Gone are the days of posting something on social and capturing audience organically. Social media has become a science and as companies pour millions of dollars into marketing, an increasing percentage of that spend is going towards social. Clearly, social marketing cannot be an afterthought; in fact, the process to create a great, shareable targeted post is a detailed and nuanced process that Loomly understands well. This LA startup built its own marketing software to provide in-house marketing teams with the tools to create socially optimized content from start to finish. Loomly allows marketers to optimize social posts in various ways from generating suggested ideas to providing auto-generated mockups and approval workflows, all in an easy-to-use centralized platform that will not break the bank.
LA TechWatch sat down with cofounder and CEO Thibaud Clement to learn more about how Loomly empowers marketing teams to tell a brand’s story quickly, collaboratively, efficiently, and at scale.
Tell us about the product or service Loomly offers.
Loomly is a brand success platform that helps marketing teams manage every aspect of their communication on social media.
How is Loomly different?
Most social media management tools on the market allow you to schedule content on social media, with one caveat: you have to come up with that content on your own, beforehand.
Loomly focuses on helping your marketing team actually create content from scratch, by providing you with post ideas & optimization tips, enabling you to store and use your assets in a built-in Library, and most importantly, letting you review & approve posts before publication through auto-generated mockups and approval workflows.
Then, of course, Loomly lets you schedule your posts, respond to your audience’s comments, and measure your success with advanced analytics.
What market is Loomly attacking and how big is it?
We are serving marketing teams of all shapes and sizes – from small and medium businesses to agencies and enterprises all over the world. This is a $50B+ mature market, which keeps growing more than 15% per year.
What is the business model of Loomly?
Loomly is a SaaS platform, available as a monthly or yearly subscription. Prices vary based on the features you need (Advanced Analytics, Slack Integration, Custom Roles), as well as the number of social accounts and collaborators you want to include in your plan.
Tell us a little about your background and what inspired the business?
Back in 2015, Noémie (Loomly cofounder) and I were managing a marketing agency, and we wasted a lot of time in the process of creating and sharing editorial calendars with clients. I began building a prototype to streamline this internal workflow, and in the process of building this software, I received a lot of encouragement and early feedback from our own customers. Eventually, we decided to make it available to other marketing teams. Thus, Loomly was born.
What are the milestones that you plan to achieve within six months?
On the product side, we are about to launch a major update of our platform, which will allow Loomly customers to create, review, approve, and publish a new type of content (hint: it has to do with advertising). On the business side, we are on our way to the $2M ARR milestone.
Tell us what building your company in LA has been like?
One thing that has been instrumental in the early days of Loomly is meetups, in particular, the LA Ruby community. This is how I met with Ari Summer, who later became the first person to formally join our team and is now our Engineering Lead. One of my friends, Ludovic François, also organizes engineering gatherings, through the LA chapter of While.42. This is a cool event to connect with members of the local tech scene.
Who do you admire in the LA startup scene and why?
Alfred Vericel is one of the most inspiring people Noémie and I have ever met. As an entrepreneur, he cofounded a US Top 50 internet property, encompassing two major entities: Purch (B2C) and Business.com (B2B).
Now, as an investor, cofounder and managing partner of Red River West, he is promoting the international take-off of outstanding French tech companies by providing significant financial firepower and game-changing hands-on support in France and the US.
We also look up to Matt Aimonetti, cofounder and CTO of music creation and collaboration company Splice, who is both a brilliant engineer and a sharp leader. The success of his platform is an excellent example of the magic that can happen in LA when the power of technology meets with a creative industry: so far, Splice has paid out more than $15M to musicians, enabling a new stream of revenue for this community of professionals.
If you could be put in touch with one person in the LA Tech tech community who would it be and why?
As a matter of fact, the LA tech community is tightly knit and very supportive, which makes it relatively easy to connect with new people when necessary.
We are working on an upcoming content series, so we would like to get in touch with brand professionals at innovative companies like Netflix, Buzzfeed, Tesla, and Red Bull.
What does being “Made in LA” mean to you and your company?
A lot, actually. For two reasons.
First of all, LA may not be the first city that comes to mind when you think about launching a tech startup, despite its shining success stories — Snapchat, Tinder, and Bird to name a few — and its incredible potential. This unconventional image resonates with us because we tend to do things our way, regardless of trends and fads, and most often against the odds.
This unconventional image resonates with us because we tend to do things our way, regardless of trends and fads, and most often against the odds.
Second of all, LA provides an incredible balance of stimulation and comfort, allowing you to live an exciting and pleasant life. As a company, this is what we strive to offer to our team: a work environment full of challenges and interesting problems to solve, coupled with genuine care for well-being.
Being made in LA is such a key part of the Loomly DNA, and you can see it at the footer of every page on our website, which reads: “Made with love in Los Angeles, CA.”
What else can be done to promote early-stage entrepreneurship in Los Angeles?
Getting off the ground usually requires three things:
- Securing initial funding.
- Putting together a core team and build an MVP.
- Generating some initial traction.
One thing that almost always helps in all three areas is free advertising, especially in the form of media appearances. Interestingly enough, this kind of exposure also has the power to inspire the next generation of founders, hence fueling a virtuous cycle.
What is your favorite restaurant in LA?
Petit Trois, on Highland, by Chef Ludo. A refreshing open kitchen concept, with a cozy Parisian vibe and French classics on the menu. Very nice.
