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profiles: In Focus: Marketing the Merits of Mobile Ads

profiles

In Focus: Marketing the Merits of Mobile Ads

April 13, 2009

Small-business owners, what are you doing to stand out from the crowd? Each week, we focus on an entrepreneur who has lessons to share that we think will resonate with other small-business owners.

Andrew Miller, co-founder of mobile advertising network, Quattro Wireless, answers our questions:

What are you doing to stand out from the crowd?
From building mobile ads to developing templates for future campaigns, we provide an all-in-one platform that makes it easy for companies to advertise on mobile devices. Our clients include advertisers like CoverGirl, Lionsgate Films and Toyota, and we have exclusive partnerships with Internet publishers such as MySpace and the NFL.

What's the best part about owning your own business?
Being able to define, set and promote the company’s culture through good hiring practices. I’m proud of the team of hard working and passionate people we’ve managed to cobble together.

What's the biggest challenge of owning your own business?
Feeling responsible for everyone's career growth. With a start-up, you need to earn your co-workers’ respect by laying out a vision, executing on that vision and showing how it will benefit them. At times, that can be really difficult.

Name: Andrew Miller
Andrew MillerBusiness: Quattro Wireless, a mobile advertising network.
Industry: Advertising
Location: Waltham, Mass.
Year founded: 2006
Number of employees: 75
Web address: www.quattrowireless.com

What's the biggest hurdle you've overcome?
Not only were we starting up a business, we were helping to develop an entire industry. That meant spending a lot of time proving Quattro Wireless's value proposition as an ad network and explaining why agencies and brands should even try mobile advertising.

What's the biggest mistake you've made?
Developing products for niches that never panned out. Not only did we waste time and money on these projects, we lost focus on our core product offerings.

What's the best business advice you can offer?
Don't be afraid to let everyone know that you don't have all the answers and be sure to find trusted advisors who you can lean on.

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