Amir Ashkenazi is the founder of Adap.tv, as well as the former founder and CTO of Shopping.com. Adap.tv is in the midst of the Online Video Advertising fray, on which I have recently written quite a bit. In fact, Danny Cohen suggested this conversation after reading one of those pieces about one of Adap.tv’s competitors,
As more and more media moves to a digital format, the role of digital advertising firms will continue to increase. Firms which have hybrid experience, who truly understand brand management and are able to capitalize on online efficiency (buy more ad space for fewer dollars) are going to excel. AKQA will be an interesting firm
Robert Kost is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Portaga. In the early 1980s, he worked as an analyst with the Office of Technology Assessment of the US Congress. He later joined Prodigy (IBM/Sears/CBS) in the mid-80s, securing patents that are today at the heart of Internet innovation, and writing the first online banking,
Here we get a bit philosophical about the reason behind some of the industry regulation problems, and the pressures applied from the major players. Nonethelss, here is a new trend in advertising, one that is based on algorithms and mathematics, and the older schmoozing oriented models will be forced to adapt. SM: So you think
Continuing on our coverage of the Online Travel industry, I bring you Portaga, a small private company that is working on simplifying the challenges of booking and changing travel plans from within your calendar, desktop or mobile. Here, we speak with Portaga’s CEO Robert Kost. SM: Please describe your business value proposition and your product.
With the recent trend of private equity deals and acquisitions of advertising firms, the industry is truly on fire. This is the perfect opportunity for Tom to either take his company public or sell for a substantial amount. SM: Have you had offers already for an acquisition? TB: No. SM: In the future, in terms
AKQA had taken funding from Francisco Partners originally, and is now generating $100M in revenue annually. Francisco recently exited the business, and sold their shares to General Atlantic Partners. This happens right at the time when the online advertising market is heating up in a big way. SM: Your new investor is General Atlantic Partners?
To conclude the interview, I bring up the topic of branding. It seems obvious that Salesforce is moving beyond what it’s name suggests it offers clients. At this point, their brand is vastly less ambitious than the company. SM: My final question is regarding AppExchange. Salesforce seems to be moving beyond CRM. RB: We are