Coffee with the cohort: in conversation with Marc De Zordo, CEO of Getfluence

5 min readAug 20, 2020

Marc De Zordo certainly carried out his due diligence before launching Getfluence, having worked in the industry and testing out a trial platform. His homework is paying off as the company is already present in 4 countries and its sights are now set on the UK.

Getfluence is a marketplace with pre-negotiated deals with influential press, media and specialised websites from across all sectors and from all over the world, helping businesses and marketing professionals save time, with the assurance that they’re getting a good deal.

But who better to hear from about the company than its founder?

How did Getfluence come to be?

Although Getfluence was offically founded in January 2018, the idea had been years in the making. A few years previously, I was a publisher of over 200 press sites and blogs and would receive requests every day for information from many advertisers wishing to communicate via sponsored articles.

Email exchanges were very time-consuming, inefficient and similar between different advertisers: receiving a proposal, negotiating, receiving the sponsored content, approving it, and then managing billing.

Based on this observation and experience, Getfluence was born.

First, I created a private platform, to simplify the organisation of advertiser-sponsored article campaigns on media websites. The time saved was incredibly consequential: reduced from 7 days of campaign follow-up to about 4 hours, all thanks to the automation.

The private platform had gathered more than 400 advertisers in a few months, all with similar needs: access to more premium, influential media titles, access to a complete database of European media and finally use of a platform to simplify campaigns and reporting.

Following this first positive step, I decided to launch Getfluence, with the aim of becoming the leading European marketplace dedicated to sponsored articles.

What have been the highlights that really stand out for you and Getfluence?

There have been so many highlights since the creation of Getfluence!

Firstly, we have relished adapting the company — which has grown from 1 to 30 employees in only 2 years — to incorporate a real European dimension as we launched our expansion in Italy and Spain.

It’s been an exhilarating ride so far, and we’ve had to learn quickly, and be very agile, with monthly growth since our creation.

In just 2 years, we changed offices 4 times as a result of our continued growth, and we’ve benefitted from the wisdom of many experts who we’ve called upon at various points to help us get to where we were today.

Highlights have also been the team events, seminars and other moments, which have helped to strengthen the bond between us all and create a real coherence around the same end goal: to become the European leader in our field!

How have you found Impact so far & how has it already influenced your growth/export strategy for the UK (or even elsewhere)?

The Impact Acceleration Programme for the UK market has been very interesting for us because it’s given us the “keys” to unlock our potential in the UK market. We now have with a good understanding of the market, the steps that need to be taken, the business methods, the legal environment and much more.

It has been an opportunity to be better informed and to start our activity here in a strong position.

This programme has confirmed to us that the British market is accessible to us, despite it being highly competitive and challenging in different ways compared to other European markets.

How do you see the media landscape changing as a result as of COVID-19? Will the pandemic provoke any changes to advertising in the media?

It almost goes without saying that the media landscape will have to adapt to the needs of advertisers, who will increasingly switch to a performance-based model.

In times of crisis, companies will need to focus on measurable and profitable actions. Advertisers need guarantees on their return on investment.

Getfluence is well positioned for this shift, as we only offer access to influential European publications across all sectors. Our clients consistently improve their visibility and traffic by associating their company with a strong media brand, be it in the form of sponsored articles or advertorials.

What piece of advice would you give yourself or a founder now that you wish you knew you started Getfluence?

Great question, I think there are 4 key things that I would say with hindsight:

· Know how to delegate and to identify the right time to delegate when time is of the essence.

· Define a specific budget and a precise deadline to test a new market, and make a firm decision based on results.

· Encourage the recruitment of ‘senior’ rather than ‘junior’ profiles in a fast-growing company because you need to be able to adapt quickly, be experienced and efficient.

· Do not hesitate to call on experts/freelancers to support growth and help you to be better organised.

Where do you see yourselves this time next year?

By July 2021, we expect to be operational in five European countries: France, the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain.

For the time being, we are mainly managing our activity for the French, Italian and Spanish markets from France. We hope to complete a major fundraising campaign to finance our development for the coming years and create a strong presence in each country. So, watch this space!