Industry Software Website www.bounceexchange.com Founded 2010 | Key people Ryan Urban (CEO) Headquarters New York City Type Privately held company | |
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Bounce Exchange (also written as BounceX) is a U.S. company that makes behavioral automation tools for digital advertisers. It is based in New York City and as of 2016 has 120 employees.
Contents
In 2015, Bounce Exchange had over 800 customers, among them publishing companies Rodale, Inc., Hearst Corporation, Reader’s Digest Association and the Gannett Company.
History
Bounce Exchange began in the New York University Polytechnic business incubator. The company was cofounded by Namik Abdulzade, Cole Sharp, Andreas Spartalis, and Ryan Urban, the last of whom from among the aforementioned group currently serves as the company's CEO. It was officially founded in New York City in 2010, and launched in 2012. Investors in Bounce Exchange include Contour Venture Partners. In 2015 the company moved its headquarters to a floor in the New York Times building, relocating from a building in Soho. Later the same year, Bounce Exchange received $6.5 million in Series A-1 funding, having started out with $1.5 million in seed funding.
Software
Bounce Exchange sells software that uses an automated customer acquisition program called Exit Intent, which monitors how and when potential consumers leave a website, providing an overlay window that incentivizes the user to stay on the site. This is done partly by detecting when a user is moving their mouse towards the browser's back button, causing the "exit capture overlay" to appear on the screen. Overlays can be made in multiple sizes or a conversion bar can appear either at the side, top or bottom of that page. The goal of the software is to persuade users into staying on the site longer than they otherwise would. Among other BounceX features intended to convert website visitors into paying customers, the software can analyze a news site reader's behavior to decide whether to offer them a paid subscription.
The firm has been criticized for email sign-up pop-up ads that present the opt-out choice sequenced with a false dilemma, such as forcing the reader to state they are "not looking to lose weight” when declining subscription to a Men's Health newsletter, or that they are "not interested in protecting my skin" when opting out of providing their email address on the website of Elle.