YE Interview Series: Arjun Dev Arora of ReTargeter

When my brother Matthew and I met Arjun Dev Arora at the Entrepreneurial Summit in Miami, we were impressed to say the least.  We have since become friends, and we thought it would be great to share Arjun’s story and his advice with our readers.  From bootstrapping to simple advice on how to make it as an entrepreneur, we think you’ll really like today’s Entrepreneurial Profile.

ReTargeter is a fantastic idea. For our readers who don’t know what it is, please talk a little about what ReTargeter is.

ReTargeter allows you to continue marketing to your visitors after they leave your website.  If someone leaves your website without completing any actions or making any purchases, then we can help you stay in front of those specific people by serving your banner ads across the web.

Have you always been an entrepreneur?  Is ReTargeter your first business venture?

I actually come from a family of entrepreneurs – my dad, grandfather, and little brother are all entrepreneurs.  I guess you can say that it’s in my blood.  I’ve always known that I wanted to start my own company, and ReTargeter is my first business venture.  Prior to ReTargeter, I was the Head of Biz Dev for Yahoo! Real Estate, and I was in investment banking at Jefferies Broadview prior to that.

You must have run into challenges starting and building your company. Please talk about that and how you work through challenges.

Bootstrapping – After going through a small round of angel funding, we’ve grown to profitability without taking any additional money.  With that said, we still have to stay scrappy and lean as we start to grow our team and reach economies of scale.

Hiring – Expanding your team is always about finding the best talent.  A good work ethic and a strong cultural fit can take an employee much further than brains alone.  We’re very selective with whom we hire, and we value a strong cultural fit, a good work ethic and intelligence above all else.

Marketing – Getting the word out has always been a challenge.  While I am always building my personal and professional network, our appeal to the entirety of SMBs needs more of a high volume marketing approach.  Marketing is something that we frankly are always testing.  We are in client acquisition mode, so finding a strong ROI while building our brand is of utmost importance.

How have you gone about getting investors for your businesses (if applicable)? Please talk about some things you’ve learned in this regard.

Starting ReTargeter was something that came to mind while I was still at Yahoo!.  I luckily had a strong personal and professional network in place, and I was fortunate enough to be introduced to the right people when I was ready to start ReTargeter.

What three pieces of advice would you give young entrepreneurs interested in starting a new business?

The hardest thing about starting a company is actually doing it (once you have prepared appropriately).  Once you’re in a strong enough position to get started, building a strong network and forming an effective and appropriate culture for your team will help get you off the ground quickly.

Do you believe there is a formula for being a successful entrepreneur?

The formula is not subscribing to formulas. Just be aware.

How do you define success?

Success is continuous improvement.  If you’re constantly working to improve yourself, your company and those in your team, then you will be successful.

Adam Toren

Adam Toren is a serial entrepreneur, mentor, investor and co-founder of YoungEntrepreneur.com. He is co-author, with his brother Matthew, of Kidpreneurs and Small Business, BIG Vision: Lessons on How to Dominate Your Market from Self-Made Entrepreneurs Who Did it Right (Wiley). He’s based in Phoenix, Ariz.