DES MOINES, Iowa, March 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Not everyone
who starts a business dreams of taking it public. Not everyone who
dreams of taking their business public achieves it. But
entrepreneurs with the audacious goal of going from a startup to
publicly traded are closely watching the rise of DomiKnow, a
digital marketing firm in Des Moines,
Iowa, that will begin public trading on March 15, just more than one year since its
founding.
DomiKnow founder John R. Stokka
recognized a crucial opportunity when he launched the company in
December 2011. Small business owners
were hungry to leverage the power of digital marketing to expand
their customer base, but most lacked the resources to mount
effective long-term campaigns that reached the right audiences.
DomiKnow, short for "dominate with knowledge," creates affordable
custom email and social media marketing campaigns, and uses its
proprietary database of more than 350 million email addresses and
400 fields of data to "hypertarget" the audience most likely to
convert to customers.
"Startup success ultimately hinges on the right mix of
innovation and execution," notes Christian
Renaud, principal of Startup City Des Moines, an early-stage
technology startup incubator. "John and the DomiKnow team have been
relentlessly innovating and executing as they build value for their
customers and investors."
In the heart of what's been dubbed the "Silicon Prairie,"
entrepreneurs like Stokka are finding places like Iowa to be a prime business launching pad.
Access to top talent, affordable work space, and a famous work
ethic, coupled with the notable success of companies like Pinterest
and Dwolla, are getting nontraditional places like Des Moines a closer look.
"We knew we had something special when we were closing more than
90 percent of the presentations we made," said Stokka. "And then
when institutional investors became interested, I knew we needed to
accelerate the move to go public".
Work is underway to garner the large-scale investment needed to
support the company's steep growth curve.
Stokka has been launching technology-based business in
Iowa since 1985. He was a pioneer
in inventing one of the first CASE (Computer Aided Software
Engineering) tools known as Respond© in the 1980s, and hasn't
stopped creating successful companies since.
The idea to generate customers for local businesses through
hypertargeted email marketing began to ruminate in 2004, and so
began the years-long process of developing a critical mass of email
addresses and segmented geographic and demographic data. In 2008,
Stokka had a business plan and was ready to raise capital, but
DomiKnow was put on hold indefinitely amidst of the economic
crisis.
Three years later, the economy was still weak. But small
businesses needed an edge during the recession, and the time for
DomiKnow was right. With two customers under his belt, Stokka
signed a lease on office space two floors up from Startup City Des
Moines, and went into business with DomiKnow. Five months later, it
acquired RED SHOE Media and content management system (CMS)
technology, and expanded its offerings to include email marketing,
social media management, and website services. Today, less than one
year later, DomiKnow has a staff of 10, with plans for 20 more this
year, and 200 in the next two years
DomiKnow's stock will begin trading under the ticker symbol DMNO
on March 15.
About DomiKnow
DomiKnow (OTC: DMNO), is a multichannel marketing firm based in
Des Moines, Iowa dedicated to
bringing big-time marketing to small business. DomiKnow's experts
in digital marketing use its proprietary database of 350 million
emails and 400 fields of data to create hypertargeted email, social
media, and website communications that generate customers for local
businesses. For more information, visit www.domiknow.com.
DomiKnow on Facebook.
DomiKnow on Twitter.
DomiKnow on LinkedIn.
About StartupCity Des Moines
StartupCity
Des Moines is an invitation-only incubator that brings startups and
mentors together to develop early-stage technology-oriented
businesses. Active mentoring from serial entrepreneurs, targeted
education, and constant collaboration with peers creates an
energetic environment in which startups can thrive and grow.
www.startupcitydsm.com
StartupCity Des Moines on Facebook.
StartupCity Des Moines on Twitter.
SOURCE DomiKnow