spot runner
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
Technology-assisted television advertising
Spot Runner offered a technology-assisted service for planning and purchasing television advertising.
02 / spot runner FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Spot Runner burned through investor money faster than it could build a business. After raising about $100 million since 2006, the company was losing $35-45 million a year while generating single-digit millions in revenue - a $45 million loss on $9 million of revenue in fiscal 2008, and $35 million on $5 million in 2007. When the 2008-2009 advertising recession hit, the company laid off staff - including 60 people in March 2009 - shut its local search business, and sold off the Weblistic assets it had acquired a year earlier. Investor WPP then sued, alleging the founders and early investors had cashed out $54 million in secondary share sales while promoting the company to new investors.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Company founded
Nick Grouf and David Waxman, who had previously founded Firefly (sold to Microsoft) and PeoplePC (sold to EarthLink), founded Spot Runner in Los Angeles to make TV advertising affordable for small and medium businesses through an automated web-based platform.
- $100M raised
Spot Runner raised about $100 million from investors including Index Ventures, Battery Ventures, WPP, CBS, and Interpublic, employing more than 500 people at its peak.
- Layoffs, refocus, investor lawsuit
In March 2009 the company laid off 60 people, abandoned its local-business pitch to focus on video ads for national advertisers, and began selling the Weblistic assets. In April 2009 investor WPP sued, alleging founders and early investors had sold $54 million in secondary shares; the suit was dismissed in October 2009.
- Malibu platform acquired
Spot Runner's Malibu Media Platform was acquired by Harris Broadcasting Communications.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
In March 2009 Spot Runner laid off 60 people, wound down its local search and directory businesses, and began selling the assets of Weblistic.
- 02
In April 2009 investor WPP sued the company, alleging a fiscal-2008 loss of $45 million on $9 million of revenue and a fiscal-2007 loss of $35 million on $5 million of revenue, with about $100 million of investor capital raised since 2006; the suit was dismissed in October 2009.
- 03
In 2011 the company's Malibu Media Platform was acquired by Harris Broadcasting Communications.