Meet the Entrepreneurs
Social Wire November 2013
Access to Markets
CONTACT INFORMATION
social wire
Turkey/USA
+1 (415)3593919
Powering the next generation of social and personalized marketing
selcuk.atli@socialwire.com
www.socialwire.com
Mr. Selcuk Atli, Turkey
CHALLENGE The internet and the digital world have brought about many changes to the day-to-day operations of many industries. The marketing and advertising sectors are no exception, as online advertisements are gradually taking over traditional media advertising. Online ads offer many benefits for businesses; however, taking advantage of this potential advertising space requires complex technological solutions that are not accessible to the majority of marketing departments. There was a strong need for an innovative solution that could utilize the data available online to market specific products to targeted customers. For marketers, the benefits are clear: the conversion rate of potential customers into actual customers drastically increases when ads are sent to targeted profiles compared to that of general advertising.
IDEA The inspiration for Social Wire came when founder Selcuk Atli, who had previously co-founded the SaaS recommendation engine for online retailers, realized the great added value this same technology could bring to marketers. Recommendation and personalization engines were already extensively used on pages such as Amazon and Pandora to recommend products or songs in line with what the person had previously viewed or listened to. However, it was not yet being used to support marketers targeting the right customers. Social Wire was launched in Turkey in 2009 where the development for the technological solution began. After the initial start-up phase and following infoDev’s Top20 awards at the Global Forum in 2011, Selcuk decided to move the company to Silicon Valley. Today, Social Wire is a platform that dynamically generates product advertisements and directs them to the right customer; it works like a recommendation engine for ads. It uses available data obtained from individual profiles to automate the entire process of product ads, making it more efficient and scalable for marketers. The goal is to turn the companies’ catalogs into personalized product ads that target the right customers, both existing and new.
“I WAS INTRIGUED BY THE IDEA OF MAKING WEB ADVERTISING AS PERSONALIZED AND AUTOMATED AS POSSIBLE.”
BUSINESS MODEL Social Wire offers four different services that cover all aspects of online sales, including catalog elaboration, targeted advertising, and bidding solutions: • Product Promotion: to create ads for every product and direct them to the right audience; • Dynamic Ad Creation: to automatically generate product attributes such as price, description, or discounts; • Dynamic Targeting: keyword engine that helps refine product-level targeting using attributes like brand and location; • Bid Optimization: bid engine to optimize the amount of bids placed. As a result of taking part in infoDev’s Access to Finance program and winning the Top 20 award, Social Wire was able to fine-tune its business model and make crucial connections with investors that helped it to scale its business. Since then, up to USD3.5 million has been raised from some of the top investors in Silicon Valley such as First Round Capital and SofttechVC. In the meantime, Social Wire was able to attract a very experienced team of managers and advisors that had worked for major players such as Google, Yahoo, AOL, and Jumptap. Social Wire presently employs 10 people including engineers, product and client services managers, and is currently being used by a dozen premium online retailers in the US including Gilt, One Kings Lane, and Zappos. Social Wire generates income by receiving a commission from clients who use their service to advertise on Facebook. In the near future, Social Wire plans to grow its business and become a leader in automated product advertising. It aims to diversify its advertising by expanding outside of Facebook into channels like Google or the open web.
“TODAY, OUR CLIENTS INCLUDE SOME OF THE WORLD’S BIGGEST RETAILERS AND E-COMMERCE COMPANIES.” www.infodev.org
twitter: @infoDev
ENTREPRENEUR’S INSIGHTS • It is possible to create a start-up from scratch that pays at a global scale, given the right backing and resource availability. • For a technological solution, it is essential to build a world-class team, let them work, and support them in the execution.
NEXT STEPS
WORKING WITH infoDev
Become a leader in the automated product advertising space
PROGRAM: Top 20 Co-incubation pilot SUPPORT PROVIDED: USD10,000 cash award, technical assistance in accessing markets, and participation in infoDev Global Forum (Helsinki, 2011)
Diversify the advertising offered on Facebook into channels like Google or the open web Social Wire founder has now left the company in the hands of CEO Bob Buch and has started a new enterprise
MAIN BENEFITS FROM ENTREPRENEUR’S VIEW: • Ability to fine-tune business model
• Finding a supportive environment for high-growth ICT companies and a shared mentality in Silicon Valley were key factors that led to the successful launch of the company.
• Higher visibility to attract investors • Support in efforts to access Silicon Valley ecosystem • Improved international notoriety
KEY OUTCOMES VALUE FOR USERS
$
BUSINESS FACTS
All aspects of online advertising are made easier.
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
Online retailers that use Social Wire can advertise their products on a larger scale, spend less time and resources on advertising, and get a better return on their investment.
INVESTMENTS AWARDS
Internet users receive ads that match their profile and areas of interest.
Supported by:
www.infodev.org
twitter: @infoDev
10 USD3,5M
of capital raised
- Top 20 award of infoDev´s 4th Global Forum on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in 2011. - Winner of the PMD Innovation Competition by Faceook 2013 for “Dynamic Product Ads.”