Bustle Eyes More Deals With Revenue On Pace to Rise 50%

In the wake of slow moving fundraising efforts and inadequate exists, but that is not the case in the realm of digital media. Bustle Digital group, a young news and culture outlet targeted mainly at millennial women, is on track to increase its revenue by 50% this year to approximately $45 million, according to its founder Bryan Goldberg. It is widely believed that digital media is a solid growth sector. The firm is on track to reach its revenue targets, due to its high sales in the native advertising to its audience on Instagram. It had signed video deals with Facebook Inc. and YouTube to support boosting its commerce activities, generated by links included in its posts. The firm’s growth is in the mid of a turbulent phase for digital media publishers such as Alphabet’s Google and Facebook who have gobbled up larger portions of the online advertising pie, as they account for 63% of U.S digital ad spending this year, according to rough estimates from eMarketer. This led to much investor’s uncertainty and made it quite challenging for digital media companies to survive up to higher valuations.

In March, Bustle Digital group raised $12 million in capital funding valuing the company at $200 million, with an approach possibly toward acquisitions. Mr. Goldberg stepped up quickly and acquired the popular content website Elite Daily from the Daily Firm. In total, the Bustle firm had raised $50.5 over the past four years. Now, it is a pressing moment or period for the digital media industry to consolidate, especially with access to private capital. By the end of the second fiscal year of operation, Bustle had $10 million in revenue and was relatively lucrative with top advertising partners, such as Adidas, Smartwater, H&M, and Del Monte.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/bustle-eyes-more-deals-with-revenue-on-pace-to-rise-50-1511811269