StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Jun 3, 2017 · 21m · top-founders

679: Mobile Majority $25M raised, Acquires Qualcomm's Gimbal To Lead Mobile Ad Attribution Using Beacons w/ CEO Rob Emrich

Rob Emrich · 11m spoken Nathan Latka · 7m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In this episode of 'The Top,' Nathan Latka interviews Rob Emrich, founder and CEO of The Mobile Majority, to discuss the acquisition of Qualcomm's Gimbal, raising $25 million in funding, and bridging digital advertising with offline foot-traffic attribution using Bluetooth beacons.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 39.5% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.5 Guest teaching 3.5 Guest disagreement 1.8 Nathan pushing back 3.3
05100:0010:0020:001:14–6:39 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Acquiring Gimbal and Solving Offline Mobile Ad Attribution Rob provides an in-depth breakdown of offline attribution and explains why beacons are critical compared to GPS. Nathan demonstrates solid foundational knowledge of cookies and location hardware, asking targeted clarifying questions.6:39–11:05 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Deal Structure, Capital Raised, and Founder Journey Nathan cuts through Rob's high-level commentary on Qualcomm's innovation culture to demand specifics on asset valuation and deal structure. Rob skillfully deflects the exact dollar valuation while acknowledging a creative mix of cash, debt, and equity.11:05–17:40 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Media Operating System, Revenue Sharing, and Market Scale Nathan and Rob dig into adtech economics, comparing Mobile Majority's media operating system to content recommendation platforms like Outbrain. Nathan pushes for specific programmatic CPM figures and gross ad spend ranges.17:40–20:27 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Klipfolio Business Intelligence Dashboards The segment includes a mid-roll sponsor spotlight for Klipfolio followed by a standard, brisk Famous Five rapid-fire exchange and episode outro.1:14–6:39 · Guest teaching 6/10 Acquiring Gimbal and Solving Offline Mobile Ad Attribution Rob provides an in-depth breakdown of offline attribution and explains why beacons are critical compared to GPS. Nathan demonstrates solid foundational knowledge of cookies and location hardware, asking targeted clarifying questions.6:39–11:05 · Guest teaching 2/10 Deal Structure, Capital Raised, and Founder Journey Nathan cuts through Rob's high-level commentary on Qualcomm's innovation culture to demand specifics on asset valuation and deal structure. Rob skillfully deflects the exact dollar valuation while acknowledging a creative mix of cash, debt, and equity.11:05–17:40 · Guest teaching 5/10 Media Operating System, Revenue Sharing, and Market Scale Nathan and Rob dig into adtech economics, comparing Mobile Majority's media operating system to content recommendation platforms like Outbrain. Nathan pushes for specific programmatic CPM figures and gross ad spend ranges.17:40–20:27 · Guest teaching 1/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Klipfolio Business Intelligence Dashboards The segment includes a mid-roll sponsor spotlight for Klipfolio followed by a standard, brisk Famous Five rapid-fire exchange and episode outro.1:14–6:39 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Acquiring Gimbal and Solving Offline Mobile Ad Attribution Rob provides an in-depth breakdown of offline attribution and explains why beacons are critical compared to GPS. Nathan demonstrates solid foundational knowledge of cookies and location hardware, asking targeted clarifying questions.6:39–11:05 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Deal Structure, Capital Raised, and Founder Journey Nathan cuts through Rob's high-level commentary on Qualcomm's innovation culture to demand specifics on asset valuation and deal structure. Rob skillfully deflects the exact dollar valuation while acknowledging a creative mix of cash, debt, and equity.11:05–17:40 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Media Operating System, Revenue Sharing, and Market Scale Nathan and Rob dig into adtech economics, comparing Mobile Majority's media operating system to content recommendation platforms like Outbrain. Nathan pushes for specific programmatic CPM figures and gross ad spend ranges.17:40–20:27 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Klipfolio Business Intelligence Dashboards The segment includes a mid-roll sponsor spotlight for Klipfolio followed by a standard, brisk Famous Five rapid-fire exchange and episode outro.1:14–6:39 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Acquiring Gimbal and Solving Offline Mobile Ad Attribution Rob provides an in-depth breakdown of offline attribution and explains why beacons are critical compared to GPS. Nathan demonstrates solid foundational knowledge of cookies and location hardware, asking targeted clarifying questions.6:39–11:05 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Deal Structure, Capital Raised, and Founder Journey Nathan cuts through Rob's high-level commentary on Qualcomm's innovation culture to demand specifics on asset valuation and deal structure. Rob skillfully deflects the exact dollar valuation while acknowledging a creative mix of cash, debt, and equity.11:05–17:40 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Media Operating System, Revenue Sharing, and Market Scale Nathan and Rob dig into adtech economics, comparing Mobile Majority's media operating system to content recommendation platforms like Outbrain. Nathan pushes for specific programmatic CPM figures and gross ad spend ranges.17:40–20:27 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Klipfolio Business Intelligence Dashboards The segment includes a mid-roll sponsor spotlight for Klipfolio followed by a standard, brisk Famous Five rapid-fire exchange and episode outro.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 54.4% · guest 45.6%0:00 · Nathan 54.4% · guest 45.6%3:00 · Nathan 6.3% · guest 93.7%3:00 · Nathan 6.3% · guest 93.7%6:00 · Nathan 20% · guest 80%6:00 · Nathan 20% · guest 80%9:00 · Nathan 39.9% · guest 60.1%9:00 · Nathan 39.9% · guest 60.1%12:00 · Nathan 21% · guest 79%12:00 · Nathan 21% · guest 79%15:00 · Nathan 35.4% · guest 64.6%15:00 · Nathan 35.4% · guest 64.6%18:00 · Nathan 88.3% · guest 11.7%18:00 · Nathan 88.3% · guest 11.7%21:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%21:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 8:16 Deflecting exact acquisition valuation

Rob resists Nathan's direct demand for the asset purchase price, asserting that in a sale the only metric is what one party agrees to pay.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 8:05 Interrupting Qualcomm philosophy to press on deal terms

Nathan cuts off Rob's tangent about corporate innovation to refocus the interview on how the company valued and financed the deal.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 5:21 Explaining centimeter-level beacon attribution

Rob educates Nathan on why mobile SDKs and BLE beacons are required to measure aisle-level intent and dwell time when GPS only achieves 10-15 meter accuracy.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 14:18 Contrasting mobile attribution with cookie-based Outbrain models

Nathan shows industry fluency by testing Rob on how their syndication model differs from web-focused, cookie-driven networks like Outbrain.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Acquiring Gimbal and Solving Offline Mobile Ad Attribution 5612 Rob provides an in-depth breakdown of offline attribution and explains why beacons are critical compared to GPS. Nathan demonstrates solid foundational knowledge of cookies and location hardware, asking targeted clarifying questions.
Deal Structure, Capital Raised, and Founder Journey 5236 Nathan cuts through Rob's high-level commentary on Qualcomm's innovation culture to demand specifics on asset valuation and deal structure. Rob skillfully deflects the exact dollar valuation while acknowledging a creative mix of cash, debt, and equity.
Media Operating System, Revenue Sharing, and Market Scale 6524 Nathan and Rob dig into adtech economics, comparing Mobile Majority's media operating system to content recommendation platforms like Outbrain. Nathan pushes for specific programmatic CPM figures and gross ad spend ranges.
Sponsor Spotlight: Klipfolio Business Intelligence Dashboards 2111 The segment includes a mid-roll sponsor spotlight for Klipfolio followed by a standard, brisk Famous Five rapid-fire exchange and episode outro.

Statements from this episode (8)

Disclosure
Mobile Majority acquires Qualcomm spinout Gimbal
“We actually just bought a company that was spun out of Qualcomm called Gimble.”
Rob Emrich Jun 3, 2017 ▶ 1:26
Assertion Supported
Emrich: Over 90% of commerce remains offline without good attribution tools
“More than 90% of all commerce still takes place offline, and there's not really a good way to do attribution for offline.”
Rob Emrich Jun 3, 2017 ▶ 3:02
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Emrich: Qualcomm invested over $100M developing Gimbal beacon technology
“Qualcomm, you know, I believe that they had invested around over a hundred million dollars in this technology of basically ultra low battery consumption for a mobile SDK, and also the hardware and the firmware that runs off of these beacons.”
Rob Emrich Jun 3, 2017 ▶ 5:35
Assertion Partly supported
Emrich: Beacons achieve location precision down to one centimeter
“When we're working with GPS to understand the location of the device, it can be accurate, 10 meters, 15 meters, something like that. With a beacon, it can get down to a centimeter, right?”
Rob Emrich Jun 3, 2017 ▶ 6:07
Insight
Emrich: Big tech companies lack the hustle to commercialize IP
“Many times they'll have a piece of IP, like, you know, something that they built that they know has a commercial application, but it's not necessarily in the DNA of a big company to make to commercialize it well. They don't have that hustle.”
Rob Emrich Jun 3, 2017 ▶ 7:48
Disclosure
Emrich: US Postal Service uses Mobile Majority for mobile ad targeting
“US Postal Service uses our product when somebody submits a direct mail campaign. We're able to target individual people.”
Rob Emrich Jun 3, 2017 ▶ 11:34
Insight
Emrich: Major media firms lack audience scale for hyper-targeted brand ads
“Even the largest media companies like a CBS or NBC or Disney or firms like that, they don't have enough of the exact people that that brand advertiser wants to see or hit. And so they need to go off of their owned and operated properties.”
Rob Emrich Jun 3, 2017 ▶ 12:48
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Emrich: The Mobile Majority has served over 10,000 advertisers
“So we've had now over 10,000 end advertisers, whether they've been whether we have sold to them directly or whether one of our partners have sold to them”
Rob Emrich Jun 3, 2017 ▶ 15:09
Made with StarZero

Turn any episode into a week of clips.

This entire site, over 2,600 episodes transcribed, diarized, checked and made playable, runs on the StarZero media pipeline. Drop in your own episode and the podcast clipper finds the moments worth sharing, cuts them, captions them, and reframes them for every feed.

Try the podcast clipper Learn more