GeistM
Rank: 25
2014 Revenue: $2.8 million
2017 Revenue: $33.1 million
Growth Rate: 1,070%
Founder and CEO Kevin Fortuna has worked for CNET and Juno Online Services and has created his fair share of internet companies including Lot18 and Popdust. His experience positioned him to see the gaps in what digital marketing platforms were offering—and fill them.
“There was a massive explodable niche that I was uniquely qualified to capitalize on,” Fortuna said. At its core was the realization that “companies suck at content,” as he put it. So GeistM creates content for clients in addition to placing it, buying traffic for it, tracking engagement and possibly retargeting it.
Such “direct response” marketing is essentially instant gratification for clients—including former and current ones such as Blue Apron and Warby Parker—which can see exactly how many click-through purchases are driven by the content.
“The limiting factor on our growth now is hiring,” Fortuna said. GeistM is seeking to hire around five people a week. Fortuna expects annual revenue to double this year and rise “definitely over $100 million” next year. There’s also an important decision on the horizon for GeistM:
“We are being courted by investment banks to go public,” Fortuna said.
** = Crain's estimate
* = PrivCo estimate