, 2015

http://bit.ly/1W2uYHm

App analytics and marketing firm Localytics has announced an

integration with Marketo marketing automation software for the web.
Localytics said the integration will enable it to combine customer data
and user behaviours to automate customer communication across
mobile and desktop, including apps and websites.
Leveraging Marketo webhooks, Localytics mobile app behaviour and
profile data are now automatically pulled into Marketo for use in
email campaigns. These cross-channel insights, the company said, will
enable marketers to move from simply responding to the needs of the
customer, to anticipating their needs and moving them forward on
their journey with the brand.
Marketo users will benefit from the integration through the ability
to incorporate richer mobile data in their marketing campaigns. As
an example, going forward, they will be able to use Marketo Smart
Campaigns to trigger Localytics push messages that reach customers

16

BETTINA HEIN | Pixability CEO

Pixability Makes Inc. 5000 List of Americas

Fastest Growing Private Companies
Pixability Press Release

| August 12, 2015

http://bit.ly/1NkEBcQ

Pixability, an online video advertising and marketing technology

Pixability is a YouTube-certified marketing and advertising

company, was named to Inc. Magazines Inc. 5000, an exclusive list

software company that works with brands, e-commerce

of the nations fastest growing private companies. The list represents

firms, agencies, and innovative organizations to drive

business and awareness with online video and YouTube.
Using its powerful, proprietary, cloud-based video

the most comprehensive look at Americas leading independent

entrepreneurs. Pixability ranks 732 in what was the most competitive
list in Inc. 5000s 34-year history, and joins an elite group of technology
companies that gained early exposure as Inc. 5000 honorees, including

marketing software and online video and community

Yelp, Pandora, Dell, LinkedIn, and Zillow. The Inc. 5000 recognition

analytics databases, Pixabilitys certified and seasoned

solidifies Pixabilitys leadership role within the online video ad tech

team of YouTube professionals has worked with more than

500 customers, 10,000 YouTube channels, and 2.5 million
business and brand videos. Pixabilitys complimentary

ecosystem, which is fueling an aggressive shift of media allocations

to digital, particularly online video. U.S. digital video ad spend is
projected to rise by 30.4% this year alone, reaching $7.77 billion.[1]

Online Video Grader (onlinevideograder.com) provides

As our platform continues to prove its effectiveness for the most

any organization with immediate metrics and analysis

demanding global brand advertisers and their media agencies, we

of YouTube, web video, video search, and social video

are honored to hold a spot on the Inc. 5000 list, said Bettina Hein,

effectiveness.
For more information, visit http://www.pixability.com/

Founder and CEO of Pixability. The recognition of our companys

growth is a testament to the powerful combination of sophisticated
technology, a dynamic market, and innovative brand partners.
The 2015 Inc. 5000, unveiled online at Inc.com, and featured in the
September issue of Inc. Magazine, is the most competitive crop in the

17

lists history. The average company on the list achieved a three-year

Pixabilitys rapid growth, said Art Zeidman, CRO of Pixability. His

growth of 490%. The Inc. 5000s aggregate revenue is $205 billion,

deep understanding of digital media, and his proven ability to execute

generating 647,000 jobs over the past three years. Complete results of

against business objectives to drive significant revenue will make him

the Inc. 5000, including company profiles, can be found at www.inc.

an asset to the Pixability team.

com/inc5000.
Prior to Pixability, Sparaga served as Vice President, Global Publisher
Demand from brands for media transparency, reporting accuracy, and

Solutions at Sizmek (formerly DG MediaMind), where he was

business attribution for online video is at an all-time high, as global

responsible for driving revenue with all global publisher partners;

brands increasingly turn to online video marketing as a key revenue

and Senior Vice President Sales, North America at 24/7 Media

generator. Pixabilitys programmatic optimization technology and ad

(now Xaxis), a WPP Company, where he drove 150% growth of the

buying platform reduces the complexities that accompany growing

companys media business. He also held sales roles at ClearChannel

online video media spend, and delivers superior results for brand

Radio, Moviefone, Turner Broadcasting Systems, and Katz Media

and agency customers, which include LOral USA, PUMA, Viacom,

Group.

Publicis Groupe, Mindshare and Omnicoms Resolution Media.

Pixability has proven the effectiveness of its powerful technology

Pixability Taps Seasoned Media Sales

Management Executive as VP Sales

platform to global advertisers and their media agencies, and I am eager

to help drive increased market adoption, said Lee Sparaga, Pixability
VP of Sales. Smart brands recognize that to execute successful ad
campaigns in todays market, the use of data and technology is critical.

Pixability Press Release

| August 19, 2015

http://bit.ly/1ZRDybb

The companys impressive growth is proof of sophisticated technology

that enables advertisers to harness online video as a key revenue
generator.

Pixability, a video ad buying and marketing technology company,

has announced the appointment of Lee Sparaga to Vice President of
Sales. Sparaga brings more than 15 years of media sales management
experience to Pixability, with core expertise in digital media and
advertising technology platforms. Based in New York, Sparaga will
oversee sales operations and management with a focus on North
America, across Pixabilitys offices in Boston, New York, Chicago, and
San Francisco.
Reporting to Pixability CRO Art Zeidman, Sparaga will deliver on his
proven success of driving profitable revenue and cultivating strong
relationships with brand and agency customers. He will lead the
expansion of Pixabiltys sales team nationwide, and oversee strategic
account planning and client services across industries. Lee and his team
will enable brand customers to achieve strong media performance on
premium platforms, and help brands and their agencies understand
how to best leverage technology in their digital media plans.
Lee brings a combination of media, agency, and ad tech expertise
that is crucial to successfully lead our sales team and accelerate

18

KATHY LEAKE | Qualia CEO & Founder

Qualia Partners With Ibotta To Deliver

Cross-Platform Sales Attribution
Adotas

| September 8, 2015

http://bit.ly/1jQAIlM

Qualia, a company providing intent-based targeting, announced its

Qualia, formerly known as LocalResponse, an intent

partnership with Ibotta, the leading cash back app in the United

targeting pioneer, empowers brand marketers with the

States. The joint offering will provide first of its kind conversion data

ability to identify and respond to real-time declarations

analytics to cross-platform marketers, delivering granular conversion

of intent expressed over social media. Their IQ engine

data down to the SKU level.

creates a composite of multiple social signals from a

consumer and overlays our targeting capabilities to reach a

These precision analytics break new ground on what has long

marketers most qualified audience. Their technology then

been considered the ideal, or last mile, of measuring ad marketing

retargets that consumer across any or all of their devices

performance, said Qualia CEO and Co-founder Kathy Leake (left).

(mobile, tablet, laptop, desktop) and platforms (web, app)

Ibottas end-to-end capability is the holy grail of sales attribution

with any type of IAB- standard creative. In market since

and without a doubt exceeds the mobile to in-store conversion

2011, Qualia is led by Kathy Leake, CEO (co-founder

analysis weve used to date.

Media6Degrees) and Niels Meersschaert, CTO (co-founder

of Magnetic) who are committed to defining the next

Qualia has built a device graph of commercial intent signals, or

generation of Intent targeting. Qualia is headquartered

declarations of a consumers intent to purchase, across e-commerce,

in NYC and has offices in Chicago, Los Angeles and San

social and apps. The company works with a set of exclusive data

Francisco.
For additional information, visit www.qualia-media.com.

partners to isolate meaningful data points and continues to scale its

proprietary device graph. This partnership extends the use of Ibottas
data beyond the norm and uses its geo-location and store-level
data to inform better marketer prospecting and more precise ROI
measurement.

19

Ibottas unique platform allows us to aggregate a wide variety of

shopper data, said Bijal Shah, who leads Ibottas data and insights
product portfolio, also known as Ibottalytics. Theres nothing more
powerful than the combination of Qualias commercial intent signals
and our sales data to allow marketers to more efficiently target their
advertising campaigns and effectively measure impact down to the
item level.
Ibottas data is derived by aggregating demographic, geo-location,
and item-level purchase data. With over 10 million downloads of
the Ibotta App and more than 40 retail integrations, Ibotta has an
extremely unique and robust dataset that can reveal how a shopper
has responded to prior marketing communications and inform future
communications accordingly.

20

JEFFREY PEDEN | Crave Labs CEO & Founder

CraveLabs Announces Real-Time Mobile

Attribution, Media Planning Features
Business Wire | September 28, 2015
http://on.mktw.net/1PuOlEN

CraveLabs recently introduced the latest features of its industryCraveLabs is the leader in applying location intelligence

leading location tech platform, DropIn, to select partners. CraveLabs

to mobile advertising. DropIn, the companys software

will be conducting a wider release leading up to New Yorks Advertising

platform, offers place-based intelligence and targeted

advertising for brands and agencies, retailers, and Fortune

Week and Bostons FutureM and in anticipation of a general roll out

in 2016.

500 media companies. Based in Boston, the company

Included in the release is CraveLabs real-time attribution for mobile

continuously monitors more than a billion discrete

advertising, allowing brands to connect and see impact of efforts

locations worldwide with its proprietary technology,

across the digital and physical world in real-time.

allowing it to generate analysis on more than one trillion

data points per month.
For more information, visit www.cravelabs.com

CraveLabs is currently utilizing its mobile attribution feature to

measure performance and deliver intelligence for brick and mortar
businesses. Initial customers have been able to measure a greater
than 4x lift in foot traffic and can now concretely identify mobile
advertisings impact on real world behavior.
In addition to the real-time attribution, CraveLabs location analytics
tools enable media planners to plan location-based budgets ahead of
time, aligning spends with real-world location. The location analytics
tools systematize operations by providing intelligence for media
planning with frictionless scale.

21

Both of these features are built on the DropIn platform which processes
over 80 billion location enabled requests and over one trillion data
points each month, across hundreds of millions of discrete locations.
In Q4 and beyond, CraveLabs will continue to drive forward its
industry-leading technology, developing cutting-edge solutions for
mobile advertising, business intelligence, and more.

22

RODNEY WILLIAMS | LISNR CEO & Founder

LISNR Honored for SXSW V2Vs

V2Venture Competition
PR Web | July 23, 2015
http://bit.ly/1OL5vds

LISNR, the creator of SmartTones, a new technology that sends data

LISNR is a mobile application that enhances experiences

over audio, took home first prize in the Innovative World Technologies

by uniquely engaging fans while their experiencing the

category at the V2Venture competition at the SXSW V2V conference

things that they love. LISNR turns audio into an interactive

platform, delivering mobile experiences to smartphones
based on LISNR enabled audio in the surrounding
environment. Currently, LISNR provides musicians with a

held at Bellagio Hotel of Las Vegas. The SXSW V2Venture competition

honored five of the most exciting new innovations in five categories
including Enterprise and Smart Data Technologies; Health and
Wearable Technologies; Social Technologies; Entertainment and
Content Technologies; and Innovative World Technologies.

new way to engage with their fans and provides advertisers

a new way to partner with musicians through their music.
In just over a year, LISNR has secured game changing
programs for the nations top CPG, music, and media
entities.
For more information, visit http://lisnr.com/

Mohanjit Jolly (Draper Fisher Jurvetson) and Leah Hunter (Fast

Company) emceed the competition along with three industry expert
judges for each category. Each of the finalists were given three
minutes to present, then the next six minutes were dedicated to the
panel providing feedback. The panel of 15 judges included: Renata
Akhunova Formula VC Venture Fund, Wayne Chang, Twitter, Paige
Craig ArenaVC /Foundercraft, John Fein Techstars, Christine Herron,
Intel ,Charles Hudson SoftTech VC. Scott Lenet Touchdown Ventures,
Hany Nada GGV Captial, Ben Ling Khosla Ventures, Lev Mass
XSeed Capital, David S. Rose Gust, Andy Sack Founders Co-Op, JC
Simbana Silicon Valley Bank, Bryan Stolle Mohr Davidow Ventures,
Jeff Tannenbaum BlueRun Ventures.

23

Were excited to bring this award home to Cincinnati, says LISNR

a Lisnr-enabled phone picks up that tone, it unlocks a behind-the-

co-founder and marketing leader Chris Ostoich. Weve been working

scenes video or tells the user the next time that artist is coming into

with exciting brands like R/GA, Budweiser and Intel, and were excited

town. Since then, Lisnr joined an accelerator run by Techstars and

to show the world what LISNR can do.

ad agency R/GA to build out the technology to be used as a wireless

means of transferring data using nothing but sound tones that cant be

LISNRs technology provides an entirely new way to connect

picked up by the human ear.

devices -- simply using the sound around us. LISNRs Smart Audio
Tones live just above human hearing level -- and while people cant

The company hired a top music technology executive earlier this year

hear them, smartphones can. The technology can unlock second

and plans to continue to hire sales executives to fuel its growth.

screen experiences and deliver proximity-based marketing content,

Its crucial that we get the right people in the right roles, Williams

unlocking the power of data over audio.

said. We are looking for the best talent in the world to help build this
business.

The caliber of finalists at this years V2Venture competition were

cutting-edge, creative and forward-thinking, said SXSW V2Venture
Event Producer, Chris Valentine. Its an honor to see these outstanding
companies represented. Congratulations to the winners.

White House Honors Cincinnati

Entrepreneur
Cincinnatti Business Courier | August 4, 2015

Lisnr Hires P&G Veteran

http://bit.ly/1GnaXUC

Cincinnatti Business Courier | Juuly 29, 2015

A Cincinnati entrepreneur was invited to the White House to be

http://bit.ly/1LkCB3J

honored during an event meant to promote American innovation and

entrepreneurship.

Lisnr, a Cincinnati-based audio technology startup, has hired a former

Procter & Gamble Co. leader.

Lisnr CEO Rodney Williams was invited to Washington, D.C., to be

honored at the White House Demo Day on Tuesday. The event is meant

Mick Suh has been named Lisnrs chief revenue officer. He was a brand

to promote inclusive entrepreneurship and includes the awarding of

manager at P&G for 10 years in addition to his experience at Kelloggs,

116 Small Business Administration prizes, 10 new cities and states

significant contribution to strong revenue growth at Coupons.com

including Cincinnati being awarded TechHire designations

and service in the U.S. Army.

and other measures to increase access to capital and streamline the

formation of new businesses.

Mick has a rare combination of discipline and vision, Lisnr CEO

Rodney Williams said. He can spot innovation and good ideas

We are chasing the impossible. This is another step in that direction,

and then get to work fueling real growth, putting processes in place

Williams told me in an email. Personally, I couldnt more proud of

that help companies prosper. His experience in consulting, branding

#TeamLisnr.

and sales make him a perfect fit for LISNR. Im looking forward to
working with Mick to bring LISNR into its next chapter.

The White House Demo Day invited 32 startups to present their

companies. While Lisnr was not one of them, Williams was one of 17

Lisnr recently took home a Gold Lion from the Cannes Lions

entrepreneurs honored at the event.

International Festival of Creativity in France. It began as a mobile app

that used proprietary inaudible sound tones to unlock special content

Lisnr was selected after being referred to the White House, co-founder

on mobile devices. A musician can embed tones in a track, and when

Chris Ostoich told me.

24

It all happened very fast for us, he said. They brought together a
really diverse and representative sample of entrepreneurs from across
the country. You have mom tech startups, mobile like us and there are
so many different kinds of companies represented at this event as well
as (different) geographies.

25

FIELD GARTHWAITE | IRIS.TV CEO & Co-Founder

Iris.TV and SpotX Partner to Streamline

the Streaming Ad Space
Press Release

| September 22, 2015

http://bit.ly/1PD0HL1

IRIS.TV Inc is a video recommendation engine that

allows video publishers and content owners to generate
more video views in a continuous playback experience.

Personalized programming provider Iris.TV and programmatic

platform SpotX have announced a partnership to combine their
unique technologies in service of more effective revenue generation
for media publishers.

The software is designed to increase revenue and simplify

operations for web and mobile video distribution,
matching content based on audience preferences and
user interactions. The companys core product Adaptive

Iris.TV is best known for its Adaptive Stream technology which

allows publishers to create intelligent streams of video programming.
By using in-stream recommendation and targeting video to the
individual consumer using both accumulated data and direct user

Stream(TM) delivers relevant content in a television-like

input tools Iris.TV has been able to increase watch time and help

experience, personalized to each viewers interests.

publishers to crack the all-important problem of completion which

For more information, visit www.iris.tv

has increasingly dogged makers of short form video as competition

for eyes and attention spans ramps up.
The recently rebranded SpotX is an ad servicing platform that
connects publishers with advertisers in order to efficiently structure
programmatic campaigns against premium digital content. As its new
name suggests SpotX has expanded its service beyond the traditional
ad exchange model to provide publishers with a range of tools for
servicing small and large campaigns. The SpotX platform processes
more than 5 billion video ad decisions daily reaching an audience of
600 million across 190 countries.

26

The two services will combine forces to provide publishers with the
ability to personalize and target monetization and programming.
By tapping Iris.TVs intuitive programming technology and SpotXs
comprehensive ad decisioning technology publishers will be able to
service ads more efficiently to both the most appropriate and most
engaged content consumers.

27

ANDRE SWANSTON | Tru Optik CEO

Tru Optik closes $1.7 million in venture

financing from Alex Blum and Progress
Ventures
Press Release

| September 29, 2015

http://bit.ly/1W2uJMn

Tru Optik is a digital media audience intelligence company

that empowers brand marketers, media companies, and

Tru Optik, a leading provider of cookie-less audience segmentation

and over-the-top audience targeting, has closed a $1.7 million venture

agencies with the insight and solutions needed to fully

financing led by Greenwich, Conn.-based angel investor Alex Blum

monetize audience and consumer demand. Tru Optik

and Progress Ventures of Cambridge, MA and New York, NY.

boasts the industrys first and only integrated Data, DMP,

DSP and Analytics Technology Stack developed specifically
for media and entertainment audience and consumer

Progress Ventures has a proven track record of investing early in

innovative digital media technology companies such as MediaMath,
Pixability, Localytics and Integral Ad Science. Nick MacShane led the

monetization. As consumer demand and interactions

investment for Progress Ventures. Alex Blum, a former AOL executive

constantly shift, we pride ourselves in anticipating and

and board member of Admeld (acquired by Google for $400 million

quickly reacting to new data sources. We also have the

in 2011), is a co-investor and has also been named chairman of Tru

largest first party digital media consumption data set in the

world.
For more information, visit www.truoptik.com

Optiks board of directors.

This financing allows us to meet the explosive demand for Tru Optiks
audience measurement and targeting solutions, which are proving to
be invaluable to the growing Over-the-Top TV ecosystem, said Andre
Swanston, CEO and co-founder of Tru Optik. Over the past two
years we have developed relationships with some of the worlds largest
media companies and advertisers and we are prepared to continue on
our path to being the leader in over-the-top audience acquisition and
content monetization.

28

Leveraging the worlds largest census-level proprietary dataset of

cookie-less digital media consumption, Tru Optik powers digital
audience measurement and end-to-end ad targeting solutions for the
entertainment industry, media companies, and leading millennial and
multicultural brands.
Along with haven provided audience measurement or targeting
for companies including Scripps Networks, Sony Pictures, Sling
TV, Crackle, and several of the worlds leading agencies; Tru Optik
has been routinely recognized for the value and uniqueness of its
solutions, from being named Gartner Cool Vendor in 2014 to most
recently being named 2015 OTT Product of the Year at the OTT
Executive Summit.
Alex Geis the CTO and co-founder of Tru Optik is an expert in
cookie-less audience segmentation and big data science, said Alex
Blum, Tru Optiks Chairman. The Tru Optik team has developed a
strategic asset in the millennial-fueled transition of traditional linear
television to over-the-top television. This investment ensures Tru
Optik will have the resources necessary to support the rapid scaling
needs of their business.
Tru Optik has recently expanded its sales and marketing organization
and has developed an advisory board to better represent its growing
client base across key verticals. The new board includes founders and
executives with a combined $5 billion in media and ad tech related
exits over the past decade; as well as senior-level CPG and agency
leaders who will help Tru Optik leverage its technology and data
advantages in the OTT market, helping guide the evolution of Tru
Optiks products and services as the company enters its next phase of
growth.

29