Princeton University
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Computer Science 448
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You are the CTO of Inmobi, the startup we've talked about that has grown as a global mobile ad network, building up a strong presence in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and some presence in the United States where Google is the dominant ad network. You have received $200M in funding at a 1B dollar valuation, a cash infusion and a valuation that were very pleasantly surprising to receive. You have seen how the display advertising market has evolved toward platforms, as we discussed in class. Mobile is different in some ways and similar in others. You are currently in several businesses as a mobile (non-search) ad network: performance advertising (using the cost per click and cost per acquisition models, where advertisers are looking for direct response from users in the form of clicks and conversions), brand advertising, and in-app advertising on smartphones. You are finding that the mobile world is also looking to platform approaches. For example, publishers don't wan t to talk with you as an ad network unless you can at least provide them a path to also sell inventory to other ad networks through your platform (using it as a one-stop management platform), and advertisers don't want to talk with you unless you represent publishers other than those that are just on your network. Yet you are really an ad network, as are all the other biggest players in mobile advertising (Google, Millenial Media, ...).
You are to write a memo to your CEO about what you think the company should do, given this large capitalization and the opportunities ahead. What are the major challenges and opportunities you see, and what do you suggest should be the company's strategy? Would you play on many fronts given the cash you now have, or would you focus on a very small number of things (which ones)? Would you take an open platform approach, a closed approach, would you change the game and how? Why do you pick the strategy you do, and what are the key risks in the approach that you choose?