Insense

Helping Brands Create Effective Ads

Company Information

Website:

https://insense.pro/en/

Sector:

Advertising, Marketing & PR

Location:

New York, NY

Insense connects content creators with brands seeking to run effective ads through social media.

It does so through its digital marketplace. Here, brands can find creators to deliver engaging, effective advertisements. These creators could be social media “influencers,” video producers, or content developers.

Insense is used by 65 brands, including Nestle, Procter & Gamble, L’Oreal, Uber, and Heineken. It’s doubled its annual revenue each of the past three years.

The company has raised $1.5 million from notable investors including Starta Accelerator, Empire Angels, and NP Capital. Other investors include the Head of M&A at OLX Group, and the Founder of Aitarget, a Facebook marketing partner.

Last year, Insense released its machine learning engine that can predict how effective created content will perform. Now the company is seeking capital to market this engine and acquire additional customers.

Digital advertising is a $103 billion market. But the old way of advertising is gone.

Today, consumers absorb content based on trends, hypes, and “likes.” And this content is absorbed primarily through mobile devices — video and social media platforms, specifically.

The problem is that brands aren't sure how best to target customers through these platforms.

Brands spend thousands of dollars, and weeks of time, creating individual ads. But they often have no idea how effective they'll be with their intended audience.

Media buyers, meanwhile, are continuously pressured to develop new ways to keep advertising performance high. That means providing great returns to brands. But they’re forced to rely on older, pre-existing creative assets.

The bottom line: this industry needs a new, proactive way for brands to create ads that bring in better returns and engage users.

Insense’s marketplace offers this new way. Here’s how it works:

First, a brand submits a creative brief to the marketplace. Insense’s algorithms suggest helpful keywords that will stand out to content creators.

Next, the marketplace’s machine learning algorithm recommends suitable content creators. It also suggests improvements for submitted briefs.

Finally, a creator accepts the brief, creates the content, and delivers it to the brand.

During the creation process, brands can communicate with creators to ensure they’re on the same page, and stay up to date on the project’s status.

Once the brand has its ad, it can view potential performance metrics without having to run “A/B” tests, a common exercise in determining its effectiveness. This can save companies $30,000 annually, and ensure they only run ads that are effective.

All posting, tracking, and engagement takes place within Insese’s marketplace. This makes it what the company calls a “one-stop shop” for advertisers looking to boost their brands or message.

By streamlining this entire process, Insense is able to deliver content 4x faster and 10x cheaper than traditional production studios. More importantly, its method results in 2x better ROI in paid ads.

As mentioned, several brands are already using Insense to develop ads:

• Cleanly, a laundry service, used Insense to create original video content and promote it through targeted Instagram ads.

• Nestle Fitness held a photo contest asking participants for pictures of their most stylish breakfast. By running targeted, paid ads on social media, the company was able to increase its user engagement.

• And Zip My Dress, a small consumer products business, used Insense to develop and launch effective ads through Instagram and Facebook.

In exchange for its services, Insense charges a content production fee of 30%. This is collected as marketing teams add money to their balance to spend on content creation. Insense keeps these funds in escrow and pays creators once the job is complete.

In addition, Insense charges a premium monthly subscription (with three tiers). This subscription enables users to access premium features and support.

Moving forward, Insense plans to increase the cost of the annual membership packages as well as its content production fee to generate more revenue.

Insense has more than 35,000 creators on its marketplace. It generated $1.5 million in revenue in 2019, and is on track to reach $3.8 million in 2020.

Team Background

Alex Fedorenko - Co-Founder & CPO

Alex has experience in the digital marketing and advertising industries.

In 2011, he founded and sold a web agency. In addition, he worked as a digital creative director at one of Europe’s top advertising companies.

He studied at the British Higher School of Art and Design.

Ihar Mahaniok - Machine Learning Mentor

Ihar specializes in machine learning technology and has experience at WeWork, Facebook, and Google.

Most recently, he was an engineering leader at WeWork. Prior to that, he was an engineering manager for Facebook.

He spent eight years as a senior software engineer with Google, working specifically on the company’s “Maps” program. He began his career as a software developer for Avest, a security software company.

In addition to his engineering duties, Ihar has spent the last eight years as an angel investor with Empire Angels. This group has invested in startups including Instacart, PandaDoc, and People.ai.

Ihar earned a Master’s degree in Computer Science from Belarusian State University.

Danil Saliukov - Co-Founder & CEO

Prior to starting Insense, Danil was Head of Digital Content for Qiwi (Nasdaq: QIWI), a payment service provider based in Russia. While there, he generated 13% of the company’s net revenues, and managed accounts with notable clients including Google, Apple, and EA Games.

Before that, he worked for Loyalty Systems, a digital marketing company helping retailers and small businesses acquire customers. He served as Business Development Manager and Head of Sales.

Danil was Corporate Exchange Development Director at AIESEC, a non-profit helping to inspire young entrepreneurs. He began his career as co-founder of KII Media Group.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and a Master’s degree from Ufa State Aviation Technical University.

Anton Salukov - Co-Founder & COO

Anton has two successful exits in the e-commerce industry.

He was CEO of LeadPard, a marketing agency affiliated with social media platforms. He also co-founded Conderufa, an e-commerce company focused on climate technology services.

Anton began his career as a business a development manager for Gift Solutions, a consumer services company based in Russia.

Co-Investors

Empire Angels

A group of angel investors seeking to fund early-stage companies in the U.S. and Europe. Early investor in Juno, a ride sharing company acquired by Gett for $200 million.

NP Capital

An international VC fund investing in early-stage tech companies, with a special focus on startups using AI/ML technologies.

Starta Accelerator

An accelerator focused on technology companies based in Europe.

Raising
$1.07 million
Committed
$145.397K (14%)
Current Valuation
$10 million Cap / 20% Discount
Min. Investment
$100
Deal Type
Title III
(For all investors)
Offering Type
SAFE
Finance History
  • $1 million
    2018-03-15
    Unknown
  • $260K
    2016-11-30
    Unknown
  • $130K
    2016-08-09
    Unknown
Notable Investors
  • Empire Angels
  • NP Capital
  • Starta Accelerator
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