Announcing The MadTech Money Conference; It's You Google, Not Me; MIQ, The People's Ad Tech GOAT

This is the FirstPartyCapital weekly newsletter.  It covers news and updates about the FirstPartyCapital fund and its portfolio companies.

Announcing Our MadTech Money Conference.  Register Interest Today.

We are announcing today that FirstPartyCapital will be hosting its first MadTech Money conference in October.  It will take place in London.  Dates and location to be confirmed in the coming weeks. 

Now, what in the name of the ad tech god of arbitrage is MadTech Money?  Good question.  

MadTech Money is effectively an investment conference focused on all things money in the ad tech, martech and digital media sector.

From seed to series A to series B to PE exits to trade acquisitions to IPOs, MadTech Money will cover all subjects related to capital raises and the path to that all important liquidity event.

We will be inviting all our fund investors, syndicate members and our portfolio companies but we are open to everyone in the industry - even companies that haven’t taken investment from FirstPartyCapital.  We want this to be an ecosystem event.  A rising tide raises all boats and all that.

Our sector remains inexplicably niche: despite the fact that we power a trillion dollar ad market and has a number of blockbuster exits, there are only SIX focused madtech funds in the world.  All these funds will be at MadTech Money - as well as strategic buyers, corp dev teams and PE buyers.

There are limited places available for the conference.  We are asking people to register interest now so we can add you to the list.  Details on MadTech Money will follow in the coming weeks.  The link is below.

Register me for the  MadTech Money conference, please>>

Google Hasn’t Really Got A Realistic Plan For Post-Cookie World; It’s Time To Pull The Pin On Our Messy Relationship

In a piece this week in Digiday, Ronan Shields discusses Google plans to launch yet more Privacy Sandbox trials.

The piece outlines what’s coming next from Google as it “attempts” to find a solution that will replace the deprecation of the 3p cookie in Chrome.

These half-arsed attempts (FloC, Fledge, Topics etc)  feel like Google is playing lip service to the industry at large.  Now we understand how dependent the current legacy system is on Google to make “performance display” work.  

I think Google realised a long time ago that it cannot fix this issue as privacy hackery will ultimately run into all sorts of platforms (Apple, Firefox) and legislative barriers.  

Let’s be honest here: Apple totally blindsided Google on the privacy front and is now desperately fighting a rearguard battle to show that it is putting users first.  Legacy ad tech is the collateral damage unfortunately.

I cannot understand why the industry can’t see this.  It’s time to end this messy Google relationship.  Let Google focus on YouTube, search and its cloud business.  

And let’s move the industry towards clean room adoption and attention-based measurement. 

Sometimes you just need to end it all and walk away.  It’s been great while it lasted, Google.  I wish you the best.  

MIQ: One Of The Great Unsung Heroes Of Ad Tech

When someone gets around to writing a story of the ad tech sector, MIQ will deserve a chapter on its own.  

The company started over pints in a small boozer off Charlotte Street by two of the most unassuming characters in the industry is now a peerless well-oiled optimisation machine. 

There isn’t a company like it in our space.  Its revenue is comparable with any ad tech company.  I would safely say there are only a handful of companies doing more.  

But it is the sheer brilliance around data optimisation and trading expertise that is the real marvel. The company keeps innovating around the current realities, investing in data and tech capabilities that attack the big problems.  

This week it announced it is investing more resources and cash into building a post-cookie targeting solution across the many walled-gardens that now populate our sector.

It is one of a few established companies we see investing for a post-cookie world.  That is a testament to the talent and vision at the company.

If this fund had been around when Lee and G conceived of MIQ, FirstPartyCapital would have written the lads a cheque just to be part of their insane rise.  

Sometimes you need to pay homage to brilliance in ad tech - so kudos to Lee, G and the MIQ team.  

And on that positive and emotional note, have a great weekend readers.