For making targeted, genetics-based cancer therapies Genentech 25
Polyvore
FOR TURNING EVERYONE INTO
A FASHION EDITOR
Cancer treatment has been a shock-and-awe affair: Unleash an arsenal on the body and hope the bad cells
are killed. Genentech (a division of swiss pharma giant roche) is leading a new, sniperlike approach. Last summer, its Zelboraf got fDa approval as the first drug to target and shut down a gene mutation associated with
about half of melanoma cases. analysts expect annual sales to hit $732 million by 2015. “the era of personalized
health care is becoming a reality,” says richard scheller, Genentech’s head of research and early development.
Genentech has other targeted treatments in the pipeline. coming soon: a promising drug for breast cancer.
For bringing tech and accessibility to
the hidebound legal industry
26 LegalZoom
For driving advertiser engagement
in a million-app world
Tapjoy 27
LegalZoom spent a decade making law firms’ easiest and most lucrative work—wills, uncontested divorces, and incorporations—available to all via easy
online forms. Its new online consulting work goes
even further to disrupt the $200 billion legal market.
perceNtage of top-grossiNg apple app
games that are free to play
January2010 December2011
Notalawfirm
LegalZoom uses its tech platform to connect its customers, notably small businesses, to licensed attorneys. Last year, it built a network of 16 law firms and
70 attorneys, covering 40 states to offer advice.
tech powered
It arms these law firms with technology—online appointment scheduling, for example—as well as extensive customer-service training using the net
promoter system.
low, flat fees
customers pay $15 a month for personal advice or
$30 a month for business help, receiving half-hour
consultations to discuss employment law or trademark licensing. “It’s a thin-margin business, but we
can deliver high volume,” says cEo John suh.
moretocome
these consultative services have attracted more than
70,000 customers, adding $12 million to LegalZoom’s
estimated $200 million in 2011 revenue. “the next 10
years are about harnessing this platform,” suh says.
“We have an insatiable appetite for disruption.”
0%
70%
Tapjoy has unlocked the Easter egg in the smartphone game: Its advertising platform shifted mobile
gaming from pay-to-play to a freemium model. “We
changed the industry,” says cEo mihir shah. In exchange for trying ad-supported apps or interacting
with an ad, users earn currency (to buy better weapons, for example). “We’re the largest performance
advertising network,” shah says, noting that android
customers, for example, follow through on four ads
a month. tapjoy claims more than 8 million daily
active users and is estimated to have generated
$100 million in revenue last year, from advertisers
such as Electronic arts, amazon, and Victoria’s secret. the next level? moving beyond games and into
communications, news, and music apps.
“We’re democratizing fashion,” says
Jess Lee, CEO of Polyvore, the most popular fashion site on the Internet. More than
13 million unique visitors a month choose
from 45 million product images to create
“sets”—collages that look like fashion magazine pages, with every item available for
purchase. That’s made Polyvore a shop-pable magazine, where every month is
September. (Take that, Vogue.) “We’re giving people, not fashion editors, the voice
to define taste,” says Lee.
The industry likes what it sees,
and partnerships helped push Polyvore
into profitability in 2011. Bergdorf Goodman, for instance, asked users to style
fashion director Linda Fargo for New York
Fashion Week; the winner scored a seat at
the Michael Kors show. American Eagle
challenged users to make brand-specific
sets, the best of which appeared on its
Times Square billboard. “There are few
places that offer this kind of targeted
demographic, as well as the tools to interact with them,” says Oliver Walsh, CEO of
digital marketing firm Wednesday, which
worked with Polyvore on a campaign for
the launch of Versace for H&M.
“We want brands to view us as a place
full of their fans and influencers,” says
CTO and cofounder Pasha Sadri. To that
end, last fall it introduced the Polyvore
Intelligence Report, a monthly set of analytics that breaks down the demographics of Polyvore users and tracks their top
trends and items. The report is sent for
free to select retailers, designers, and editors, revealing what shoppers want now.
(Hot: fisherman sweaters and studded
handbags!) Next up for eager shoppers?
Sites dedicated to weddings and interior
design. —Stephanie Schomer
