Theorem's Jay Kulkarni Talks Shop with Benzinga

Jay Kulkarni started Theorem ten years ago out of his spare bedroom. A decade on, the digital marketing services provider has six offices on four continents, 150 clients and nearly 800 employees. According to a statement, “Theorem's resource base runs the gamut from creative services to media operations to reporting/analytics. Operating from offices in London, Las Vegas, India, the Dominican Republic as well as its headquarters just outside New York City, Theorem serves a worldwide base of companies—digital agencies, online networks and exchanges, publishers, technology providers and brands. Its client list stretches through the Americas and Europe to the Middle East and Asia—a truly global enterprise.” Benzinga spoke to Kulkarni to find out the secret of his success.

I was the head of product management at DoubleClick. I was an early employee there, building tech products. I was there for five years, and then I started Theorem in a spare bedroom. I didn't have a finished basement, so my wife graciously gave me a bedroom.

At Double Click, I built a lot of tech products between 1997 and 2002, the boom years. I realized that digital marketing was going to rocket, that it was here to stay. Intel and Apple are obviously focused on innovation; I wanted to provide services and organization that is complementary to thinkers.

We deploy campaigns on the customer's behalf. When I look at how we evolved, we originally primarily did disc play. We've evolved with the industry by adding new services.

Believe it or not, we are privately funded. That was a philosophical decision at the beginning. I wanted to see how far we could go. I built a team and funded it myself. I landed the business. After the second year, I started the sales team.

Those terms are very broad, but we are no longer a startup. I think there are various things that make you go from a startup to a real company. As we've grown, the profile of our customers has gotten bigger. They need to be confident that they are working with a trusted partner. Also, I've hired strong people from the outside, and then there's the boring infrastructure stuff like the building, the internet, etc. So it's people, infrastructure and customer base, plus keeping up with the industry, technology-wise.

There has been a series of crossroads. The good stuff is the people that we hired. The core group of managers around the globe were hired at different times. The other thing is that we don't react to every change in the market. We let it cook. The timing of going into a new area is methodical.

In ten years, a couple of things will jump out. Our customers are looking to be taught what we have been doing, they are looking for more high end services. The other things is that there will be new technologies, and opportunities to automate.

The macroeconomic is certainly shaky, but when you look at the industry that we are in, with plug-in, display and search, that industry is in robust health.

There are two ways to look at it. If you are starting in a basement with nothing, take calculated risks and get some scores on the board. After two years, if you are making some money and have customers, build a team around you. You're used to doing everything your own way, but you'll need a solid team. Remember also that what worked for two years might not work for the next two.