Tech start-up buys SEO agency Amplify

Tech start-up Ventures in Digital Media has indicated it is looking for further early-stage ventures to buy after acquiring SEO agency Amplify.

VIDM paid $1 million in shares and cash for Amplify, which was founded in 2003. The brand will operate under the VIDM umbrella, which also includes Emerge Digital.

VIDM also has stakes in two other start-ups, AirOffice and YachtandBoat.com.au, and says that it is looking for other Australian businesses to buy in order to boost its growth.

The business was only launched in August last year, by former Yahoo executive Willie Pang. Pang was also previously CEO of Amplify and will act as group CEO of both businesses until a new boss for Amplify is found.

VIDM offer strategic consulting, technical help and marketing and media buying services to clients, which include Telstra.

Although the business isn’t a venture capitalist, it says it “partners” with promising start-ups with investment of between $100,000 to $1 million.

The company recently finished a capital raising process with “seven or eight” individual investors, for an undisclosed amount. However, Pang says that there is still money in the pot for further purchases.

“We are proactively looking for tech start-ups to buy, especially in the B2B space, as that’s where our focus is,” Pang tells StartupSmart.

“We aren’t tied to a specific number of businesses to buy. I’d say the maximum we’d purchase is three by the end of the financial year.”

“eCommerce and social media are hot at the moment. Start-ups in these areas are getting the bulk of start-up funding. Not much is focused on the tech platform side, so we will have to work hard to find the right businesses.”

Pang says that he launched VIDM in response to the untapped potential of the Australian tech start-up community.

“I saw that there was a gap in the market due to the speed of innovation here,” he says. “There are great things happening in Silicon Valley, but why not Australia?”

“It’s a structural issue, really. It takes awhile to get the best stuff out here, but the people here are just as savvy as those in Manhattan.

“It doesn’t make sense to build something from scratch here, which is why it’s worth finding the best out there to work with the likes of Telstra to understand the benefits of technology.”

This article first appeared on StartupSmart.