Dhe online surveys of the start-up Opinary are probably familiar to many people who consume media on the Internet. News portals and media offerings such as the British newspaper “Financial Times”, the Hamburg magazine “Spiegel” or the American broadcasting chain NBC ask their online readers for their opinion on current political, social or economic issues with Opinaries. FAZ.NET also uses the polls.
Now the Berlin start-up has a new owner: the advertising technology company Affinity of the Indian serial founder Lavin Punjabi. Neither side gave details of the purchase price. There is a single-digit million sum in the room, half of which is to be paid in cash and the other half in Affinity shares.
Founded in 2006, Affinity is headquartered in the United States. The majority of the almost 400 employees, according to the company, are not based in Chicago, but in India. Just like Opinary, Affinity’s software is aimed at publishers. With the takeover of Opinary, the company now wants to gain a stronger foothold in Europe. Opinary will also offer Affinity products in the future. However, the Opinary brand will remain. In return, Opinary will benefit from Affinity’s contacts in the United States and Asia.
workforce should grow
“This cooperation paves the way for strong growth and international expansion for us,” says Opinary boss Cornelius Frey. “We are very pleased that Opinary is gaining the USA and Asia as a market.” The takeover is also to be accompanied by an expansion of business in Germany and Europe, and the 30-strong workforce is to grow significantly.
The siblings Pia and Cornelius Frey founded Opinary together with Max Meran in 2016. In 2018, the founders raised three million euros in a financing round, and the company has received a total of 4.5 million euros in venture capital to date, including from Project A Ventures. Investor Florian Heinemann announced that he would “continue to accompany the company on its way to the IPO as a shareholder of the buyer.”
criticism of the polls
Opinary is still relatively small. When asked, Pia Frey reported sales in the “mid-single-digit million range”. The company is now profitable. The current management around Cornelius Frey, Pia Frey, Lothar Krause and Torben Brodt should remain “an integral part of the company management”.
There has always been criticism of the information content of Opinary surveys. The surveys are not representative. The company mainly earns money with advertising or sponsored surveys from other companies. An editorial survey is then often followed by paid surveys or advertisements. Companies can use the surveys to conduct market research. Based on the responses, customers can then enable targeted cross-platform advertising. The editors get a share of the sales.
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