Ingenio Named to the Red Herring List of Top 100 Companies
Pay Per Call® Pioneer Selected For Innovative Technology, Revenues and Strong Management Team
San Francisco, May 11, 2005 – Ingenio, Inc., the company who pioneered a new approach to paid search advertising with its leading Pay Per Call Advertising Platform® and Network, announced that it has been named one of the Red Herring 100 Private Companies of North America. The company's unique combination of Internet and telephony, profitable track-record and savvy management team were all contributing factors to the Red Herring selection process.“Today's recognition validates our original vision - merging the web with the telephone opens the door to a host of exciting e-commerce opportunities for both businesses and individuals,” said Mark Britto, chief executive officer, Ingenio. “Since our inception, we've powered over $200 million in transactions through our platform; our resulting expertise uniquely positions us to take the Pay Per Call online advertising category to its next stage of growth.”
Red Herring's lists of private companies are an important part of the magazine's tradition of identifying new and innovative technology companies and entrepreneurs. Companies like Google and eBay were spotted in their early days by Red Herring editors as those that would change the way we live and work.
This accolade comes at an important time for both Ingenio and Pay Per Call - a new paid search advertising model pioneered by Ingenio last year. Last month, AOL® Search was the first major search engine to serve Pay Per Call advertisers in response to consumer queries on AOLsearch.com, enabling Ingenio to deliver its advertisers mainstream exposure with millions of potential customers searching online for their products and services. Pay Per Call ads will also launch on other AOL properties. Advertisers visit wwww.ingenio.com to create ads in minutes and are subsequently served to its Pay Per Call advertising network, which is anchored by AOL. With Ingenio's system, advertisers set their own prices and pay only when a ready-to-buy customer calls their business.
Red Herring's editorial staff rigorously evaluated more than 900 private companies through a careful analysis of financial data and subjective criteria, including quality of management, execution of strategy, and dedication to research and development. Red Herring 100 companies will be presenting their business model and strategy at the Red Herring Spring conference. Red Herring Spring will take place May 17-19 at the Monterey Plaza Hotel in Monterey, California.