AdPushup Raises Series A Funding; Enters into Strategic Partnership with Japan’s Largest Supply Side Platform Geniee

US-based ad tech startup AdPushup, creator of a patent-pending ad layout optimization platform, has secured an undisclosed amount of financing as part of its Series A round led by Geniee, Inc., whose major shareholder is SoftBank Group Corp; other investors include Purvi Capital, and existing investors have also participated in the round.

The companies have also formed a strategic partnership aimed at extending services to Japan and Southeast Asia and collaborating mutually on proprietary ad optimization technologies. Geniee currently serves over 60 billion impressions every month in this region, which are to be further optimized using the machine-learning driven ad layout optimization platform developed by AdPushup.

Both companies aim to bring together their strengths in terms of proprietary technologies to improve both the reach and quality of products offered worldwide.

AdPushup, which is backed by Microsoft Accelerator, integrates with ad networks like Google AdSense to help web publishers test and optimize their ad layouts, thereby increasing ad revenue, without compromising on the UX. The machine-learning based algorithms can automatically fight banner blindness using continuous automated optimization. Existing customers have witnessed an average 69% revenue uplift using AdPushup’s product.

“We are changing how ads are delivered on the Internet. Our software’s revenue growth has underscored the need for page level optimization in the Industry and now, having the support of an industry expert like Geniee will help us execute our vision more rapidly and broadly,” said Ankit Oberoi, co-founder, AdPushup.

“We are very excited about this announcement. We commend both the cutting­-edge ad-­layout optimisation technology developed by AdPushup and the entrepreneurial spirits of the co­founders, Ankit and Atul. I believe this collaboration will boost publisher revenue to the next level across the board. I am looking forward to introducing this new technology to publishers in Southeast Asia,” said Tomoaki Kudo, CEO, Geniee, Inc.

“We've been extremely bullish on the team—they're level-headed and experienced entrepreneurs, and a team that has weathered together. The product has exceeded global standards from the onset. It utilizes sophisticated machine-learning technologies under the hood, but provides the simplicity of plug-n-play to the user. In an otherwise hyper-competitive space with razor-thin margins and ballooning CPCs, AdPushup makes it look easy for publishers to consistently and meaningfully amplify their bottom-line. Ankit, Atul and Dhiraj have already found a great product-market fit, and I'm confident with the new partnerships, they will continue to build significant value,” said Ravi Srivastava, Founder, Purvi Capital.

Atul Agarwal, co-founder, AdPushup, added, "AdPushup's industry-first, disruptive page-level ad layout optimization technology has positively impacted ad revenues for hundreds of publishers since its inception. This partnership with Geniee will allow us to reach and benefit a wider audience with better, visitor-friendly and sustainable ad revenue uplift".

"We are very confident about the technical capabilities of our product. Now that AdPushup and Geniee are getting into a strategic association, we are really excited about a strong technology meeting a large scale," adds Dhiraj Singh, Engineering Lead, AdPushup.

Importance Of Mentors In A Startup By Ankit Oberoi & Atul Agarwal Founders Of AdPushup

Ankit is the CEO and founder of AdPushup, a product which helps web publishers optimize their online ad revenues. Previously, he dropped out of college and co-founded Innobuzz, an InfoSec training company. Apart from work, he loves to travel in the mountains and is obsessed with learning languages and Atul is the co-founder of AdPushup, where he heads the technology & product vision. Prior to AdPushup, he co-founded two ventures in the information security space, and dropped out of college for them.He has keen interest in philosophy, behavioral economics and offensive security.

Here is there take on mentors - Having a group of great advisors and mentors is crucial for success. Since an advisor can influence your decisions significantly, it is even more important to choose your advisors wisely. Make sure they are someone, whom you trust and share a comfort level with, above all. People whom you admire for what they've done. The biggest advantage of having advisors and mentors is the perspective they can provide you from their experience - it can save you from reinventing the wheel. A good mentor would be someone who wouldn't hesitate from becoming a devil's advocate and would question your ideas or decisions and trust me - thats more important than we think.

Their key Advisers -

• Ravi Srivastava: Ravi's knowledge about operating a business in US is just amazing. Every business has it's unique set of requirements basis the stage it is at and Ravi knows exactly what you need, even before you ask for it. He is very thorough and apart from the many thing he has done for us, an important one is to guide us and ensure we don't drink our own kool-aid. Ravi also serves on the board of AdPushup.


• Sunil Kalra: Sunil brings a vast experience and knowledge across industries, primarily because of his interest in learning and investing across a wide range of businesses. He is very well connected and his experience and knowledge is the core advantage of having him as a mentor.


• Arun Bansal: Arun is a childhood friend, with exceptional brainstorming skills. Whenever I'm about to freeze something important like a plan, I run it through Arun and then he'd look at it from different perspectives, which helps immensely. In the past, Arun has helped point out a lot of things, which I had overlooked.

How AdPushup Closed $632K in Angel Investment

If you're a startup which often wonders about how companies are able to raise funds, then this article is for you. AdPushup, a startup, was recently successful in raising around $632,000 from 50 Angel investors in a single round of investment.

The company started the fundraising process by registering itself on an online platform for raising funds called LetsVenture. The company preferred LetsVenture over AngelList as a platform because with LetsVenture it is easier to gain visibility as every new startup gets placement on the main listing page of the platform. Within just two days of completing their profile on the platform, the company received a call from the platform’s founders to expand further on what the company was and what they basically did.

In the same week of registering at LetsVenture, the company was asked to pitch itself for the very first time in an offline event at Investopad, which is an amazing co-working space. At that event, the company representatives met Sunil Kalra who later went on to become the first angel to commit to the fund raising round and support the company.

The company further made use of some tools to make itself standout in the sea of other startups in the eyes of the investors. Some of them have been discussed below.

1)  Cold Email- the Company challenged the norm of investments happening through introductions and instead drafted a slightly unorthodox mail. This was a big risk on their part but they took it and in the end it paid off. In the mail they explained what their company basically was and what they were looking for from them. The company sent out a total of 55 mails and received 24% of funds from this round.

2) Exploring the Existing user base- the company was even able to raise funds from their existing user base which showed great user confidence in the company’s product.

3) Angellist- the “Find Investors” tab on Angellist can prove to be very beneficial for startups. AdPushup was able to get two investors using it.

4) Public Relations (PR)- Good PR can give you the speed that you were looking for. It can help you in getting new leads and closing your existing leads faster. It also improves the company’s odds and makes one look more credible.

5) Pitching events- Attending more and more pitching events increases ones chances. AdPushup pitched at events like Techcircle startup 2014 and StartupDash 2014.

Via - AdPushup Official Blog

How AdPushup Closed $632K in Angel Investment

If you're a startup which often wonders about how companies are able to raise funds, then this article is for you. AdPushup, a startup, was recently successful in raising around $632,000 from 50 Angel investors in a single round of investment.

The company started the fundraising process by registering itself on an online platform for raising funds called LetsVenture. The company preferred LetsVenture over AngelList as a platform because with LetsVenture it is easier to gain visibility as every new startup gets placement on the main listing page of the platform. Within just two days of completing their profile on the platform, the company received a call from the platform’s founders to expand further on what the company was and what they basically did.

In the same week of registering at LetsVenture, the company was asked to pitch itself for the very first time in an offline event at Investopad, which is an amazing co-working space. At that event, the company representatives met Sunil Kalra who later went on to become the first angel to commit to the fund raising round and support the company.

The company further made use of some tools to make itself standout in the sea of other startups in the eyes of the investors. Some of them have been discussed below.

1)  Cold Email- the Company challenged the norm of investments happening through introductions and instead drafted a slightly unorthodox mail. This was a big risk on their part but they took it and in the end it paid off. In the mail they explained what their company basically was and what they were looking for from them. The company sent out a total of 55 mails and received 24% of funds from this round.

2) Exploring the Existing user base- the company was even able to raise funds from their existing user base which showed great user confidence in the company’s product.

3) Angellist- the “Find Investors” tab on Angellist can prove to be very beneficial for startups. AdPushup was able to get two investors using it.

4) Public Relations (PR)- Good PR can give you the speed that you were looking for. It can help you in getting new leads and closing your existing leads faster. It also improves the company’s odds and makes one look more credible.

5) Pitching events- Attending more and more pitching events increases ones chances. AdPushup pitched at events like Techcircle startup 2014 and StartupDash 2014.

Via - AdPushup Official Blog