This is great, Brian. I've been writing a memoir but starting way back in childhood, and in the back of my mind was the idea of writing a whole separate book about the early days of ad-tech from a founders' perspective. I love this - so much. While we've met a bunch and know each other, and you got a bird's eye view of Rare Crowds, I realize we never talked about my first startup. You and I met when I was at Microsoft and you were at Right Media.
In late 1997 I was running an early web application development company with a few friends (I started it right after finishing grad school in 1996), and we decided we wanted to build a startup tech company. And after almost a year of iterations, we created what became Bluestreak. We were the second Rich Media Ad company, but we stretched into Ad Serving. We ran into Joe and Poindexter back in the day because we built the first creative optimization system in 1998, and we pioneered a ton of things that became common approaches. We built the first multi-touch attribution. The first ads that expanded over the page. The first ads that let you do a transaction inside the ad without leaving the page. Some of (not sure of exact provenance) the first video and audio ads.
Your story feels like a fascinating slice of history brought to life, mixing technical discoveries with human quirks and memorable encounters from the early days of programmatic advertising. I really enjoyed the way you capture the excitement and chaos of the dot-com era while sharing genuine, personal insights into the industry's evolution. I see so much potential in your work. plus, I have an idea for your story and would love to collaborate with you!
This is great, Brian. I've been writing a memoir but starting way back in childhood, and in the back of my mind was the idea of writing a whole separate book about the early days of ad-tech from a founders' perspective. I love this - so much. While we've met a bunch and know each other, and you got a bird's eye view of Rare Crowds, I realize we never talked about my first startup. You and I met when I was at Microsoft and you were at Right Media.
In late 1997 I was running an early web application development company with a few friends (I started it right after finishing grad school in 1996), and we decided we wanted to build a startup tech company. And after almost a year of iterations, we created what became Bluestreak. We were the second Rich Media Ad company, but we stretched into Ad Serving. We ran into Joe and Poindexter back in the day because we built the first creative optimization system in 1998, and we pioneered a ton of things that became common approaches. We built the first multi-touch attribution. The first ads that expanded over the page. The first ads that let you do a transaction inside the ad without leaving the page. Some of (not sure of exact provenance) the first video and audio ads.
Your story feels like a fascinating slice of history brought to life, mixing technical discoveries with human quirks and memorable encounters from the early days of programmatic advertising. I really enjoyed the way you capture the excitement and chaos of the dot-com era while sharing genuine, personal insights into the industry's evolution. I see so much potential in your work. plus, I have an idea for your story and would love to collaborate with you!
Can't wait to read more!
Loved the first chapter Brian!