- Founded: 2014
- Ceased Operations: 2020
What did Benja do?
Benja Commerce Network launched as a Tinder-meets-shopping mobile app in 2014 and evolved into the first shoppable media advertising network. Benja enabled in-advertisement shopping with its interactive online display ad format. Benja also owned and operated several direct-to-consumer businesses and media publishers.
The company raised between $2 and $3 million from angel investors including Tony Hsieh and XRC Labs.
Who started Benja?
Benja was started by Andrew Chapin who also served as Chief Executive Officer. According to Andrew Chapin’s LinkedIn, he became Chief Revenue Officer following Benja’s bankruptcy in 2020.
Why did Benja go out of business?
Despite a sound business model and unit economics, Benja struggled with cashflow. Also, its ad format was not compatible with other major advertising networks, leaving Benja’s small team with the difficult task of actively self-managing both sides of the advertising marketplace.
What did Andrew Chapin do?
Founder & CEO Andrew Chapin made materially false representations on Benja’s financial documents when negotiating their line of credit, inflating revenue.
Relevant Links
- Benja Company Listing, Crunchbase
- A Postmortem by Founder Andrew Chapin, Failory