Frank Speiser says he "accidentally" co-founded SocialFlow — he and co-founder Mike Perrone were trying to develop a scientific way to grow their podcast's audience.
But what started as an accident has become one of tech's most exciting startup stories, with a product utilized by some of the biggest names in media and consumer goods, including The Guardian, The Economist and Pepsi. SocialFlow helps brands optimize their social messaging by posting content when the audience wants it — a task that's easier said than done.
"The way you succeed in social is by winning attention and then converting it into a specific outcome, whether you want clicks or shares or conversions — but you first need to get people's attention," says Speiser. However, convincing people of the importance of attention was an uphill battle for SocialFlow, which launched in 2009 and joined Betaworks in 2010, during social marketing's infancy. Today, of course, everyone knows the importance of cutting through the noise and optimizing one's efforts on social media. But during the early years, Speiser found a sounding board and champion in investor/advisor Mike Brown, Jr. of Bowery Capital and AOL Ventures.
"Growing a startup's never been smooth," says Speiser, but with a smart team and outside minds offering second opinions and advice, the company is scaling well. Speiser says one of the challenges of entrepreneurship is wanting to do everything, but knowing what not to do (and why you shouldn't do it). It seems SocialFlow has found its sweet spot and is forging ahead with a laser-sharp focus on optimization, nearly $25 million in funding and a team of 34.
To learn about how SocialFlow has scaled smartly to date, check out the video above, in which we interview Speiser and Brown at at SocialFlow's Midtown Manhattan headquarters.