2020 operating revenues were reported at 592M SEK (~$71.28M USD), and Jack recognized over $5M USD across both direct and programmatic sales which included $500k USD of the new ad product that he built. His territory represented ~29% of the Americas' operating revenues (10+ person sales team). He was the first sales person to recognize over $1M USD and $2M USD in a quarter in the Americas.
With over 250 reported global employees and podcast ambassadors, Jack represented ~7% of 2020 global operating revenues (30+ person sales team across 12 markets), and his contextual targeting ad product sold over $1M USD across three markets before his resignation in July 2021. This ad product also helped increase Acast's gross margin (%).
This success spearheaded the founding of Oliphant Strategies LLC, and exemplifies his passion for not only building products, but also successfully selling them across teams globally.
From the article here was Acast's section (paywalled):
Star to know: Jack Oliphant, senior account director
2020 revenue: between $65 million to $75 million, according to a source familiar with the company.
Total funding to date: $126.2 million, according to Crunchbase.
Comment: With Spotify, iHeartMedia, and SiriusXM betting big on podcasts, acquisitions of podcast companies (paywalled) spiked this year. Independent Acast's software plugs so-called dynamic ads into more than 20,000 podcast shows from publishers like PBS, Vice, and A+E Networks that collectively generate 300 million monthly listens. The 6-year-old company says that it had made $100 million in revenue for podcasters. Acast claims that its programmatic ad revenue has increased 250% year-over-year as ad sales have become increasingly automated. It's also moving into AI, with Oliphant spearheading new AI-based technology that lets advertisers buy podcast ads based on show content. The firm was recently named Patreon's podcast partner, meaning that Patreon's creators can publish paywalled podcasts and access advertising features through Acast. Acast also made all of its podcast inventory available to advertisers this year through Strata, FreeWheel's ad marketplace for local and regional advertising.
To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.
- Steve Prefontaine
