iModerate LLC.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: Company overview

INITIAL LIGHT BULB

Carl Rossow managed data collection for the Clinton administration's polling from 1995 to 2000 out of the Denver office of Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates. In 2001, he co-founded another research company, the New York-based Benenson Strategy Group, with Joel Benenson. With ad-testing surveys quickly moving from the telephone to the Internet, the duo noticed that something was missing.

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"When we were conducting online surveys ... we found we weren't getting enough information from the respondent," Rossow said. "So we set out to develop a new methodology."

With the resulting proprietary instant-messaging technology, Rossow and Benenson launched the Denver-based iModerate to enhance quantitative online surveys with qualitative information. The company has grown by leaps and bounds since--revenue jumped 400 percent in 2006, with another 300 percent bump expected this year--and now employs a staff of 35 people in Denver. Opening new offices in London, Australia, New Zealand and Canada will double the number of employees by the end of the year.

IN A NUTSHELL

iModerate's suite of products, dubbed Research>iMpact, enhance existing online surveys by "intercepting" respondents for qualitative interviews. A team of 23 trained moderators at iModerate's Denver office handle one client at a time and up to two interviews simultaneously, conducted via technology akin to instant messaging.

Such interviews can test advertisements in any medium, new product names, and customer satisfaction, among other things.

"The things you can do on the Internet today are amazing," said Adam Rossow, iModerate's director of marketing and communications (and Carl's younger brother). "Just about the only thing you can't do is reach through the screen and grab a product."

Launched in June, iModerate's newest product is adOpinion. "It is the first product on the market to offer 24-hour qualitative feedback on any type of media," said the elder Rossow, noting that slower, more expensive focus groups are the status quo. "It will be used by a lot of corporations and ad firms. It's like a quick-response ad test."

iModerate's products are priced per block of one-on-one interviews: 40 sessions for $3,400, a fraction of comparable phone research or setting up a focus group. Moderators can be bilingual, depending on...