From 3 Near-Bankruptcies to $4M Investment and Blooming in The US In-Game Advertising Market
Updated: Feb 26
Having $87 in bank account while being in San Francisco with one mission - figure out overnight how to get money and survive. Years later, Monetizr has raised $4M from “Change Ventures”, “Ludus Ventures”, "Techstars,” and multiple angel investors.
This is a story of fighting for survival as a unique startup, finally seeing some signals and taking over the US In-Game advertising market, life changing leadership lessons, and the meaning of work-life balance for CEO of Monetizr, Andris Merkulovs. Listen to Inner Power Particles podcast on other platforms:
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Overview of the topics: 00:31 Welcome CEO of Monetizr Andris Merkulovs
01:07 What is Monetizr?
2:30 Figuring out how to survive
5:19 Figuring out why to survive
7:18 Co-founder dynamics
9:10 Back to basics - talk with customers!
9:51 It is okay to feel tired
10:28 Pushing up the hill, vision
12:18 Using investors to open the doors
15:16 Importance of using your resources efficiently
18:37 How to make decisions that lead you to your goal
22:00 Communication, Collaboration and Leadership
27:57 Changing leadership within the company
29:36 Growing as a leader - Smartest person in the room
35:56 Sharing experience: Startups and potential of accelerators
38:46 Importance of mentorship and Cacoon Program
40:25 Being a better husband
41:26 Work-life balance
44:18 Why choose Monetizr?
46:15 Having a heart in what you are doing
Welcome to Inner Power Particles podcast. Here we talk with entrepreneurs and leaders about their challenges and lessons learned to improve their inner strength. We do this to share their journey and knowledge with you so that you can improve as a leader and a person. Resources: To learn more useful tools for CEOs and C-level managers ➡️ https://www.cocoonprogram.com/resources
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Farhad Niyoz is the CEO of Cocoon.