Mobile application marketplace Tapdaq has raised $1.4m with the hope to invest in and retain world class talent.
The London-based startup is an exchange that allows independent developers to advertise within each others apps.
The funding comes primarily from Balderton Capital with investors including Open Ocean Capital, Doug Scott, Steve Pankhurst, Tim Ward, Marc Nohr and Ballpark Ventures.
Young serial entrepreneur
With the funding announcement, the company has also announced bringing on Russell Buckley, first employee at AdMob, as Chairman.
Tapdaq was founded in 2013 by serial entrepreneur Ted Nash who as a teenager launched LittleGossip.com.
The website, where students write anonymous gossip, had been criticised for promoting cyberbullying.
Advertising exchange
The motivation behind Tapdaq was to empower developers who couldn’t afford the existing ad networks.
Their website states:
Whilst it’s been reported that 25 developers earn 50% of the revenue, there are roughly 800,000 developers.
The website gives developers their own digital currency to trade and use to advertise their apps. New users get 1000 free ‘daqs’ upon signup to try out the service.