CEO Spotlight: Andrew Fischer of Choozle
Andrew Fischer, Co-Founder & CEO, Choozle
A seasoned entrepreneur with 20+ years of high-growth experience within digital media and enterprise software (SaaS), Andrew co-founded Choozle, a middle-market end-to-end digital marketing platform, in the fall of 2012. Prior to Choozle, Andrew co-founded and built the RGM Alliance, a premium-focused online advertising network that reaches over 120M consumers in the US, and scaled the business to $10M in annual revenues within 3 years. Prior to that, he led business development and sales teams at Passenger, a leader in providing consumer insights for A-tier brands through closed communities, and also held sales and strategy leadership roles at InterActiveCorp. Andrew holds a BA in Economics from Vanderbilt (cum laude), and an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Business.
Please describe what your company does today.
Choozle is the market leader in self-service, buy-side, digital advertising software for the middle market. We support thousands of marketers of all shapes and sizes with our proprietary blend of technology and solutions that provides a flexible, on-demand partnership tailored to drive scalable business results. A high-growth and profitable organization, Choozle recently sourced institutional investment to further accelerate our technology innovation and revenue growth. As a values and culture-based organization, our mission is to create and nurture amazing careers while creating scalable value alongside our cherished clients.
Since you joined the Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network in 2015, your revenue has nearly tripled. Can you tell us about what that journey has been like in the last year?
Like most companies, the last 18 months or so have been incredibly unique and challenging for Choozle due to the impacts of Covid-19. Despite the dynamic environment, we were able to achieve record growth and profitability in 2020, and that led to closing a successful investment in Q2 2021. All credit goes to our incredible team that has balanced these ups and downs, both at work and at home, while continuing to build amazing products and partnerships. We are now delighted to invest in continued growth on all fronts to support our incredible team on these next chapters of scale here at Choozle.
What aspect of your team or company culture are you most proud of, and how are you maintaining it?
Culture has always been the throughline at Choozle. Products and partners come and go...but a focus on culture really provides meaning to the work. Our culture has absolutely been impacted by Covid-19 mainly by the physical distance imposed on all of us. We are collectively evolving and redefining it as we speak - with our focus forward and no effort to regain it as it was. I'm excited to see what organically develops from our Choozle 3.0 team that provides us an updated throughline for our next stages of growth.
Congratulations on your $15m Series C raise! How are you planning on putting that capital to work?
We will rapidly grow the team with plans to double our headcount over the next 18-24 months. With a continued expanding digital advertising market, we are launching a completely new platform in Q3 2021 while continuing to expand our product offering to support our 5,000 advertiser clients. Everything begins and ends with talent, and with our team. We are looking forward to investing across the board to make Choozle the best place to grow your career in Colorado.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve received as a CEO?
Invest in people...the products and profits will follow.
What has been the most meaningful aspect of your engagement with the Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network?
The digital community, created through the BEN Dens, which occasionally had in-person meet-ups, provided an amazing system of support to me personally over the last 18 months in particular. Running a company can be a lonely endeavor at times, and it's amazing to have the support and shared experiences with others that are driving their respective enterprises. Whether it's a relevant tip on a vendor or simply a laugh, it's been great to participate and contribute to the BEN Network.