We visited Adjust in Berlin.
Here is the interview with Adjust as well as a look at their office in Berlin.
Your Business
What is your core business?
Adjust is the industry leader in mobile measurement, fraud prevention and cybersecurity. The globally operating company provides high quality analytics and measurement solutions for mobile app marketers worldwide.
By making marketing simpler, smarter and more secure, Adjust empowers data-driven marketers to build the most successful apps in the world. Adjust is a marketing partner with all major platforms, and in total, more than 28,000 apps have implemented Adjust’s solutions to secure their budgets and improve performance.
Adjust works with leading global brands, including NBCUniversal, Zynga, Robinhood, Pinterest, Procter & Gamble, Runtastic, Rocket Internet, Canon, HotelTonight, BlaBlaCar, Viber, FNAC, Deezer, Tencent Games, Nexon, Takeaway.com, HelloFresh, Yandex, Manchester United and Universal Music Group.
How did you get to your business idea and when was your company established?
Adjust was founded in 2012 in Berlin by Christian Henschel, CEO; Paul H. Müller, CTO; and Manuel Kniep, Lead Developer.
The concept behind Adjust was born out of frustration at the number of substandard mobile measurement solutions on the market at the time. In the stationary web, companies were able to track users behavior quite easily by using cookies. However, on mobile, this was not possible.
At that time, mobile marketers had no idea where their users were coming from, how they discovered the app or how they were using it. Adjust’s founders knew they could solve the problem, and started the company to begin working on a solution.
Since Adjust’s launch, the company has grown extremely quickly, almost doubling in team size every year. We also recently acquired two companies, further broadening our product suite and capabilities. The first is data aggregation platform Acquired.io, and in January 2019, we acquired cyber security and AI company Unbotify. They are based out of San Francisco and Tel Aviv.
In which countries are you active?
Adjust is a truly globally operating tech company, with clients all over the world and from every vertical. The tech team is primarily based out of Berlin, but we have account management teams in each of our locations (and so in every time zone) to provide quick turnaround support for clients.
We have 15 offices in total. In addition to our headquarters in Berlin, we have international satellite offices in New York, San Francisco, São Paulo, Paris, London, Moscow, Istanbul, Tel Aviv, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Bengaluru and Singapore.
Are you planning to expand your venture in other countries? And if so – where?
Adjust is always on the lookout for new opportunities! Southeast Asia in particular will be a big focus for us going forward. The region has a huge potential for mobile marketers, and we’re already working with exciting brands like Netzme and UltraVoucher.
We’ll continue to build on our success in the region by investing in our local teams and focusing on go-to-market strategies.
Are you using Venture Capital? And if – who are your Venture Partners?
Yes, although we’ve actually been profitable since 2015, with a sustainable SaaS business model. With our latest funding round in June 2019, we raised $227 million – led by investors Eurazeo Growth, Highland Europe, Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners and Sofina.
Was it hard to find a Venture Partner? How long did this process take?
The most important aspect for us when talking to venture partners is that we share a similar vision for Adjust. Our current roster of investors approached us because of our solid, fast-scaling business model. We’re really pleased to have them on-board – between them, they have a big international reach, and a lot of experience when it comes to scaling successful tech companies.
Where do you see the company in 5 years?
As the mobile market goes from strength to strength worldwide, so is Adjust. We have some big plans for the future, and our funding round and two recent acquisitions were driven by our goal of making marketing simpler, smarter and more secure.
Today, marketers have to handle dozens of mobile ad channels at the same time and use multiple vendors/service providers. With Gartner predicting that more than 40% of data science tasks will be automated by 2020, more businesses than ever will be empowered to unlock the insights hidden in their data.
Our aim is to help simplify this process by unifying advertisers’ marketing efforts – providing them with a single platform for all their needs. Providing a platform that integrates data across channels will reduce repetitive workflows and let teams focus on what really matters to them: creating, strategizing, and pushing boundaries.
Ad fraud will continue to be a big issue, with fraudsters likely to come up with new and more complex ways to scam advertisers out of their budgets. We’ll continue to develop new filters for each method that appears. Adjust will continue to stop fraud for once and for all!
The investments we make in our product suite will further empower our clients to move the needle in their markets as we become mobile’s definitive growth engine for marketers the world over.
Your Team
How many employees work at your company right now? Are you planning to expand?
Head count currently stands at 400 or so. With the new round of funding, we’ll continue to grow and invest in our local teams around the world, with a particular focus in the U.S. and APAC.
What kind of attitude should new employees have in order to work at your company?
As a global company, it’s a prerequisite that all employees must be open, accepting and respectful of each other. Of course, cultural differences will always be there. But that’s something to be celebrated – our employees think differently from one another, and we like it that way.
A background in mobile isn’t essential, but a willingness to learn about the industry is. We place a big focus on education, starting with our onboarding program. We fly all new joiners to Berlin for a three week course in Adjust, led by our in-house Education department, some of whom are former teachers.
While it means pressing pause when people first join, they get up to speed much more quickly. New hires have an equal opportunity to succeed, and the business sees the benefits earlier on.
How does your recruitment process look like?
We’re hiring at breakneck speed – onboarding close to 100 new employees in 2019 so far. Hiring in the tech industry is very competitive, so we need to move fast. Our process is designed so that we can progress with applications quickly while staying rigorous when vetting candidates.
The recruitment process is usually the first touchpoint prospective employees have with Adjust, so we want to make it a positive experience right from the get go – so we’re always very upfront about the different interview stages and our timelines.
Of course, you need to make sure the role is a good fit from both sides. Candidates will always meet the teams they’ll be working with, and submit a project similar to what they would be working on if they’re successful.
Why is it fun to work at your company? Do you offer any employee benefits?
Absolutely; we’ve developed an extensive and enviable benefits package. This includes occupational health insurance, unlimited vacation policy, office exchanges, team and company retreats, maternity and paternity benefits, education budgets, and gym benefits, to name a few!
Your Office
How big is your office?
In Berlin, we’re located in the city’s iconic BackFabrik – a former wholesale bakery now converted into open-plan, modern offices.
We occupy around 3000m2 of the site. The office is right next to Soho House, close to Alexander Platz and the famous Kastanien Allee.
Did you get help from an interior designer to design your office? And if so, who did you work together with?
We worked together with Berlin-based architecture firm Kinzo on our office concept. Kinzo then worked with local designers for each of our international offices, so that all spaces share the same DNA.
Our bases are light and airy, with plenty of breakout spaces, exposed brick walls and plants. No tech company’s office space would be complete without them!
What are the special things in your office?
We’ve invested in a great setup in Berlin, including an on-site gym, an arena for internal announcements and group gatherings, showers, table tennis, PlayStations, a nap room and full kitchens on every one of our floors.
Thank you Adjust Team for this interview!
Location: Berlin, Germany Website: Adjust
Photos: Andreas Lukoschek
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