advertising exchange that had Google, with a $190 billion market capitalization, pursuing them.
As Turner told the crowd at the third Founder Factory event at World Cafe Live earlier this month, it was not as simple as it appears. Invite Media is a great example of the "pivot," a bit of business jargon that means if your first idea isn't working, shift to a new one.
During his presentation, Turner even joked about being able to describe how Invite Media adapted using such a term. Pivoting sounds a lot more decisive than how Invite Media's venture capital investors characterized Turner and his fellow twentysomethings: "the shiny-object kids."
As a teenager, Turner had started and sold other online businesses, including one to swap gift certificates and another to order food from local restaurants. While at the University of Pennsylvania, Turner, Zachary Weinberg, Scott Becker, and Michael Provenzano started Invite Media in 2007 to build a video ad network.
It would prove to be an awful idea, Turner said, and led to a pivot to a new approach to the many marketplaces that handle the buying and selling of online advertising.
It was also clear that a company focused on advertising agencies for its clients would need to spend more time in the center of that universe, New York. Turner and Weinberg put thousands of miles on a car, driving to New York in the wee hours to make 8 a.m. meetings at agencies and then driving back to Philadelphia to get to class or take tests.
A 600-square-foot office in Philadelphia's Northern Liberties neighborhood was where the four founders lived, worked, coded, and lost a lot of sleep. But looking back, Turner, now 24, said it was the most fun he's had.
"There is no better time to start a company than when you're in school," he said.
