When it comes to digital advertising, a Vermont-based startup is making waves by challenging the dominance of tech giants. Quorum, founded in 2018 by Ezra Doty, is on a mission to level the playing field between “walled gardens” like Google and Meta and open web publishers.
Addressing a Critical Industry Challenge
The digital advertising world has long been dominated by closed platforms that control vast amounts of user data. This concentration of power has left traditional publishers, including news outlets and TV studios, struggling to compete for ad revenue and audience attention.
Quorum’s innovative solution leverages location-based data instead of relying on cookies or proprietary pixels. By capturing opt-in consumer behavior data from mobile applications, Quorum enables precise targeting based on real-world behavior, such as store visits.
“We power locally targeted campaigns at national scale with our audiences, attribution and analytics,” explains Doty, Quorum’s CEO.
A Journey of Resilience and Innovation
Quorum’s path to success hasn’t been without challenges. Initially focused on out-of-home (OOH) campaign measurement, the company faced a significant setback when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, drastically reducing outdoor advertising.
Doty recalls, “It was an extremely challenging period, but it fostered a level of creative thinking and innovation we might not have otherwise tapped into.
“This adversity led Quorum to diversify its offerings, developing features that now support various verticals including retail, CPG, home improvement, travel, and entertainment. The company also expanded its capabilities in connected TV (CTV) and programmatic advertising, creating a truly omni-channel tech stack.
Impressive Growth and Funding
Quorum’s innovative approach has attracted significant investor interest. The company raised $1 million in seed funding from Trajectory Ventures in 2021, followed by an additional $2 million round with participation from Crush Ventures and Dudley Fund, bringing total funding to $3 million.
This financial backing has fueled Quorum’s expansion. The platform now tracks 80 million unique mobile IDs using opt-in location data, providing advertisers with powerful targeting and attribution capabilities.
Looking to the Future
As Quorum continues to grow, it draws inspiration from companies like The Trade Desk, which shares its mission of bringing walled garden capabilities to the open web. Doty appreciates their articulation of “the need for increased optimization capabilities within the ecosystem and promotion of AI to automate the selection of ad space.”Looking ahead, Quorum aims to become a leading player in the ad tech industry within the next four years. The company envisions expanding its data network beyond 280 million mobile IDs and deepening integrations with major demand-side platforms (DSPs).
By offering advanced, privacy-compliant, location-based targeting solutions, Quorum is not just helping advertisers and publishers compete more effectively. It’s reshaping the digital advertising landscape, making it more equitable and efficient for all players involved.
As the industry continues to grapple with privacy concerns and the phasing out of third-party cookies, Quorum’s innovative approach positions it at the forefront of the next generation of ad tech solutions. For advertisers and publishers alike, this Vermont startup offers a compelling alternative to the walled gardens that have long dominated the digital advertising world.
