Marketing platform Postcron gets acquired by Seattle-based WL Online Marketing

Contxto –  Back in 2015, the Argentine startup SocialTools acquired the Dutch marketing manager platform, Postcron. Now, a Seattle-based marketing agency has taken over the company.

Germán Merlo and Lucas Emma are the two Cordoba-based entrepreneurs behind SocialTools. This platform enabled Facebook page owners to seamlessly create engaging and appealing contests, content and promotions. Allegedly, this setup increases interaction with potential customers as well as sales for clients. 

Being a marketing startup, it makes sense why SocialTools acquired Postcron in the first place. After all, the Dutch company was an automatic post-maker.

Meaning, clients didn’t have to log in or manually post their Tweet or Instagram photo. Similar to Hubspot, they would program publications in advance.

“Most organizations currently have accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Linkedin and post every day,” said Emma. “Solutions such as Postcron allow you to upload all content to a platform and specify the date and time to publish the posts.”

Some of the most prominent Postcron clients have been Nike, Doritos, Telefónica and even Argentine singer, Alejandro Lerner.

Growth game

Around 2012, Wayra invested in SocialTools followed by 500 Startups Latam the next year. In 2014, the company had already over 150 thousand customers in more than 30 Spanish-speaking countries. 

Postcron acquisition was the result of an expansion strategy. To grow abroad, SocialTools purchased Postcron. Fortunately, the Dutch company had similar size but different markets, particularly Europe and the United States.

In 2017, the founders sold SocialTools to Wired Investors in the United States to focus on Postcron. In turn, the company grew more than eight-fold and started managing more than 5 million user accounts from 170 countries. 

WL Online Marketing (WLOM) from Seattle obviously smelled the cash and started talking to the founders. Eventually, it bought Postcron in January but kept the amount undisclosed. 

Currently, Postcron has a team of 25 people across Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and the United States. Others also operate remotely from other parts of the world. Talk about economies of scale, now, that is impressive.

Think globally 

Arcor’s founder, Fluvio Pagani, used to say: “The market is the world.” Over time, this motto has stuck with the SocialTools founders. 

“If they start to see the world as a market, the reality of Argentine companies will change because global services markets like these are not very large,” said Emma.

Along those lines, the company believes that Argentine entrepreneurs should embrace solving global problems rather than just domestic ones. Much of this has to do with Argentines’ high level of human capital. 

“Argentina has a great ability to generate and achieve talent,” said Emma. “Many times, though, companies are only focused on the Argentine market and its economic problems. But if entrepreneurs find a problem that is global, there is human capital of excellent quality here, which is our most important competitive advantage.”

-VC