InMobi
How I landed in ad tech
I graduated from the University of Arizona in 2011 and moved to San Francisco with one goal: break into the startup world. I had no roadmap, no connections in the city, and no real plan beyond showing up and figuring it out. InMobi gave me that shot.
At the time, InMobi was the world's largest independent mobile ad network, pushing out over 50 billion impressions a month. Global offices in Bangalore, London, Singapore, Tokyo, Johannesburg, and their North America HQ in San Mateo. I joined the BD team as a contractor, reporting to Archie O'Connor, who ran business development for North America.
The interview process moved fast. Brittany Solomon, the sales coordinator, sent over my training packet in early October. I had a phone screen with Archie and Peter Bassett on September 20, then a follow-up with Tracie Tunnell the next day. By late October, I was on the team.
What I walked into
The BD team was actively closing deals with publishers like ABC News, CNN, Fox News, NY Post, Wall Street Journal, WebMD, CNBC, Warner Brothers/TMZ, and Flixster. These were real, name-brand media companies monetizing their mobile apps through InMobi's ad network. Deals were structured around revenue share models (typically 60/40) and eCPM minimum guarantees.
The team operated across West and East regions with weekly pipeline tracking, daily stand-ups, and an RFP process for bigger accounts. We had weekly BD meetings covering pipeline reviews, Q4 planning, org chart alignment, and prep for leadership visits. When InMobi's founder Amit came to the office for Q4 planning week, we spent days getting presentations ready.
My job was to prospect and close publishers, support SDK integrations, and optimize ad placements. I spent my days in Salesforce, running email sequences, building prospecting lists, and getting on client calls. I was learning how to pitch clearly, how to manage a pipeline, and how to keep up with a team that was moving fast across multiple time zones.
Beyond the desk
Outside the office, I was hitting every event I could find. Mobile Mondays, startup crawls, industry meetups. On November 14, I went to a Start-up Crawl with Tim O'Neil, another BD manager on the team. Tim ended up being one of the most important connections of my career, following me to Pocket Change and staying in my orbit for years after. At that event, I met Peter Conte from Grubb & Ellis, who followed up the next day. That's how SF worked: you showed up, you talked to people, and doors opened.
Why I left
The whole reason I moved to San Francisco was to get into an early-stage startup and build my experience and capabilities from the ground up. InMobi was an incredible crash course, but it was a global company with hundreds of employees. About two months in, I got recruited to join a tiny startup called Pocket Change. Five people, a big idea, and backing from Google Ventures and First Round Capital. That was exactly the opportunity I came to SF for. My Pocket Change account was created on December 15. My last day at InMobi was December 16. The transition was planned and seamless.
What it meant
InMobi was only two months, but it was the entry point for everything that followed. It was my first real exposure to mobile ad tech: how ad networks work, how publishers monetize, how revenue share deals get structured, and what it takes to operate inside a fast-moving global company.
It's where I met Tim O'Neil. It's where I learned how to build and manage a sales pipeline from scratch. It's where I figured out how to pitch on client calls with confidence. And it's where I got my first taste of the mobile advertising ecosystem that would define the next decade of my career.