There’s always money in helping Websites make more money. FatTail tries to do that with its ad optimization software that tells Web publishers which ads and ad networks, in what combination, will give them the most ad dollars. The Southern California company, started in 2001 by math geeks who previously built a financial derivatives exchange, has bootstrapped itself until now.
With more than 500 customers including WebMD, Bloomberg, TheKnot, and Orbitz, FatTail is raising its first series A round. It raised $3.5 million from Velocity Interactive Group, Ted Meisel (the former CEO of Overture and president of Yahoo Search Marketing), and others. Velocity’s Ross Levinsohn will join the board.
I asked Levinsohn why he invested. His answer:
For a company who nobody has heard of, it has 500 clients. We like those odds. They already have revenues, and are on the verge of profits. They will be a survivor.
FatTail wants to become the trusted adviser for Websites to manage their ad inventory. With so many ad networks to choose from to plug in ad spots that cannot be sold directly, an ad optimizer like FatTail’s addresses a real pain point. FatTail works with any ad server and automates the Request for Proposal (RFP) process that between advertisers and Web publishers that is too often a bottleneck because it is still done manually.
From the website, it definitely looks like something a larger website/company would use that already gets a significant amount of traffic. Definitely appears to be a sophisticated analytics or BI tool. Are there things like that for smaller companies, like early stage?
Hi – for smaller companies I reckon http://www.revenuesolved.com is great.
I just stumbled on it the other day. It doesn’t do analysis on actual data, but instead asks you questions and then recommends networks based on your traffic etc.
At least companies are still raising money.
Is it just for the big fish, or can sites under 20k alexa sign up also?
seems like a competitor to pubmatic and rubicon project? do these type of guys even generate any revenue? unless they become there own ad network along with optimizing other ad inventory there is no real revenue opportunity for them.
Who gives a shit?
hahaha.
these randoms.
All of these ad networks / ad tuning “engines” sound exactly the same at face value. They all sound like the silver bullet for online fortunes. They all claim to be the secret sauce behind millions that their customers are making. They all have product diagrams where they are at the center of some virtuous advertising circle of life, the glue between the content publishers and advertisers. For all I know, these guys could be truly genius. But as someone investigating various ad platforms for publishers, they are all promising the same pie in the sky vision.
If it aint one adnetwork its another. Whats next mcdonalds and starbucks launching adnetworks. The adnetworks are all battling for the same premium niche inventory. This premium Inventory is bound to run dry, if it has not already, then what. This nor any of RV’s investments thus far is the “genie in the bottle” he so desperately wants. Keep lookin brotha’.
LookLocator.com- Because seeing is believing!