About
FPC invests capital & expertise into adtech, martech and digital media startups…
Articles by Rich
-
FinTech Ireland
FinTech Ireland
It's launch day for the 2015 Irish Fintech campaign. Check out the site for great content from experts in payments…
2 Comments
Activity
9K followers
-
Rich Ashton shared this📣 Calling all Old Cranleighans working in tech, media or telecoms - this one’s for you. We’ve relaunched the OC TMT Society, a community for Cranleigh School alumni across technology, media, and telcos. The idea is simple: connect industry leaders, surface business opportunities, and support younger OCs with career advice and a foot in the door. Whether you’re a founder, investor, senior exec, or just starting out, you’ve come to the right place. Follow the link below to join! #OCs #Cranleighschool #alumni #careers #business #networking
-
Rich Ashton reposted this🚀 Really proud to have worked with the Venatus team on bringing this to market. What stands out to me isn’t just the scale of the results, but what they represent: a shift from optimizing for delivery to having unique technology that can activate when immersive engagement actually exists. ✅ The Lumen Research findings reinforce what we’ve long believed, that context, mindset, and timing (attention) fundamentally change how advertising performs. ✅ Activating audiences “In the Zone” gives Venatus a way to deliver increased outcomes on moments more that actually matter for the advertiser and publisher while preserving user integrity, especially when a user chooses to lean in -- this isn't scrolling or passive engagement! Thanks for the coverage NewDigitalAge!Rich Ashton reposted this🎯 Venatus is introducing a new concept to digital advertising: Audiences “In the Zone.” 🚀 Today, we announced new results showing how Venatus activates these high-focus audiences across gaming, sports, and entertainment environments, verified by new analysis from Lumen Research. Across Venatus video campaigns, the findings show: ✅ Up to 5x higher Attention per 1,000 impressions (APM) vs standard digital video Looking deeper, the study shows that when audiences are In the Zone: ✅ 4x longer average view time (8 seconds vs 2 seconds industry benchmark) ✅ Nearly 2x higher likelihood of an ad being viewed Why does this happen? Because attention follows context. When people engage deeply with high-focus environments like gaming, sports, and entertainment (like Brain Games 🧩), they aren’t skimming or scrolling. They lean in. Activating Audiences In The Zone means aligning technology, environment, and mindset to create unique opportunities for publishers and advertisers. Our research with Lumen Research reinforces something we’ve seen for years in immersive environments: When audiences lean in, outcomes play out. Activate Audiences In the Zone. Learn more at https://bit.ly/4sSrsAK Special thanks to NewDigitalAge for the coverage 👉 Link in comments! #AttentionEconomy #AdTech #GamingAdvertising #DigitalVideo #IntheZone #Venatus
-
Rich Ashton shared thisWhat can Adtech learn from Mark Carney? TL,DR: it’s critical to be in control of your own destiny.The Rise Of Ad Tech’s “Middle Powers”; Sign Up For The Vendi Tech WebinarThe Rise Of Ad Tech’s “Middle Powers”; Sign Up For The Vendi Tech Webinar
-
Rich Ashton shared thisInteresting take here from Tim Rowe from State of Streaming, comparing The Trade Desk's new OpenTTD platform with FirstPartyCapital's new model for corporate innovation. It's a strong validation of our offering for it to be positioned as an alternative solution to one of the greatest adtech companies of all time. We are working hard to give clients streamlined access to our portfolio, in a modular way, so that they can build a stack that is tailor-made to their specific needs. https://lnkd.in/eEe9-WwW #adtech #data #tech #business #mediaThe Trade Desk Built a Platform, FPC Wants to Build a Way Around It, and Amazon Is Still Winning. | State of StreamingThe Trade Desk Built a Platform, FPC Wants to Build a Way Around It, and Amazon Is Still Winning. | State of Streaming
-
Rich Ashton reposted thisRich Ashton reposted thisLast week, our CEO Shane Shevlin took to the stage at ADZINE - MARKETING. TECH. MEDIA. Connect to unveil Pathfinder – our new LLM-powered planning and buying module. Pathfinder, the first lead agent in a new multi-agent system, is designed to give independent agencies and their brands more control and agility by unifying fragmented supply into a single activation workflow. Using rich semantic and contextual signals, the agent works to understand environments, audiences, and moments, ensuring only the right audiences are reached on the most effective inventory. In removing weeks of tedious, manual work, Pathfinder opens the door for you to focus more on creating the best strategy behind your campaigns, helping to drive the outcomes you expect to see. Automated efficiency. Independent control. Better outcomes. Ready to find your new path? Check out the links in the comments to learn more about the agent and/or register your interest in joining the Pathfinder beta.
-
Rich Ashton shared thisFirstPartyCapital is introducing a new model for corporate innovation. Combining venture participation with access to industry experts, and market insights through FirstPartyStudio, in one structured partnership: 🛠️ Technical Execution: Access expert ad tech engineers embedded with your leadership to accelerate your roadmap — without expanding permanent headcount. 📊 Market Intelligence: Get quarterly briefings on AI, M&A, and global media trends. Our insights are informed by active investment, not retrospective consulting theory. 💰 Strategic Equity: Gain access to co-invest alongside us in category-leading ad tech companies. This model relies on real-world insihgts from the coal face of adtech and is designed exclusively for brands, agencies, publishers, and ad tech leaders. Read the full breakdown in our newsletter and download the one-pager here: https://lnkd.in/eDFNb5WD
-
Rich Ashton shared thisCongrats to the Aperiam team on their latest investment into Bedrock Platform! Great to be co-investing in another world-class Adtech startup!Rich Ashton shared thisExcited to share that Aperiam has invested in Bedrock Platform. We are excited by what the team (Shane Shevlin, Austin Scott , Ryan Pestano, James Ryall) have built as they work to make programmatic easier and exploit the abilities AI offers. We believe the next generation of programmatic will be leaner, faster and AI-first and see Bedrock at the leading edge!
-
Rich Ashton reposted thisRich Ashton reposted thisWe're pleased to announce the successful close of our seed extension funding round, led by FirstPartyCapital, with Aperiam as co-investor. The funding builds on our strong early momentum, enabling us to focus on accelerating product innovation, US expansion, and deeper partnerships across the programmatic ecosystem. Click the link in the comments to read more.
-
Rich Ashton shared thisProud of Harriet Ashton and my family for taking part in this week's campaign to secure better paternity leave in the UK which has hugely positive knock-on effects, not just for families, but society and the economy as a whole. As a dad and a business owner, I know firsthand how difficult it is to balance the demands of running a company and looking after your family, particularly in the first few months of newborn life. 45% of babies in the UK are now born via C-section. Mums need at least 6 weeks to recover after major abdominal surgery, which means that dads need to be around to support them. A lot of dads have to go back to work after just 2 weeks, which places an unfair and unsafe burden on mothers. The UK has one of the worst paternity leave policies in Europe and it’s time for policy to catch up with reality so that us dads can support our families properly. Please read, share, and sign the petition to increase statutory paternity leave to 6 weeks. #DadShift #PaternityLeave #FamilyHealthRich Ashton shared this❤️💔All we need is love! ❤️💔 And that means 6 weeks statutory paid paternity leave 🔈 (but HR listen up too!) As part of the @dadshiftuk brilliant new campaign, Penny, Billy and I have been slipping these cards into shops, posting them to MPs, and alerting media, calling for desperately needed statutory paternity leave reform. We have the worst statutory paternity leave in Europe and the ripple effect of this is undeniable. It breaks my heart thinking about the impact that this is having on families, but my personal beef with it is this: 45% of women have c sections in the UK, it takes 6 weeks to recover from major stomach surgery, yet fathers are back at work after 2 weeks. Policy needs to catch up with reality. It is barbaric and quite frankly grossly unsafe to leave women alone to look after a newborn as well as other children when they are deemed so injured that they are not legally allowed to drive, and with the unrealistic advice "dont pick up anything heavier than your newborn." I personally, still couldn't walk at 2 weeks post my c section following a complication, and was absolutely petrified of being on my own with my children. You wouldn't treat an animal like it, let's be honest, we wouldn't treat men like it (there isnt a world where men would be left to watch a newborn and a 3 year old, 2 weeks after major stomach surgery is there?) yet MPs and business owners are happy to let women sustain injuries, infections and lifelong pain, because they haven't been able to properly recover. Expecting new mums to shoulder so much physical and mental pain to prop up fiscal and business policy is absolutely not something we knowingly sign up for when we get pregnant. The irony is, if 6 weeks stat pat leave was implemented we would save huge amounts in post natal depression care (1.8 billion a year - our rates are diabolical) and earn more as a country due to higher maternal labour market participation. It suggests to me that the government and businesses have intentionally decided that women's mental and physical health can be sacrificed, because we probably won't make a fuss (and can't - we are knackered, injured and nap trapped with a newborn!) I won't stop until a 6 week paternity leave is made policy, so that women get the support they need from their partners - the person they really need in that very vulnerable time. Penny, this is for you and all the other girls and women who will one day be mums. Please please sign the @dadshiftuk petition below for an increase in statutory paternity leave. The positive impact this could have is immensely far-reaching. From saving relationships, to closing the gender pay gap, to updating societal and cultural expectations on men and women. However my concern is first and foresmost the mental and physical health of this country's girls and future mums. Please share and sign the petition for 6 week statutory paternity leave! #paternityleave #hr https://lnkd.in/e4Gk2fzQ
Rich Ashton replied to a comment
1d
Jamie Dunlop great. See you there!
-
Rich Ashton liked thisRich Ashton liked thisExcited to annouce Unity's expanded partnership with LiveRamp, RampID is now live across across our footporint across the US. With over 256M MAU's playing games across almost every demographic, this partnerships helps the ecosystem take one (big) step to unlocking the full potential of gaming. Stay tuned for what's to follow in the coming weeks... Shout out to Matthew Hogg James Prudhomme Rachel Paeper Sebastian Diaz Jaramillo and teams for bringing this to life. To learn more, see below or reach out to the team to discuss what this means for you. https://lnkd.in/e2P_qFK2 https://lnkd.in/e9DYuCXA CC Alex Blum David Eisenberg Scott Howe Vihan Sharma Travis ClingerLiveRamp and Unity announce expanded partnership | exclusiveLiveRamp and Unity announce expanded partnership | exclusive
-
Rich Ashton liked thisRich Ashton liked thisThe London Marathon is less than 4 weeks away and I am running to raise money for Motor Neurone Disease. A cause that means a great deal to me. MND is a devastating condition that affects thousands of people and their families, and I’m hoping to do my small part to support families affected by diagnoses. Training has been tough, but knowing I’m running for something bigger keeps me going. If you’re able to support, any donation, big or small it would mean a lot. https://lnkd.in/eyNb7BShDonate to Marathon for MND, organized by Tom CrumpDonate to Marathon for MND, organized by Tom Crump
-
Rich Ashton liked thisRich Ashton liked thisThe way capital gets returned to investors has changed. Most founders and GPs are still acting like it hasn't. For the first time in venture history, three exit channels split the pie almost evenly. IPOs at 34%. M&A at 35%. Secondaries at 31%. A decade ago, secondaries were 3% of exit value. Today they account for roughly $95 billion in the trailing twelve months. The IPO window slammed shut in 2022 and investors found other ways out. Goldman bought Industry Ventures. Morgan Stanley picked up EquityZen. Schwab acquired Forge Global. Wall Street moved before most of venture caught on. There are 830 unicorns sitting on $3.9 trillion in post-money valuation. At 2025's pace of 48 VC-backed IPOs per year, clearing that backlog would take seventeen years. Secondary liquidity today concentrates in about 20 names. SpaceX. Stripe. OpenAI. If you're company number 50, the secondary market is mostly theoretical. If you're raising right now: think about liquidity optionality before you need it. Structure your cap table so partial exits are possible. Build relationships with secondary buyers early. Secondaries were a footnote ten years ago. Now they're plumbing. 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦: 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘝𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 / 𝘗𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 Enjoyed this? 🔔 Follow me for weekly breakdowns on fundraising, market shifts, and what's working for founders right now. Raising a round? 💰 100,000+ startups have used Foundersuite to raise over $21 billion. The platform comes with a built-in Investor CRM, Data Room, and Investor Updates tool to keep your raise organized from first pitch to close: https://t2m.io/MVnXbvRX
-
Rich Ashton liked thisRich Ashton liked thisGus Taylor, head of retail media at Glanbia, said: “As a brand, Glanbia is at a key inflection point when it comes to growth across European markets. PMG stood out as the partner for us to reach our goals, through the quality of their thinking, depth of category expertise, and a clear understanding of how to navigate the complexities of our portfolio.”
-
Rich Ashton liked thisRich Ashton liked thisThe reason non-alc exists There are moments where I really fancy a drink and as someone who is training for London Marathon at the moment, I am off the sauce till post 26th April But I can’t afford the impact of it the next day. Not financially. Mentally. That foggy feeling the next morning. The slightly slower start. The “why did I do that midweek?” thought. And that’s exactly the moment a lot of non-alcoholic brands are built around. Not never drinking. Just having a better option for that moment. Because most consumers of alcohol-free products still drink alcohol. They just want the choice. That nuance is where the real opportunity in the category sits. This is where Luke Hemsley from Wednesday's Domaine comes in... to sit EXACLTY here. Listen now to the full episode on Getting To Grow Podcast P.s LOOK AT THAT MERCH oooft Brand Stamp Arthur Boyd Victoria Boyd-Drysdale LISTEN HERE !! https://lnkd.in/e45N_BFD
-
Rich Ashton liked thisRich Ashton liked thisExcited about our (Dstillery's) partnership with InfoSum announced today. I can't do better than this excerpt from the announcement: "By leveraging InfoSum’s privacy-by-design data collaboration infrastructure, Dstillery can securely incorporate collaboration outputs into its modeling framework and refresh predictive audiences within 24 hours. Updated segments are then automatically delivered to approved activation destinations, ensuring campaigns reflect the most current consumer behaviors and intent signals." InfoSum's clients will continue benefiting from collaborating with other companies, and the Dstillery-enriched data will add even more "punch" for planning, analytics, and activation. Also pumped about working with the wonderful InfoSum team including Nick Henthorn, Lauren Wetzel, Marc Cestaro, Jack Leonard, Marion Dacquin, and others who have helped bring this partnership to life. https://lnkd.in/gEeJMmjpInfoSum partners with Dstillery | Press Release | InfoSumInfoSum partners with Dstillery | Press Release | InfoSum
Experience & Education
-
FirstPartyCapital
View Rich’s full experience
See their title, tenure and more.
or
Volunteer Experience
Projects
-
FinTech Ireland
See projectOn 25th November Mediaplanet will publish a detailed breakdown of Ireland’s FinTech ecosystem. The campaign site will be shared across news networks and social media channels whilst a colour supplement will be published in the Irish Independent and distributed at global industry events, reaching consumers and business decision makers alike.
In line with IFS2020 the campaign’s aim is to promote Ireland as a global FinTech hub, highlighting the unique opportunities that exist in this…On 25th November Mediaplanet will publish a detailed breakdown of Ireland’s FinTech ecosystem. The campaign site will be shared across news networks and social media channels whilst a colour supplement will be published in the Irish Independent and distributed at global industry events, reaching consumers and business decision makers alike.
In line with IFS2020 the campaign’s aim is to promote Ireland as a global FinTech hub, highlighting the unique opportunities that exist in this hotbed of innovation.
From the largest companies in the world to fledgling start-ups looking to disrupt the status quo, the convergence of finance and technology is changing the shape of the national and global economy.
Languages
-
French
-
-
Spanish
Elementary proficiency
Other similar profiles
Explore more posts
Explore collaborative articles
We’re unlocking community knowledge in a new way. Experts add insights directly into each article, started with the help of AI.
Explore More