Vibenomics closes on $12M Series B round
INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Business) — Indianapolis-based retail audio advertising startup Vibenomics has closed on a $12.3 million Series B funding round. The company says it will use the funding to launch additional Audio-Out-of-Home networks in more grocery stores, pharmacies and convenience stores throughout the country. Chief Executive Officer Brent Oakley says the investment will help the company reach another record-breaking year in 2022 by fueling product development.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Oakley said while Vibenomics has faced the same challenges as other companies such as talent and inflation, it is in a unique position.
“The one thing that I think is definitely positive is, to some extent, we feel a little bit insulated from everything going on for the fact that our product sits at grocery stores, convenience stores, pharmacies, where individuals are still going, still wanting to buy products,” Oakley said. “We mainly focused on focus on packaged goods, food, so we tend to be a little bit insulated.”
The Vibenomics platform includes software that combines licensed music playlists and commercial spots that can be targeted to specific store customers at a variety of retailers.
Oakley says the platform allows users to customize the music and advertisements heard at a single store or among a group of stores that could be in the thousands based on the demographic data it receives from third-party aggregators.
“Not everybody wants to advertise in certain parts or to a certain demographic, and all the brands know who buys their product, who’s more likely to buy their product, and they’re trying to get in front of those customers at the right time when they’re making a purchasing decision,” he said. “And now they can see that in real time through our programmatic offering.”
Over the last few years, Vibenomics has seen its platform used in major grocery chains such as Kroger and, most recently, Hy-Vee. The company expects to be in more than 20,000 locations by the end of 2023.
Vibenomics employs about 40 people, the majority of whom live in the Indianapolis area. The company says it plans to increase its workforce by 25%, particularly in sales and marketing, by the end of this year.
“For us, this [funding round] is going to enable us to hire those sellers to really lean into the what we have discovered is already working and with expanding our sales team expanding our marketing team, we think that this is going to just change the trajectory of the organization and just such a skyrocketing kind of way,” said Jenny Quinnette, chief financial officer of Vibenomics.
Looking forward, Oakley says the company is close to controlling its own destiny as a startup.
“Obviously, you’re always in growth mode. You’re always leaning in and spending capital to grow that top line revenue. And we’ve been doing that for a lot of years. And finally, our accelerated cash burn growing into that revenue number is starting to equal out and turning the corner on being profitable,” he said. “So really, we’re we’re just going to be in a great position after this to kind of evaluate where the business is at and be completely in control of whether or not we would raise again, or need to raise again, which is a really exciting place to be.”
The Series B round comes less than two years after Vibenomics closed on a $6.5 million Series A2 round of funding.