The CEO of a fast-growing AdTech says failing fast – and quickly fixing the resulting problems – is key to scaling a Software-as-a-Service business.
Gustav Westman is the founder and new CEO of BrightBid, a platform for Google Advertising which has launched UK operations in London to significantly accelerate its global growth.
The Swedish company, founded in 2020, has grown close to 400% YoY in revenue and is well in the top 10% of fastest growing SaaS companies globally.
The company helps PPC and marketing teams scale up performance on Google Search Ads using its proprietary AI technology.
“We obsessed over continual improvements of the product to manage the changing needs of advertising and Google product updates,” Westman tells TechBlast.
“We also had a relentless focus on sales, ensuring the commercials added value for our customers and our business.
“From early on in the journey we focused on creating a great product by hiring a team of highly-talented staff who were experts in their field – whether it was sales, marketing, or AI development – a team who were driven to deliver innovation and great results.”
The idea of BrightBid came about when close friends Westman and Marcus Möller saw the need to help businesses deliver optimised campaigns with Google Search Ads and compete in an increasingly crowded environment.
With the appointment of CTO Edmund Aldrich de Leon in 2021, they developed an AI engine that works alongside Google’s automation and first-party data to find the best performing keywords, enhance bidding adjustments and generate more revenue, leads and customers.
Combined with the marketing and sales expertise, BrightBid’s AI- and human-led offering helps companies deliver an average 20% increase in conversions.
“The UK is the second largest market for Google ads in the world, so it’s natural that we saw opportunities for growth that reflect our targets,” explains Westman.
“We’re a young and ambitious company, so we also wanted to tap into the growing dynamic tech and startup scene in London. It’s perfectly placed for the company to slingshot across to the US market.”
BrightBid was created during the COVID-19 pandemic, a tough time to start any business. The market changed dramatically as everything moved online and business owners needed to grow their digital presence across a number of platforms, including Google ads.
“This created a highly competitive environment, where marketers were bidding against each other and were forced to pay over market value for impressions, clicks and conversions,” says Westman.
“Our product was exactly what was needed to optimise campaigns and deliver cost-effective results.”
BrightBid recently raised £2m in a seed round from a number of seasoned tech and SaaS company founders, including Filip Lilja, co-founder of autonomous trucking company Einride, Mikael Lindblom, co-founder and former CEO of invoice management SaaS company Medius, and Thor-Olof Philogène, founder and CEO of enterprise insights SaaS company Stravito as well as former CRO at iZettle.
Asked for a tip for fellow budding tech entrepreneurs, he answers: “Fail fast – focus on speed of go-to-market and be prepared for some failures, but learn to quickly fix them.”