LinkBy

High-Level Overview

Linkby is an advertising technology startup that operates a two-sided marketplace connecting advertisers—primarily D2C brands in beauty, fashion, home, tech, health, and restricted categories like CBD and sexual wellness—with premium publishers such as BuzzFeed, Refinery29, Forbes, and Daily Mail.[1][2][3][4] It solves the challenge of accessing performance-driven editorial coverage by enabling cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-view (CPV) campaigns, where brands set budgets and briefs, publishers create tailored articles in their own tone of voice (TOV), and advertisers pay only for actual traffic—revolutionizing PR into "Performance PR" with measurable results.[2][4] With 88 employees (or nearly 50 per founder interview) based in Sydney, Australia, Linkby has secured millions in incremental revenue for over 300 publishers and recently raised $15M from Volition Capital, signaling strong growth momentum amid expanding global operations.[1][2][4]

Origin Story

Linkby was founded in 2020 in Sydney, Australia, by Andrew Chak, Chris Wirasinha (CEO), and Adrian Fagerlund, who recognized the inefficiencies in traditional PR: brands struggled to scale relationships with premium publishers amid rising online content complexity, while publishers had unsold inventory.[1][3][4] Adrian Fagerlund and Chris Wirasinha set out to build a platform as a "one-stop shop" for advertisers to select publishers, budgets, and timings, with publishers curating expert articles—shifting from fixed-fee PR to performance-based models akin to Meta or Google ads.[3] Early traction came from opening premium publishing to global D2C brands and niche categories blocked elsewhere, quickly building a network of hundreds of publishers and driving millions in revenue, with pivotal growth via Volition Capital's $15M investment recognizing the team's domain expertise.[2][3][4]

Core Differentiators

• Performance PR Model: Charges solely on CPC/CPV basis, aligning incentives—brands pay only for traffic, publishers share risk and monetize inventory efficiently without cannibalizing ad revenue.[2][4]
• Premium Publisher Network: Access to top-tier outlets like BuzzFeed, Refinery29, Forbes, and 300+ others; creates a flywheel as engaged publishers attract more brands.[1][2][4]
• Self-Serve Platform: Brands select publishers, set budgets/briefs/timings; publishers produce authentic, TOV-aligned editorial—fast, scalable, and measurable vs. traditional 1:1 PR.[3][4]
• Inclusivity for Restricted Categories: Serves brands excluded from Meta/Google (e.g., CBD, THC, sexual wellness), providing performance-led PR alternatives.[3]
• Global Scalability: Lean team (50-88 staff) supports worldwide expansion, with sales focus and conference presence (e.g., PI Live, Affiliate Summit).[2][3]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Linkby rides the PR industry evolution toward performance-based marketing, as brands demand ROI-measurable results amid fragmented online publishing and publishers diversify beyond declining ad revenues.[4] Timing is ideal: post-2020 digital ad shifts (e.g., privacy changes, signal loss) push traffic-driven solutions, while D2C growth in e-commerce categories amplifies need for scalable editorial over affiliate/CPA channels.[2][3][4] Market forces like unsold publisher inventory and brands' "jump the queue" desires favor Linkby's marketplace, influencing the ecosystem by pioneering "Performance PR"—a hybrid of PR and performance ads—potentially standardizing risk-shared media and enabling global brands/publishers to thrive in a cookieless, measurable era.[4]

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Linkby's $15M raise and global product rollout position it to dominate Performance PR, expanding beyond Australia to capture worldwide D2C and publisher growth while refining core features.[3][4] Trends like AI-curated content, further ad platform restrictions, and e-commerce traffic demands will accelerate adoption, evolving its influence from niche adtech disruptor to essential infrastructure for editorial monetization. As the flywheel spins—more publishers, brands, and data—Linkby could redefine scalable PR, delivering the premium coverage brands crave in a results-only world.[2][3][4]