The Next Big Thing In Experience: Why Our Acquisition Of Clicktale Is Set To Revolutionize Digital

My thoughts on the big news we shared today

It was clear from the start of the Contentsquare adventure that the way to maximize value for our clients would be through innovation. In the beginning, we innovated fast and furiously, hacking our way to a better product that would solve the challenges we observed in the digital space. If anything, our roadmap has only gotten bolder with the years. 

The last few years have been crazy for Contentsquare. We’ve raised $120 million in venture capital, including our latest round, just six months ago. We’ve experienced 100% year over year growth, made our very first acquisition, and expanded across the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. 

Six months ago, following our latest round of funding, we announced that R&D and product development, as well as entering new markets, would be a strong area of focus for us. Today, I’m very excited to announce that we have taken a major step in our journey, by acquiring Clicktale, another leader in the experience analytics field.

Freedom in innovation

It’s no accident that I ended up creating a company that helps brands generate knowledge — knowledge of their customers, the subtleties of digital behavior, and of course, the truth behind good (and bad) digital experience. You could say I’m obsessed with knowledge and learning, and that obsession is one of the things that fuels the growth of this company.

And when it comes to growth and evolution, we’re not interested in catching up to the standards of digital excellence — we want to play our part in setting them. And that is only possible through innovation.

That’s why when we got the chance to enhance our customer intelligence capabilities with those of a company like Clicktale, and to blend our two R&D centers and product teams, we jumped at it. This acquisition brings the number of people we have working on product development to 170 — one big global innovation lab dedicated to preparing our disruptive technology for a fast-evolving market. 

In fact, our two teams are already working aggressively on combining the best of our two technologies into one augmented platform by the end of the year. Integrating the best of Contentsquare and the best of Clicktale accelerates our vision of delivering standout experiences powered by predictive AI technology. 

But innovation has never been the sole domain of our product team, and I know that the entire Clicktale team shares our same company values of uniqueness, ambition and enthusiasm when it comes to shaping the digital future. And it shows.

A joint trajectory

Clicktale has established itself as one of the world’s trusted experts when it comes to understanding and measuring the intricacies of digital customer behavior. The platform has an enviable global community of happy clients, in every vertical, and a strong market penetration in the US, in Europe and in Asia. We couldn’t think of a better partner. And not only is it the perfect fit, it’s also the perfect timing.

By melding our missions and technologies, we are now five times the size of our nearest competitor. From the very start, our vision was to become the leading experience insights solution in the world — Clicktale jumping on board the Contentsquare adventure essentially makes this vision a reality.

And in a market that bases the potential of tech unicorns on their valuation, which is ultimately a subjective measure, it’s hugely exciting to be expanding something as objective as our business.

Between us, we serve 600 global leading brands and are part of the daily workflow of 12,000 users. And growth begets growth. 

But, of course, we’re not interested in growth for the sake of growth — we’re here to stay, and with each partnership and integration, we’re laying down the foundations of our sustainability and expanding the solution to scale the business.

The next chapter

Three years ago I showed up in New York with a heavy French accent and a French startup that was established back in France but that no one had heard of in the US. I still have the accent, but now Contentsquare has also made some noise overseas. The adventure I have been on both personally, and as part of the wider Contentsquare community, is nothing short of humbling. 

It’s been a few years of firsts for me: first VC funding round, first acquisition, first outpost in the Americas. You could say my love of learning firsthand and tackling new challenges has been truly satisfied of late! I feel very lucky to have the support and expertise of our board and partners to navigate these uncharted waters, and of course, of the entire Contentsquare team, whose passion for discovery and going beyond themselves is a daily inspiration.

The next twelve months are going to be another great learning curve. We’re going to be onboarding a rich ecosystem of 50 tech partners, developing our error detection and see-and-solve capabilities, combining behavior and merchandising insights in a way not seen before, and see our benchmarking capabilities massively increased. Our insights are going to get much, much smarter, and we’re going to deliver the predictive capabilities brands have been asking for.

Together with our clients and partners, we truly have the potential to revolutionize the ways in which brands listen to their customers online, and as a result, to really shape the future of digital experience.

What I’ve learned

Once again, it all comes back to learning. So what have I learned? That with hard work, the right team and a people-first mindset, anything truly is possible. That being as obsessed with our clients as they are with their own customers is the most important ingredient in a relevant analytics solution. That not deviating from your vision, however ambitious or far-fetched, is the quickest way to get there. 

I want to thank the entire Contentsquare and Clicktale team, all of our joint investors, partners and clients — we couldn’t be more excited to go forward in this adventure together.