Yodle, Inc., is a company that provides local online marketing to 30,000+ small business customers. Yodle's online marketing platform includes desktop and mobile websites, search engine optimization, paid search advertising across multiple desktop and mobile outlets, relationship marketing, display advertising, review/offer management, and a performance dashboard.

Yodle's customer base is service industry small businesses across dozens of white and blue collar verticals including law, dental, medical, and home services. Yodle also works with national companies that have multiple locations including businesses such as Ideal Image and franchise networks like Merry Maids, Miracle-Ear, and Cottman Transmission and Auto Care. Yodle reviews from customers that have used the company's online marketing solutions can be found on both Yodle's website^[1] and YouTube channel.^[2]

In February 2013, Yodle reported that it profitably generated $130+ million in annual revenue in 2012. Yodle's revenue increased by more than 50% compared to 2011.

As of April 2013, Yodle had more than 1,000 employees. Yodle's staff is spread across six offices: New York, NY (headquarters); Austin, TX; Charlotte, NC; Scottsdale, AZ; Atlanta, GA; and Indianapolis, IN.

Management Team [edit]

Court Cunningham joined Yodle as CEO in April 2007 when the company had 200 customers and 10 employees. Yodle has grown significantly under Mr. Cunningham’s leadership, and today has 30,000+ customers, 1,000+ employees, and six offices across the U.S. Mr. Cunningham oversees all aspects of Yodle's operations and strategy. Prior to Yodle, Mr. Cunningham held senior positions at Community Connect and DoubleClick. He also authored a book for the popular "For Dummies" series about local online advertising.^[3] Mr. Cunningham received his BA in English from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Other Yodle executives include Erin Brockman, Senior Vice President of Client Services; Louis Gagnon, Chief Product and Marketing Officer; Michael Gordon, Chief Financial Officer; and David Rubin, Chief Revenue Officer.

Company Origin and Co-founders [edit]

Yodle, originally named Natpal,^[4] was founded by childhood friends Nathaniel Stevens,^[5] Ben Rubenstein, and John Berkowitz in 2005. While attending The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania,^[6] Nathaniel managed online advertising at his father's dealership. Nathaniel saw a gap in the local lead generation market and came up with a system that would use a unique bidding algorithm to develop and optimize online search ads for local businesses, which would drive new business leads. The system also included the ability to track the leads, in the form of phone calls and emails, so local businesses can quantify the results.

Nathaniel Stevens left Wharton to pursue Yodle as a full-time business. In addition to working with Ben and John, Nathaniel brought in friend Milind Mehere as well as one of his professors at Wharton, Dr. Kartik Hosanagar,^[7] to grow the company.

Nathaniel left Yodle in 2010. Fellow co-founders John Berkowitz and Ben Rubenstein continue to work at Yodle as Vice President of National Sales and Vice President of Sales Operations respectively. In 2012, they were recognized by Empact100,^[8] an organization that recognizes the best companies started by young entrepreneurs in the United States. As part of the Empact100 event, Ben Rubenstein spoke at the White House on entrepreneurship in America.

Funding [edit]

Yodle was funded by JAFCO,^[9] Bessemer Venture Partners, and Draper Fischer Jurvetson.^[10] From these investors, Yodle raised four rounds of funding from 2006 to 2010 totaling $35 million.

Acquisitions and Partnerships [edit]

• On February 28, 2013, Yodle acquired Lighthouse Practice Management Group, an Atlanta, GA-based company that provided dental appointment reminder and relationship marketing software.^[11]
• On September 9, 2012, Yodle was officially named as a Google AdWords Premier SMB Partner, making it one of only 16 companies in North America to earn such a distinction.
• On January 18, 2012, Rogers Communications, Inc., Canada’s leading provider of wireless voice and data communications services, entered an agreement to exclusively offer Yodle’s solutions to local businesses in Canada. The partnership marked Yodle’s first foray into a market outside of the U.S.
• On May 24, 2011, Yodle acquired ProfitFuel, Inc., an Austin, TX-based company that specialized in local search engine optimization.^[12]

Recent Awards [edit]

Yodle has been recognized by a number of different organizations and media outlets.

2013

• Yodle was ranked #28 on the Forbes Most Promising Companies list.^[13]
• Yodle was named by New York Best Companies Group as one of the top 100 companies to work for in New York State^[14]

2012

• Yodle won the Google AdWords™ Premier SMB Partner “Mobile Champion” Award for North America.^[15]
• Yodle was recognized as the “Biggest Job Creator in the Advertising and Marketing Industry” by Inc. Magazine.^[16]
• Yodle was ranked #9 among the Fastest Growing Companies in New York by Crain's New York, part of Crain Communications.^[17]
• Yodle was ranked #48 on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500.^[18]
• Yodle was ranked #2 by the Austin Business Journal for Best Places to Work in Austin.^[19]
• Yodle was ranked #5 by the Phoenix Business Journal for Best Medium Companies to Work for in Phoenix and Scottsdale.^[20]
• Yodle was ranked #13 by the Charlotte Business Journal for Best Midsized Companies to Work for in Charlotte.^[21]

Recent Media Coverage [edit]

Yodle has drawn strong interest from the media that has resulted in stories in the business press showcasing the company’s progress and its executives’ opinions.

• FOX Business News.“The Right Way to Recognize Employees for Good Work”. April 11, 2013
• Time Magazine. “How Mobile Marketing Can Help Your Business”. March 26, 2013
• Bloomberg TV. Interview with Yodle CEO Court Cunningham. March 21, 2013
• Crain’s New York. “Fast-growing Yodle makes acquisition”. March 4, 2013
• Forbes. “Local Marketing In 2013: The 10 Key Trends To Watch”. January 16, 2013
• Forbes. “Meet the Young Entrepreneurs Who're Fixing the Economy and Creating Jobs”. September 27, 2012
• Fox TV Austin. “Yodle bringing new jobs to Austin”. September 19, 2012
• Forbes. “Why Businesses Need To Pay Attention to Google+ Local”. July 9, 2012
• Bloomberg TV. “CEO Says Yodle Unable to Make Facebook Ads `Work'”. June 12, 2012

References [edit]

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