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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowJust three months after acquiring local startup SmarterHQ, a New York City-based tech firm plans to spend $3.4 million to grow its presence in the city and hire as many as 224 people over the next four years.
Wunderkind Corp., a digital marketing company that was known as BounceX until last year, said it would co-locate its operations with SmarterHQ, which continues to maintain its own branding, at 9102 N. Meridian St.
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. plans to offer Wunderkind up to $3.4 million in conditional tax credits based on the company’s job-creation plans. The tax credits are performance-based, meaning the company can’t claim the credits until it has filled the jobs.
The incentives must still be approved by the IEDC board.
Wunderkind acquired SmarterHQ in November. The companies did not disclose the terms.
Wunderkind said it plans to expand its engineering and customer service teams as it works to integrate SmarterHQ’s automated software that helps companies tailor marketing messaging based on a customer’s past and expected behavior. Initially, the Wunderkind plans to leverage SmarterHQ’s expertise in segmenting customers to Wunderkind’s test messaging platform for e-commerce customers.
Wunderkind has 440 employees spread across London, New York, Austin and Indianapolis.
“Marketing tech companies have thrived in Indianapolis, yielding billions in exits, and with our sustained growth we’re confident Wunderkind will be able to add to the history of success in Indy,” said Wunderkind CEO Ryan Urban in a statement.
Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican, said in a statement that the state “couldn’t be more grateful for [Wunderkind’s] commitment to add more than 200 high-wage, career opportunities for Hoosiers.”
Founded in 2012, Wunderkind helps retailers, publishers and travel companies recognize web visitors and deliver individualized digital messages.
“Today’s announcement is yet another sign of Indianapolis’ strength as a growing tech hub,” said Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogestt, a Democrat, said in a statement. “We’re excited about Wunderkind’s investment in our community and look forward to welcoming more than 200 local jobs in the next few years.”
Before its acquisition, SmarterHQ had scored major investments from Spring Lake Equity Partners, Battery Ventures and Simon Venture Group, the investment arm of Simon Property Group. Its VC haul of $13 million in 2017 was the fourth largest of that year in Indiana.
The company had ranked 15th among the city’s fastest-growing companies in 2018, with annual revenue growing from $3.8 million to $7.2 million over a three-year span. It had qualified for the Inc. 5000 list for the previous five years.
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