Philip Kaplan is a well-known entrepreneur. He has gained popularity with his F***edCompany.com web site where he was writing about dot com failures.
Now, he is AdBrite CEO, contextual ad network, one of the main competitors for Google AdSense.
In this interview you can find info about AdBrite, his views on current trends in online advertising, how to get VC funding, how to make successful companies etc.
Dejan Bizinger: Please describe your service AdBrite?
Philip Kaplan: AdBrite is “The Internet’s Ad Marketplace”. We connect thousands of
webmasters to thousands of advertisers. We sell, host, and service advertisers on our publisher’s behalf.
DB: Why should people use AdBrite and not Google AdSense, for example? Google AdSense is a great system for showing Google’s ads and getting paid for clicks.
PK: AdBrite allows the publisher to accumulate and manage *their own* advertisers. AdBrite allows the publisher to define his products, layout, pricing and terms.
Many publishers use AdBrite and Google AdSense for two separate revenue streams.
DB: What do you think about the current online advertising industry and how do you see it in years that come?
PK: The online advertising industry is just getting started. Only a small percentage of overall advertising spending is online, even though most of our advertisers target demographics spend more time online than watching TV or reading paper. It seems online ad spending should outgrow traditional ad spending in the years to come.
DB: You are a young man but you already have several successful web sites and services. What are the most important steps in order to create successful and profitable web sites?
PK: I always try to do as much as I can with as little as possible. I also think solid technical and programming knowledge is key to my work thus far.
DB: You’ve already raised 4 million dollars from leading venture capital company Sequoia Capital. How easy is to get a VC these days?
PK: My guess is if you have a good business idea, a proven track record of success, and have earned the trust of other people in the business, it shouldn’t be too difficult. Making the decision to pursue outside investment was the hardest part for me.
DB: How did you get an idea to make your popular news rumour and commentary web site about struggling dot com companies called F***ed Company?
PK: Like many people, I was astonished by the hype and spending of dot-com
companies and create a site to chronicle the downfall.
DB: Why many dot com companies failed?
PK: There are roughly 25,000 unique companies listed on F**kedcompany.com.
DB: One of your services Mobog is a popular moblog site. What do you think about moblogs and blogging in general?
PK: Back in the olden days, we used to call blogs “websites”. I think
websites are great.
