Young Entrepreneurs - Darren Herman at Catch a Gideon

February 8th, 2007 by digerati

IGA Worldwide

www.igaworldwide.com
New York
Age: 24

Darren Herman holds what advertisers dream about: the attention of 150 million consumers worldwide, a majority of whom are 15- to 35-year-old males. In March, 2004, Herman combined his childhood passion—video games—with his professional savvy—marketing—when he founded IGA Worldwide, an in-game advertising network. Though ads have worked their way into video game titles as far back as 1988’s Bases Loaded for the Nintendo Entertainment System, says Herman, the lack of a complete serving solution made it hard for advertisers to get the timing and context right for their in-game campaigns.

In little time IGA has taken a dominant stance in this rapidly emerging space, developing relationships with major advertisers and top game developers. When close competitor Massive signed an exclusive relationship with Xbox manufacturer Microsoft earlier this year, IGA became by far the largest independent in-game ad server, in prime position to profit from Sony and Nintendo’s forthcoming new generation of consoles.

Soon after founding the company, Herman stepped down as CEO to become senior business development director—a role where he spends more time with his ear to the ground and working with investors. In July of this year, he helped see through a $17 million investment round from Intel Capital, Morgenthaler Ventures, Easton Capital, and DN Capital.