EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalists: Kieran O’Keeffe, MobileWebAdz

Kieran began his career in Barclays Bank’s management development programme for computer programmers before taking engineering roles at Save & Prosper and then Lufthansa and Deutsche Bahn in Germany.

He began his entrepreneurial career in 1998 when he cofounded an internet software development company with offices in Germany, the UK and India. This evolved into MobileWebAdz in 2002.

Launched in 2008, just after the iPhone, which sparked the exponential growth of the mobile internet, the business aggregates a global network of 1,900-plus advertisers and publishers who use its technology platform to trade advertising spend for targeted mobile ad space.

MobileWebAdz employs 80 people in seven countries and specialises in direct response advertising and currently serves 45 billion conversion-targeted mobile ads per month across 130 countries – placing it in the Top 10 globally versus rival services such as Google’s Admob platform and Apple’s iAds platform.

What is your most important business achievement so far?

Spotting the potential of the mobile internet (and off-shore development before that) well in advance of consumer adoption.

Then building a truly global, high-growth, highly profitable tech business from a European base using “traditional” business principles – ie generating profits to fund investment in growth, rather than venture capital – and consequently keeping 100 per cent of the equity in the hands of management.

What vision/light bulb moment prompted you to start up in business?

Using the first mobile phones that could access the internet.

What was your “back-to-the-wall” moment and how did you overcome it?

My wife having to pay the company salaries on her credit card. Needs must! – we worked even quicker to develop our mobile ad platform and launched early on the mobile web (we were one of the first three in the world) and started generating revenue immediately.

What moment/deal would you cite as the “game changer” or turning point for the company?

There were three strategic decisions made in one session. Go global (recruiting and deploy sales teams in western and emerging markets); go for massive volume (we now display 50 billion ads per month and are ranked in global top 10); and go niche, focusing on the male demographic and direct response advertisers.

Have you started to feel the effects of the economic upturn within your sector/industry?

The mobile internet has emerged and grown despite the 2008 financial crisis.

What is the hardest thing you have ever done in business?

I had to make a number of friends and colleagues redundant as our technology took over their jobs.

What was your biggest business mistake?

Expanding our staff too fast during the early days of the mobile web when first-mover advantage gives you the opportunity to generate large profits, rather than allowing time for our technology to develop to do the same job.

The people we hired got great experience in one of the most in-demand tech sectors, but moving people on is always upsetting.

What “red tape” hampers growth most?

International tax regulations are labyrinthine in their complexity.

When buying a company abroad (or at home), more time is spent on international tax regulations than on the benefit of the acquisition.

What is the most common mistake you see entrepreneurs make?

They don’t make the hard decisions required to get to profitability, especially after raising funding.

What would make you a better leader?

Being straighter with people.

What’s your biggest luxury?

A company table with four season tickets at the Arsenal.

[ www.mobilewebadz.com ]

[ www.mobbill.com ]

[ www.mobstuff.com ]