First online ventures
In 2005, Michał Sadowski, Dawid Szymański, Piotr Wierzejewski, and Karol Wnukiewicz,[11] students of computer science and management at the Wrocław University of Science and Technology, launched a social networking site Polatach.pl [ Polish for: After Years], a platform for reconnecting with old school friends (later outclassed by Nasza Klasa).[12] They also founded a price comparison website Finansosfera.pl.[13][14]
Wierzejewski's idea led to the creation of Patrz.pl [Polish for: Look!], a website enabling the posting and playback of short videos (similar to YouTube founded at the same time).[12][13][15] By the end of 2007, with several million monthly users of Patrz.pl,[7][16] the partners sold it for nearly PLN 2 million[17] to CR Media Consulting, which incorporated it to its portal Pino.pl.[18] From 2008, Sadowski, Wierzejewski, and Wnukiewicz took over management of Grupa Pino,[19][20] operating a dozen of websites,[21][22] including a video-sharing site PinoTV, a microblogging platform Moblo.pl, and a slide-hosting site Slajdzik.pl.[23][24]
To monitor user feedback on its websites, Grupa Pino used Google Alerts,[25] but its managers sought for a more comprehensive tool.[26]
In May 2007, CR Media Consulting merged with Internet Group.[27] The latter filed for bankruptcy in August 2010.[28] Meanwhile, Sadowski, Wierzejewski, Wnukiewicz, and Szymański worked on a proprietary solution to collect and synthesize data on brands, products, and services from all available online searches.[29]
In the summer of 2011, the four partners launched a prototype of a monitoring tool named Brand24,[29] which updated every few minutes. It measured monthly Unique users or website views, as well as followers or contacts on social media.[25]
International expansion
In March 2013, Brand24 began its international expansion with the Indonesian market,[39][40] and in 2014, an updated version of the monitoring tool[41] became available in the U.S. and Germany.[42] In 2015, the global version of Brand24 was used in over 20 countries. It differed from the Polish, focused on the "Polish Internet," in parameters, functions, and data collection method.[43] The international version collected and stored data from across the internet.[34]
Listing at the New Connect
By the end of 2017, through a pre-IPO transaction, the company raised PLN 3.5 million, valuing at PLN 60 million.[51] On January 30, 2018, Brand24 debuted on the NewConnect market. The company's valuation exceeded PLN 90 million.[33][34][52] It employed 60 people in five offices in Poland.[13]
By the end of 2018, the tool monitored 50,000 keywords in nearly 100 countries, for over 3,000 clients including Intel, Carlsberg
Facebook blocks Brand24
In April 2018, following articles covering the Cambridge Analytica scandal,[53][54] the company Facebook (later rebranded to Meta) changed its data access policies for its social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, restricting API access.[55] Sadowski expressed Brand24's willingness to comply with the new rules.[56] In August 2019, an article in the US edition of Business Insider accused Brand24 of collecting excessive amounts of data from Instagram profiles for internet monitoring,[57]
Warsaw Stock Exchange
In late 2019, Brand24 started monitoring TikTok, and the gaming platform Twitch.[77] In January 2020, it started monitoring podcasts,[78] and in May 2020, newsletters.[79] By the end of 2020, the company had broken even.[80] On May 11, 2021, Brand24 debuted on the main market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange.[81]
The company then launched tests of its Custom Reports analytical service, which created reports based on data processed by its analytics department.
Acquisition by Semrush
In April 2024, controlling shares in Brand24 were acquired by a media relations software provider Prowly, a Polish company owned by Brand24's American business partner, a marketing tool provider Semrush.[4][5] Prowly became the majority shareholder of Brand24 in a transaction worth PLN 55 million.[86] The acquired team remained in place.[87] Brand24's capitalization on the WSE was increased to PLN 110 million.[87] In March 2025, Prowly announced its intention to purchase the remaining shares for over PLN 26 million.[88]
