Populis, formerly known as GoAdv, was an online publishing company producing content for 550 websites and blogs across eight European languages. It "collapsed" and was put into liquidation in 2016.
The company was active in several different countries, including Ireland, Italy, UK, Germany, Netherlands, France, Spain, Sweden, US, Australia, Russia and Brazil.TechCrunch,"Populis, Europe’s Demand Media, Reports 2010 Revenues Of $83 Million", TechCrunch, Apr 6, 2011 Co-founded by Luca Ascani, chairman of the company, and CEO Salvatore Esposito, Populis had offices in Rome, Dublin and Milan.John Kennedy, "Dublin-based Populis one of Europe’s fastest-growing digital media firms",Silicon Republic, May 20, 2011 Headquartered in Dublin, as of 2011 the company employed 58 staff. Its website brands included Excite Europe, Better Deals, Nanopublishing, Blogosfere and Blogo.TechCrunch,"Populis, the “European Associated Content”, acquires blog network Blogo for €6m", TechCrunch, Jan 17, 2011
Early history GoAdv was launched in Rome on July 1, 2004 by Luca Ascani and Salvatore Esposito. In October 2010, GoAdv rebranded to Populis to reflect the company's increasing focus on the European production of multilingual online content.Reuters,"European Leader in Content on Demand GoAdv Announces Group Rebrand to Populis", Reuters, Oct 13, 2011
Management Members of the Populis Board of Directors include co-founder and Chairman Luca Ascani, co-founder and CEO Salvatore Esposito and Bernard-Louis Roques at Truffle Capital. Luca Ascani has spoken at the eG8 Forum on issues facing start-ups in the current business climate.eG8 Forum, "Luca Ascani, eG8 Forum" May 24, 2011 In 2000, he launched buycentral.it as an Italian subsidiary of a French shopping comparison site. The company was sold to the German group Lycos in 2004.TechCrunch, "GoAdv preps European buying spree after €11m financing" Jul 28, 2011 In 2002, he launched ADVance SRL, subsequently selling it to Netbooster in 2007.New Media Age,, New Media Age, Apl 18, 2011
Media Brands and Acquisitions Populis has acquired several web portals. After adding Better Deals, a European network of shopping guides, to their network in February 2006, Excite Europe was acquired in October 2007. Nanopublishing was acquired in June 2009, followed by the acquisition of Blogosfere, Italy's largest blog network, in January 2010. Blogo was bought in January 2011.Strategy Eye "Thematic blog network Populis acquires Blogo", Jan 18, 2011
Revenues From 2006 to 2010, Populis' revenues grew by an average of 43 percent annually, reaching revenues of 58 million euros in 2010."Populis, Europe’s Demand Media, Reports 2010 Revenues Of $83 Million" Apr 6, 2011 In June 2010, Populis announced its delisting from the Alternext of NYSE Euronext.Robin Wauters "GoADV delists from France’s stock exchange, possibly looking for another exit" Jun 7, 2011
References
External links www.populis.com StrategyEye Blog Network Blogosfere Blog Network Blogo