- March 28, 2024
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The latest version of 'what recession?' stars a Gulf Coast mobile software firm.
In fact, things are going so well at Sarasota-based MobileBits the company just embarked on its second multimillion-dollar capital raise. The first one, completed late last year, brought in $7 million. The firm now seeks another $10 million from outside investors.
“Our offering to investors is a lot less risky than it used to be,” says Walter Kostiuk, who founded the firm and is now chairman and president. That's because Kostiuk says the firm now has recurring revenue from its software, which provides answers and targeted ads on mobile phones for user's search questions. The firm announced $1 million in new contracts earlier this year.
In addition to the capital raise, Kostiuk projects MobileBits will turn a profit by the second quarter of 2012. “We are past the traditional startup phase,” Kostiuk tells Coffee Talk. “Now we are officially a small business.” A former software developer and manager for Research in Motion, the company that makes BlackBerry smartphones, Kostiuk founded Mobile Bits in 2009. In 2011 the firm merged with Pringo, a Los Angeles-based social media firm that focuses on small and mid-sized businesses.
The merger accelerated the startup process, Kostiuk says. The firm will use the capital for a combination of growth-related projects, from marketing and advertising to product development.
Moreover, the capital has led to more employees, and more space. Kostiuk plans to hire at least four more people for the Sarasota office this year, which would bring the total to 11. The firm also recently doubled its office space, when it moved into 10,000 square feet in north Sarasota County, at the IntegraClick Park. Its new office is in the same building that's home to Internet ad firm Clickbooth, a division of IntegraClick.
Kostiuk says his biggest challenge now is to make sure the firm capitalizes on the momentum without missing any opportunities. “The key is to direct and focus your agenda,” says Kostiuk. “There's still a lot of growth to be done.”