Startup Spotlight #97: AudioMob

Audiomob is the first non-intrusive audio ad solution that enables the monetization of mobile gamers without damaging retention.

Mar 12, 2021

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I got the chance to speak with Christian Facey and Wilfrid Obeng, co-founders of AudioMob, about what they are working on at their startup, and any advice they have for emerging entrepreneurs.

AudioMob was founded on the core principle that there is a better way to monetize games. We allow advertisers to reach their consumers and game developers to monetize their games without interrupting gameplay using audio ads. We have raised over $2 million in investment, recently integrated our technology into the Big Brother MMO, and are currently running campaigns with Warner Music.

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Startup Spotlight: AudioMob

AudioMob cofounders Christian Facey (left) and Wilfrid Obeng (right).

Problem: Current ad formats such as video ads interrupt gameplay and reduce game retention and game developers are struggling to find new ways to monetize their games.

Market: The overall TAM is $35B. The Serviceable Available Market and Serviceable Obtainable Market are $3.6B and $224M, respectively.

Solution: We allow advertisers to reach their consumers and game developers to monetize their games without interrupting gameplay using audio ads.

Team: Christian is a former Facebook Science Partner and Google Agency Strategist, and his time with Google saw him manage a portfolio worth up to $100 million in value. Wilfrid is a former Google Customer Solution Engineer and Programmatic Account Strategist, and he also previously served roles at Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Bloomberg.

Recent Success:

Facey and Obeng: Building and scaling the AudioMob direct advertising platform ahead of schedule, while also pivoting how we approach advertisers ( Micro Pivot). COVID19 really impacted the advertising space and we doubled down on our R&D efforts. This meant raising more money and moving our timeline forward to generate a product that would serve our target market when the recovery started. Adapting to current market conditions enabled AudioMob to generate a secondary source of revenue ahead of scale. We’ve created a new advertising platform that achieves 1000%+ click through and has run campaigns for clients such as King, Sony, Warner, and the Sugar Hill Gang.

Recent Struggle:

Facey and Obeng: Time management: We’re in the most economically dire conditions for the last 100 years. Managing prospective investors, sales, engineering, keeping lean, etc., is extremely challenging. COVID has increased the risks of all of our actions/bets and as a result, we must spend more time derisking the business, while figuring out ways to maintain growth. Wilfrid and I are taking on as much as humanly possible so we can remain as lean as possible. As a result, we are often stretched thin, perhaps thinner than we should be at times! Things are getting better as we work to scale our teams and revenues, but it was a struggle throughout 2020 to adjust to a "post COVID19" way of scaling and managing the business.

Founder Advice:

Facey and Obeng: In times such as these, focus is absolutely key. While it may sound counterintuitive, seriously consider ways to diversify your revenue streams and pursue them. At the very least, prepare a plan of action to pivot to a different method of generating revenue, if your first plan doesn’t work! As an example, AudioMob's first strategy was to scale through advertising revenues generated from third parties called DSPs (Demand Side Platforms). While this is still a core strategy, the events of COVID meant that many DSPs experienced advertising spend drops, furloughed staff etc. As a result, we raised tranches of capital throughout 2020 and doubled down on investment in our direct advertising strategy (AudioMob's own DSP), massively bringing forward our roadmap by nearly a year.

While raising more money and temporarily increasing burn was a risk, we knew the opportunity we uncovered was going to be profitable, and as long as we built our direct to advertiser platform efficiently and robustly, we would come out the other side stronger. The alternative to this strategy was to raise more money and "ride out" COVID19 trying to pursue our first strategy. For us, this wasn't an option. Growth, whether from a capabilities standpoint or revenue standpoint was paramount. If it meant raising more capital/burn to achieve this objective, so be it! As a result, we're now in sight of getting to 100K MRR based on our deal pipeline, solely oriented around our own DSP. Don't be afraid to take these calculated risks such as this, during times of economic turmoil.

Three Cool Founders You Should Know About:

Facey and Obeng: Here are three founders you should check out next!

Nikolina Lauc, Founder of Glycanage: GlycanAge is a simple, ground-breaking test that analyses your glycobiology.
Charlotte Duoyi Zhao, Founder of AVID: AVID is the fastest way to create, market & sell courses & coaching.
Ivan Beckley, Founder of Suvera: Suvera enables general practices across the UK to virtually follow up patients with long-term conditions and their treatments.

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