"Opportunities to network in person are cancelled - events, expos, and meetings - making new contacts is difficult. Companies want to know that they can tap into a rich source of compliant data. "
James Isilay, CEO, Cognism
Cognism, the globally compliant go-to-market intelligence company, has reported 58 per cent growth year-on-year in FY2020 as revenues increased from £5.4 to £8.5 million. January 2021 has been a historic month for the company as turnover this month alone hit $1 million (£730,000) for the first time since its inception in 2015.
Its growing success is testament to the demand from B2B companies for compliant prospect data to find and deliver new revenue streams in a world that is largely working remotely.
James Isilay, CEO, Cognism said: “Opportunities to network in person are cancelled – events, expos, and meetings – so making new contacts face-to-face is difficult. Companies want to know that they can tap into a rich source of data and, more importantly, that it’s compliant with data regulations. Finding and delivering new revenue streams is more important than ever for business development and sales teams within B2B organisations.
“Cognism’s patented AI technology solution, resulting in our own proprietary data collection network gives customers reassurance and leaves them to get on with the important job of developing leads and generating sales - without the worry of breaching compliance and incurring fines.
“We have invested heavily in making our data compliant in every one of the 30 countries in which we operate and continue to do so.”
Isilay continued: “In 2021 we are focusing on growing our presence in France and Germany. We currently have over 1000 customers across 30 countries from a range of industry sectors. The B2B SaaS sector has been a key area of growth for us in recent months with clients like Seismic. Ultimately, our aim is to become a global leader in go-to-market intelligence across the B2B marketplace.”
Cognism grew its workforce by 35% in the last six months of 2020 – taking the team to 200 employees. It’s a truly global team - based in seven countries including the USA, Canada, South Africa, and Germany. International locations, with a mostly millennial workforce, reflect a new way of remote working and prove to be beneficial for hiring global skills and knowledge.
January saw the hire of Ethan Ramsey, ex-RainKing director of research operations, who joins Cognism as Head of Content. He has a remit to grow and enhance the globally compliant prospecting solution.
James Isilay’s background is in investment banking and algorithmic trading where he developed intelligent solutions for optimal trading. He saw the opportunity to create a solution using machine learning that would provide businesses with effective leads, and established Cognism in 2015.
