Echobox: 5 reasons we invested
The publishing industry is becoming more complex. Social media is rapidly becoming the prime source of referrals for content and articles. These links and ‘clicks’ are the revenue generating lifeblood of any publisher. They are vital.
Not so long ago, social media outreach was a sideline, run by a willing but inexperienced intern. But no longer. Understanding the right time, the right media and the right audience for every one of hundreds of articles every day needs experience and expertise, especially as the social media companies develop and change their algorithms from day to day.
Quite simply, effective management of complex algorithmically driven social media at scale requires an equally complex machine. That machine is Echobox.
The first reason we invest is the market timing, and we have this with Echobox, and even on the tactical level, the timing could not be better. Just yesterday Facebook announced a huge change to the way the NewsFeed is structured. Echobox is already learning how the changes affect reach and relevance, so that publishers don’t need to worry.
The second reason is that the company demonstrates leadership in this space. They are the only company offering intelligent, continuous management of content distribution, and have proven this leadership by selling to hundreds of major news outlets, worldwide. Publishers are putting their money where their mouth , and trusting their key asset, content, to Echobox. In turn, Echobox expands their reach by orders of magnitude, making sure that every single article is directed to relevant readers. A result that eclipses the capability of any ‘manual’ social media dashboard, or indeed even a team of people,
The third reason is that we like to invest with macro trends. We all know that our news feeds are more and more congested, so it’s paramount that these include relevant and interesting facts — not just from traditional media organisations. We believe that sites like Facebook need to ensure that only interesting content is presented to users, and users will not tolerate ‘spam’. The sophistication we have so far seen from programmatic advertising will be extended to content, and the definition of ‘content’ is expanding every day.
Our fourth reason — the best technology in the space is easy to recognise with Echobox. Clients such as Le Monde, Le Figaro, Axel Springer, and San Jose Mercury News see the benefit now, the benefit of AI.
The term AI is overused today, so we are impressed to find a unique core team of scientists who work together to build a core product using the very latest thinking, and supplemented by the best researchers and professors in the business. To provide a unique product requires a top tier team. We have this in Echobox
And finally, the fifth reason. Nothing happens without a powerful and determined leadership. Antoine Amann and Marc Fletcher have an ambition level that satisfies us as venture capitalists. Their dream: that Echobox manages all the world’s content is a dream that Mangrove can support. A dream that we dare to back.
