BrandYourself Net Worth And User Statistics In 2023

BrandYourself is an online platform that seeks to improve your online reputation while protecting your privacy. It believes that whatever information people find about you online directly impacts your life and career.

According to BrandYourself, 75% of hiring managers screen candidates online. 65% of people search for freelancers on the internet before hiring. In addition, around 85% of businesses search for CEOs online before engaging them. Half of college admissions are done on the web, too.

It is no wonder why BrandYourself insists on the importance of a positive online reputation as you are searched daily and at almost all stages of life.

It’s important to note that BrandYourself is not affiliated with any search engine, whether Google, Bing, or Yahoo. The platform follows the best practices to ensure that people find the better version of you when they search for you online.

If you are able to control what people research about you, you save yourself from exposing sensitive information to hacks or identity theft.

BrandYourself is driven by a world-class team that makes use of modern technology to offer innovative solutions for individuals and businesses.

Let’s talk about its background, net worth, and other statistics at length.

BrandYourself Background

BrandYourself has been around for over a decade now. The New York-based company was founded in 2008 by Evan McGowan-Watson, Peter Kistler, and Patrick Ambron. The three were students from Syracuse University.

The company is a success story of the first Syracuse University Entrepreneurship-Immersion Student Sandbox Program. The three founders noted that they were clueless for the first two years, but the program helped them remain steadfast.

The BrandYourself idea was born out of the difficulties of finding a job by Peter Kistler. Kistler missed an opportunity to become a computer programmer since he shared a name with a known drug dealer.

BrandYourself then started an online reputation management program with robust features to help users create websites to outrank negative searches with certain searches. It operates on a freemium model.

However, some premium features, like BrandYourself’s Managed Services, will cost up to $599 monthly. What could be found in the market by then would cost up to $25,000. BrandYourself also simplified the process of managing your online reputation.

You simply need to submit the profile or website you wish people to find when they Google you and follow a few steps to make the site rank higher. BrandYourself evolved to become a leading do-it-yourself solution for managing search engine results.

Some of its awards include the best Individual Online Reputation Management Company by Business News Daily, overall Startup winner at SXSW, and awarded 35 under 35 Coolest Entrepreneurs by Inc. Magazine.

In 2019, the web-based solution offered free social media cleanup for any athlete entering the 2019 NFL Draft. The platform would use machine learning to scan social media accounts to point out any “unprofessional” posts or photos.

BrandYourself had previously launched the machine learning technology in 2018 to help establish elaborate screenings. Once the posts and images are flagged, the software gives you the option to delete them.

BrandYourself on the Shark Tank TV Show

Like any startup, BrandYourself’s major challenge was funding. In 2015, BrandYourself co-founder Patrick Ambron appeared on Shark Tank seeking $2 million in funding for 13.5% of the company stake.

In his pitch, Ambron shared BrandYourseld’s backstory, highlighting that their solution is able to bury or remove embarrassing photos or information from search engines. He mentioned that in their first two years, they garnered $2.2 million in sales.

Shark Kevin mentioned that he’d used similar solutions and faulted them for only picking up social media posts, yet embarrassing content could still be found on people’s profiles. Kevin was particularly concerned if BrandYourself’s price would match quality, so he opted out.

Shark Daymond was still new to the idea, so he was out. Shark Lori was conversant with the idea but felt like it would require expensive advertising, so she declined the offer. Shark Patrick offered $2 million for a 25% stake, which Patrick declined.

BrandYourself might have failed to secure a deal with the Sharks, but on the brighter side, their appearance on the show worked in their favor.

Patrick stated that the Shark Tank appearance earned the company $1 million in sales, and as of November 2022, its annual revenue rose to $7 million with over 70 employees.

BrandYourself on Dragon Den

Guided by a relentless spirit, BrandYourself did not stop at the Shark Tank show. In 2018, the company CEO and COO, Patrick Braun and Nathan Evans, appeared on BBC’s Dragon Den seeking £100,000 for a 1% stake.

They gave an example of a student who’d struggled to get a job due to his drunken pictures posted a year after school. They were vivid on how the BrandYourself software is articulate in scanning the web to find and remove anything harmful to a person’s reputation.

They also shared their previous year’s performances and projected revenue in 2018. Patrick and Nathan were open-minded. For a second, they thought Tej Lalvani wouldn’t buy the 1% idea, so they were ready for negotiations.

To their utter shock, the panelists rose to fight for the stake. For instance, Touka Suleiman offered a free office space of up to 1,000 square feet for 12 months in West London if the pair agreed to work with him for a 12% stake.

Mr. Suleiman added that alternatively, he’d give all the money for 4%. On the other hand, Dragon Deborah offered the amount of 3%. This overwhelmed the pair, so they had to take a break to discuss and agree on what would favor their business.

They decided to settle for Peter Jones, who’d offered the money for 2.5%. They negotiated to 2%, which Mr. Jones accepted, with the condition that nothing changes even with subsequent fundraisers.

BrandYourself Net Worth

BrandYourself seems to have made strides after the Shark Tank appearance. Before the appearance, the company was valued at $15 million. After its appearance, it grew exponentially, generating annual revenue of over $7 million and valued at $21.8 million.

As of 2023, BrandYourself is still growing, with an estimated annual revenue of over $7 million and over 70 employees.

BrandYourself Financing

Choosing the right investors was at the center stage of transforming BrandYourself into a reputable online brand that appeals to mainstream consumers.

According to BrandYourself CEO Patrick Amron, the company needed to separate itself from other services that charge exorbitantly yet have less appeal to the target audience.

A source reveals that BrandYourself has so far raised $8.75 million in total funding in over seven rounds. BrandYourself raised seed funding of $300,000 shortly after its founding in 2010.

Shortly after, BrandYourself raised additional seed capital of $1.2 million to help every user take control of online search results.

The funding, dubbed Series A, comprised investors such as Zelkova Ventures, among other strategic investors, including Barney Pell (former head of search strategy at Microsoft) and former Kauffman Foundation, Carl Schramm.

In 2014, BrandYourself closed yet another series A funding worth $3.3 million to continue revolutionizing reputation management. According to Patrick Ambron, the investment deal brought together an excellent group of investors who believed in BrandYourself’s mission and had great expertise and experience to help the company deliver it.

The 2014 funding round was led by New Atlantic Ventures. The Boston and Washington DC-based VC firm has a solid reputation.

Hence, attracting interested firms was easy. Peter Ambron further shared that even past investors like Zelkova Ventures, Berney Pell, and Ryan Holmes the CEO of Hootsuite, got interested in the round.

Two years later, the company sought another funding and it raised another $2 million. Since the series A round, BrandYourself grew to an 80-employee team and became more profitable.

You may be wondering why Patrick Ambron would go for another funding round, yet he’d gained good traction after the Shark Tank pitch. Mr. Ambron mentioned that they were not making as much money by then and that he was hoping to expand the company’s product line.

BrandYourself Business Model

BrandYourself makes its money through monthly memberships or subscriptions, but it also offers a free limited version.

The company is a suite of software and services. Its DIY software helps you build, monitor, and protect your online reputation. BrandYourself’s managed services involve a team of experts tasked with building and managing the online presence of individuals and businesses.

To use BrandYourself, you need to create a free account, though with limited features, or upgrade to the premium account for $99 per year.

With the free account, you can scan for any online risk factors for your name, calculate your reputation score, and generate a report highlighting your online reputation.

The free option also allows you to access limited premium features, including Reputation Builder and Social Scanner.

BrandYourself’s Managed Services plan is tailor-made to individuals or companies based on their needs. While the prices range from one user to the other, the concierge services often start from $599 per month based on clients’ needs.

BrandYourself does not elaborate on the amount you need to pay for various premium services. The company insists more on the benefits of premium services and advises members to request custom prices, as they treat each case differently.

However, several sources have tried to unravel and break down BrandYourself’s charges. For instance, The SMB Guide breaks down the platform’s premium charges into Managed Services Standard at $399 monthly and Managed Services Professional at $599.99 -$899.99 monthly.

As earlier mentioned, BrandYourself takes care of managed services on your behalf. Managed Services are a suite of services tailored towards ensuring that you suppress negative search results, position yourself as an expert and a thought leader, or build and maintain a positive online brand.

Managed Services for businesses include suppressing negative Google search results, employee branding services, Glassdoor reviews management, and other specialized tactics for small and large businesses.

It does not matter the size of your company, as BrandYourself tailors its management solutions based on the number of users. You can contact BrandYourself for custom reputation management service for your business or special project,

BrandYourself is clear that it does not offer refunds, therefore, if you experience issues with billing, reach out to the support team via email: support@brandyourself.com or call (646) 863-8226.

Regrettably, the platform notes that there is no definite time frame for when you will see your online image transform to your desired results.

BrandYourself lists several factors that could lead to delayed or timely ranking, including whether you have a common or competitive name and whether there is already a lot of information about you on the Web.

Google indexes changes in ranking and properties within two to six weeks. However, this does not necessarily convert into an immediate spike in SEO rankings.

Besides, if there is already information about you from an authoritative source, such as a government website or a renowned blog, it might take more time for BrandYourself tools to fight what is already there.

The best part is that deleting your account does not affect your ranking. However, if you stop updating your online profile, your ranking will automatically drop, so don’t allow your profile to stagnate.

BrandYourself Statistics and Revenue

Image: Similarweb

BrandYourself revealed that it has so far helped over half a million people take control of their online reputation.

The brand has witnessed a steady growth in revenue and user base. A source reports that as of May 2017, the platform had accumulated about 500,000 users and 30,000 paying subscribers.

In a case study published on its websites, BrandYourself shares success stories of its services by individuals and companies.

Some of BrandYourself’s top services with success stories include individual personal branding and negative search results. For businesses, review management, employee branding, and Glassdoor review management take precedence.

Notable businesses that have benefited from BrandYourself’s Managed solutions include A-For Profit Educational Institute, which had lost revenue due to unbiased online reviews. Pacesetter, a B2B steel company, whose CEO, Aviva also benefited from BrandYourself’s employee branding services.

In addition to individuals and small businesses, BrandYourself is also trusted by universities, including Syracuse University and Elon University.

BrandYourself’s estimated annual revenue is $12 million. The data science team at Zippia revealed that the company experienced its peak revenue of $12 million in 2022, adding that BrandYourself has 150 employees, with a revenue per employee ratio of $80,000.

Zippia further breaks down BrandYourself’s revenue, revealing that the company makes $32,877 per day and about $1.0 million in a month.

Similarweb shares almost similar figures. The platform states that BrandYourself’s revenue is estimated to be between $5 million and $10 million. The website receives a total of 126,700 visits per month.

Most traffic comes from the United States (65.24%), followed by India (5.58%), the United Kingdom (2.97%), Canada (2.77%), Mexico (2.22%), and the rest of the world contributes 21.22% of BrandYourself website traffic.

Similarweb also notes that BrandYourself is dominated by female users at 50.55% while their male counterparts come in at 49.45%. BrandYourself users are between 18 and 65 years old, with 25 to 34 being the most popular age of users on the platform.

BrandYourself’s audience is drawn from various fields, including social media, computers and electronic technology, programming and software developers, and public records and directories, among others.

According to Similar Web, the marketing strategies that work for BrandYourself are direct marketing (40.87%), organic search (31.07%), referrals (21.77%), social media (2.74%), and display ads (0.52%). BrandYourself is popular on Twitter and Facebook.

Is BrandYourself Worth it?

I hope by now you are convinced that BrandYourself is worth your time and investment.

Most users have found the platform easy to use. I believe that its straightforward navigation will also work for you as you strive to take control of your online reputation.

BrandYourself has been around for over a decade. Having started as a mere reputation blog in 2008, BrandYourself has significantly evolved into a reputation software also offering in-house services to almost half a million users.

As it continues to make strides in the online reputation management sphere, you can rest assured that with advancements in technology, you will get even better services in the future.

Overall, BrandYourself is an excellent tool for suppressing negative results, customized results, or even creating and promoting content. BrandYourself also does an excellent job of improving your SEO and developing a unique personal brand.