Why We Invested in Web Personalization Company Dynamic Yield

Venture capitalist Natalie Refuah explains why Israel-based late-stage venture capital fund Viola Growth led a $32 million funding round for Dynamic Yield

Natalie Refuah 11:5519.08.18

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At Viola Growth, we see about 200 growth companies every year and invest in maybe two or three of them (just a little over 1%). That means when we invest in a company, we have checked every box when it comes to the criteria that are important to us. Or, in other words, that all the stars were aligned at exactly the right time and place for the investment to happen.

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During the due diligence process of investing in website personalization company Dynamic yield Ltd., the more we explored, the deeper was our appreciation of the company, its team, its vision and its technology.

Viola Growth Partner Natalie Refuah. Photo: Tamuz Rachman

After announcing the $32 million Series D funding round in Dynamic Yield earlier this month, I thought I’d share the story of why our perspective has evolved and how the company not only became a crucial guide for us when it came to capitalizing on the future of personalized experiences, but also the be-all and end-all for the technology that supports it.

We live in an era where time is limited and costs are high. Neither businesses nor consumers want to spend too much time searching for what they need. These days we want everything handed to us on a silver platter, which has given rise to the necessity of personalization that we now expect everywhere – when we buy, choose services, and make decisions. At Viola Growth, we believe that all marketing initiatives will eventually include personalized deliverables that are tailored specifically to existing or potential customers. That is why Dynamic Yield’s technology is a must-have tool for any organization that is getting on board the personalization train, which we believe everyone should be on (if they aren’t already).

As in many markets, the personalization solutions of the world include multiple players, many of whom started with one very small feature or in a remote, niche area. Once those players saw how this opportunity was evolving, they adapted, doing their best to “join the party.” Dynamic Yield understood, from its infancy, the enormity of the market and is aiming to extend into the physical world, powering individualized experiences in shops, call centers, and points of sale.

Dynamic Yield continues to grow more than 100% year over year with dozens of new companies added to its customer base. The company’s feat is a testament to Dynamic Yield’s impressive execution and the founders’ ability to assemble an excellent management team whose success will no doubt be further accelerated, especially with three of the senior managers being women.

Bearing these points in mind, we believe Dynamic Yield has the potential to create a “big story,” especially considering what the future will look like in an increasingly connected world.

We know it most certainly is a new entrant to Israel’s “big companies” club. This club has been developing steadily through a major—albeit quiet—disruption over the past few years, taking Israeli-founded companies to the next level. This club includes companies like team management and productivity SaaS developer Monday.com Labs Ltd., digital payments company Payoneer Inc., disaster recovery software company Zerto Inc., digital market intelligence company SimilarWeb Ltd., web and mobile monetization company IronSource Ltd., online content promotion company Outbrain Inc., website usability company WalkMe, and marketing analytics company AppsFlyer Ltd., to name a few, and of course marketing analytics company Datorama, acquired just last month by Salesforce for $850 million.