Angel/VC-backed Business of the Year 2011

Founder: Victor Malachard, Wesley Biggs and Paul Childs Year started: 2008 Website: www.adfonic.com

Founded three years ago, Adfonic is now Europe’s largest mobile advertising marketplace, with bases in London, Paris, New York and Seville. Revenues have doubled over the last 12 months, while monthly ad requests have exceeded 15 billion. No wonder the company’s investors were willing to commit an additional £4.7m in funding three months ago.

Adfonic was set up to connect advertisers wanting to run mobile ad campaigns with the publishers and developers who can turn their vision into reality. But, today, this is only one part of its multi-faceted offering; the company also offers campaign management, performance tracking and analysis, and real-time reporting. An in-house designer is on hand to offer creative advice, and users can access a plethora of web-based self-serve tools. CEO Victor Malachard claims new features are uploaded to the site every six weeks, to ensure Adfonic remains at the cutting edge.

The customer base encompasses both brands and agencies, and a number of big-name clients have been secured, including eBay, Firefox, Google, and BBC Worldwide. Sixty per cent of Adfonic’s business is repeat custom – a statistic which clearly vindicates the company’s commitment to customer service and after-sales support, and underpins its strategy for future growth and development.

Malachard and his team are determined to take on the major brands of Silicon Valley, and reaffirm London’s status as a hub of creativity and prosperity. The mission may be tough, but, having started and flourished during a recession, Adfonic appears to possess the innovation, and determination, to realise its objectives. 

Judges’ comments: Mobile commerce is growing dramatically and Adfonic is already a market leader, well placed to take good advantage of this. The judges were highly impressed with the quality of Adfonic’s clients and team, as well as its revenue growth and potential.