Digital billboards meet data.
Quake is keen on investing in companies that have the potential to scale and grow quickly. Meet Abraxas Technology, a company doing that and more. Abraxas brings analytics to outdoor advertising by giving digital billboard customers the tools to make data-driven decisions. Led by a team of veterans, Abraxas is driving the revolution of outdoor advertising.
Justin, the CEO of Abraxas, is a former Army Cavalry Scout who was stationed in Afghanistan. After his time with the Army, he pursued a career in advertising, starting with marketing liquor. Three years ago, however, he built a digital billboard company that grew to be the largest in central Texas. He eventually sold the billboards but retained the rights to the technology behind them. Justin came up with the idea for Abraxas after customers kept asking how they would know if their billboard was working. How could they measure the effectiveness of their advertisements? Justin realized that data analytics for digital billboard customers was a virtually untapped market. There were some big players in adjacent spaces, but they were extremely expensive and worked with traditional billboards. And so Abraxas came to life.
Abraxas’ COO and co-founder Joshua is an Army veteran who helped found and sell two startups. Josh is also an angel investor based in Austin. Joshua was interested in the technology behind Justin’s last company as well, and ultimately decided to help Justin found Abraxas. Steve, Abraxas’ CTO, has a deep understanding of network technology, and is actually a Techstars Top 5 mentor. Previously, he founded two companies, both with successful exits. Justin and Joshua met Steve through Patriot Bootcamp as a mentor, felt that he was a great fit for the company, and the rest was history.
Ultimately, Abraxas is very data-driven and recognizes the fact that no amount of creativity can refute data. Abraxas understands how billboards can increase revenue by going after a very specific customer through its data, providing real value to its clients. Its clients are able to increase income by at least 20 percent, and create ads that are 80 percent more effective in terms of placement and demographics.
The Abraxas team likes winning, and that feeling serves as an inspiration to keep growing the company. Right now, Abraxas is on a winning streak. Not only did they get first place at Patriot Bootcamp’s pitch competition, but they have also been accepted into MassChallenge, a global network of zero equity startup accelerators. The Abraxas team is intent on paving their own, revolutionary path. They don’t want to be like anyone in the industry, because those players are lacking.
In one year, Abraxas hopes to build smart city attributes into its technology and create a network to understand how smart cities work. They hope to serve all kinds of clients, including companies like hedge funds that want to know what kind of data is available. In about two years, the team projects $2 million in revenue; an achievable goal, as the company has booked $50,000 in revenue in January 2018 alone.
The Abraxas team is excited for their time in Quake’s cohort. They are particularly interested in introductions to advertisers as well as building a larger network. In addition, Quake’s funding will help scale the hardware component of Abraxas’ technology. Abraxas is making waves in this untapped industry, and we’re so excited to see it grow.
