Here's how they really sold their company to Google: they raised less money than their competitors (just $4MM, I believe) from VCs who'd be happier with smaller

Here's how they really sold their company to Google: they raised less money than their competitors (just $4MM, I believe) from VCs who'd be happier with smaller exits (like First Round) so when Google decided they needed a DSP, Invite Media was the best option that could actually sell for less than $100MM. Everyone else was targeting mammoth Right-Media-style exits, on the assumption that they'd happen when the market was a little more mature. More interesting to me is how a couple of college students started a company doing pretty leading-edge things in ad technology, when most people have to work in the industry for a few years just to figure out what the hell's going on. As I heard it (perhaps distorted), they initially had an experienced mentor who spent a lot of time with them, only to later compete aggressively with the same mentor when their business was off the ground.