Lookery, a startup that focuses on collecting demographic data about users and sites around the web and then selling this information to ad networks to target users, is heading to the deadpool. In a blog post, Lookery’s CEO Scott Rafer confirmed that the startup will be shutting its doors after launching in 2007.
Lookery initially started as an ad network for social applications on Facebook, and quickly encountered the troubles of making money off ads on social networks. Lookery ran a promotion for advertisers, offering a guarantee of 12.5 cents per thousand ad impressions (CPMs) in January of 2008. Lookery also made a bold play for ads on traffic from European markets, guaranteeing 25 cents per thousand impressions per advert from European traffic. But things clearly weren’t working out — by July, Lookery was downgrading its guarantee offering 7.5 cents per ad impression, cutting its rates nearly in half.
Although the network served around three billion ad impressions per month, Lookery sold its ad serving business to online advertising network Adknowledge in November of 2008. By that time, Lookery had already branched out into collecting anonymous demographic data from websites and providing this info to advertisers, social networks, dating sites, ISPs, and e-commerce sites.
Lookery raised $3.15 million in angel funding over the past two years, from notable investors and VCs including Charles River Ventures and former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt. And the startup managed to raise a round of funding last September, during tough economic conditions. But in his blog post, Rafer wrote that one of the startup’s downfalls was its original dependence on the Facebook platform. Rafer also mentioned that Facebook’s Summer 2008 redesign had a negative effect on the ad network going on to say that in retrospect, he should have sold the ad network much earlier than November.
Lookery has been added to the deadpool.
That sucks. Scott, good luck on your next one, I’m sure you’re already contemplating what to work on next.
You might want to delay it a bit though, little ones take up a lot of time.
Sad to read this news. I thought they had some great potential.
Not surprisingly — the ad market is a bubble waiting to burst.
yep … waiting to burst for the past 20 decades.
Sorry to here this news. We never really followed this company but from reading this post it seems as if they had a strong business. A new Item for advertising Video Print Ads – Entertainment Weekly to Feature CBS and Pepsi Video Ads (VIDEO) http://www.trig...le.php?id=85027
“seems as if they had a strong business.”.
> Deadpool.
wattttttttttt
“was downgrading its guarantee offering 7.5 cents per ad impression”, that should read per thousand ad impressions.
Sorry to hear this. Scott – I appreciated the post where you shared your insights on the experience.
“Lookery raised $3.15 million in angel funding over the past two years, from notable investors and VCs including Charles River Ventures…”
I always thought the difference between Angel and Seed is that Angel does not involve VCs and Seed or Series A does.
Everyone, thanks for your good wishes and support.
@Alvin I wrote about this at the time, though I don’t have time to find the post at this moment. The VCs were a small fraction of the overall deal and signed paper than normally only angels would sign.
Interested in partnering, to make this a beginning!! Keep posted if you wish to offer an opportunity!
Offering Entrepreneurship
Mohan
what opportunity mohan?
Hi Scott,
So sorry to hear this. This market is so hard on everyone. All the best moving forward.
Sorry to hear this Scott, thought Lookery was so cool. But also think that Facebook has crapped on it’s own potential by reorganising itself into nothingness – going down the Twitter route when Twitter has no revenue is a bit strange …
Hey Scott,
I admire the work you have done and look forward to seeing your next brain-child. Best to you and your team.
these guys started an ad network some time ago for facebook apps, then they were bought by adknowledge/cubics and they relaunched as this demographic mumbo-jumbo ad network.
“Mumbo-jumbo” is a fine synonym for “too early.”
on the bright side of it. the Deadpool is a great resource to look up before taking off with your next start-up
Quote from Scott’ Blog,
“…Coulda-Shoulda #1. We exposed ourselves to a huge single point of failure called Facebook. I’ve ranted for years about how bad an idea it is for startups to be mobile-carrier dependent… ”
Great advice for all startups
Told you so (http://www.tech...o-75-cent-cpms/)
It was doomed from the start. How do you start an arbitrage firm without a real business model?
This is truly F’N sad news. We all busted our a$$es to make Lookery work.