XBIZ World is pleased to present “Execs of 2015: The Year in Review.”
Each of the executives we spoke to below has one thing in common — they are among the finalist nominees for the online industry edition of the 2016 XBIZ Exec Awards.
Our innovative platform offers in-depth targeting options, and this year, we introduced keyword and IP ranges targeting/blocking along with three new ad formats, sticky banners and notification bar. -Adrien Fonzé, ExoClick
XBIZ captures the thoughts of these influential and motivational leaders as we sought their take of the year 2015.
The following question about the year in review was asked to those running for the Senior Leadership Award:
XBIZ: How did your company stay competitive and on the cutting edge this year?
Brad Estes
Vice President, Flirt4Free
“Flirt4Free has remained competitive this and every year by monitoring trends both in our internal data and in the marketplace. This analysis shapes the projects and opportunities we choose to pursue. We have a tremendous team of talented people who execute on these opportunities to help the company continue to reach its goals. In addition, our ability to operate efficiently has afforded us the ability to experiment with new technologies such as our interactive technologies without slowing down progress on our core business. As one of the first players in the live cam market, Flirt4Free has had to continue to change and evolve over the past 20 years and is committed to continuing the track record of listening to performers, affiliates and business partners to remain both competitive and relevant in the years to come.”
Adrien Fonzé
Chief Operating Officer, ExoClick
“Our core mission is to give clients full transparency while maximizing their ROI and earnings. We listen to our clients’ needs and pay close attention to market forces. Our exclusive partnerships allow us to offer large quantities of high-quality traffic. Our innovative platform offers in-depth targeting options, and this year, we introduced keyword and IP ranges targeting/blocking along with three new ad formats, sticky banners and notification bar. Our API allows clients, partners and developers to create their own software applications to automate processes on the ExoClick platform. We believe we have the most advanced API in the adult business. Our highly talented and multicultural team of 24 different nationalities has expert knowledge of local markets. Our platform is available in English, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Italian and Portuguese, and no other adult ad network offers 24/7 customer service.”
Gary Jackson
Managing Vice President of Sales and Internet Markets, CCBill
“Technology in banking and processing has not been advancing immensely, so where I think CCBill led the pack this year — and one of my proudest accomplishments — was the decisive move to be flexible as an offering. Merchants today are looking for more than a bank. They are seeking a business partner that will actively respond to their business wants. That provider needs to help them reach new traffic sources and must provide services that will grow with their own technology evolution. And with the noise of the merchant account providers constantly shouting, ‘cheaper, cheaper, cheaper,’ we needed to be more adaptive to the cost needs of the merchants. I have seen our core goal of flexibility in the CCBill service offering empower flocks of merchants this year, newbies and industry veterans alike.”
Vinny Lipari
President, WTS
“WTS continues to stay focused on providing the most effective methods of processing ACH transactions, while developing new tools our clients can leverage that boost ACH adoption and limit the potential of fraud. In September 2015, compliance-related rule changes went into effect regarding chargebacks and ACH return ratios. Prior to the rule changes, we intensified our fraud scrubbing techniques by adding supplementary layers of front-end identity and bank account verification services that enriched the overall transaction screening process. It proved to be a crucial strategy for maintaining compliance with the new rules. This is a key component to operating in a space that has been increasingly scrutinized by U.S. banks, regulators and compliance bodies. Another high point of 2015 was developing a strategic partnership with Ron Cadwell of CCBill. WTS would like to publicly thank Ron and his crew for teaming up with our organization.”
Lisa Moskotova
Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, Dating Factory
“I think the main factor that helps Dating Factory to stay competitive and at the cutting edge of the business and technology is our partners. When you work in the B2B space, the imperative is to listen to what your clients have to say. Their ideas are so creative and so ahead of the time. Online dating is a tough market to be in; so you have to look around at the new technology that constantly pops up. We always attend both adult and mainstream shows as well as marketing and conversion conferences to learn and then apply what we’ve learned in our dating field. Partnerships with other players on the market are also very important. Competition brings innovation to the industry. After having gone through a successful acquisition, Dating Factory is in the process of transforming the platform together with the Traffic Mansion team. It will bring white-label owners even better value through optimization and improved conversion rates.”
Sam Rakowski
President, Mr. Skin
“One of the biggest ways we’ve stayed on the cutting edge this year has been by completely revamping our development process. We’ve always had a fairly lean yet talented group, which allowed us to get by with a very loose project management style — even if we were blissfully ignorant to its inefficiencies. In 2015, we made the decision to learn and adopt the Agile/Scrum methodology for product development. The results have been amazing: our technical team is happier and more productive than ever, and we are rolling out some of our best software ever. We are currently wrapping up a complete redevelopment of MrSkin.com, which I’m very proud of and excited to launch before the holidays. It includes many UX advancements and new interactive features that users are going to love. Our partners, who own their own Mr. Skin white labels, will also benefit from the new and improved platform.”
Balazs Sipocz
CEO, LiveJasmin
“The webcam industry is changing along with the changes in social behavior of people online. The websites and apps today allow for much more creativity and a different, more advanced way of consuming content compared to just a few years ago — and with these tools came a new status, the Internet celebrity. By observing these changes, we have introduced and continue to introduce ideas and concepts which are new not only for us, but the webcam industry in general. Most of these are focused around the idea of letting our talented webcam actresses take the center of the virtual stage and create a platform where they are the focus of attention and can grow as stars. In addition to these new and innovative ideas, Jasmin.com continues to follow its original mission — which is to provide the highest quality of entertainment. We strongly believe that our attention to detail and quality is what keeps us one of the top sites of the world today.”
