Ridgefield startup expands work force, moves to Danbury

A startup company that plans on exploding to more than 2,000 employees in four years is about to move out of the Ridgefield home of one of the principals and into 3,000 square feet of leased space on Main Street in Danbury.

The office space should let JETERA L.L.C. grow to about 17 people from its current eight this year and to about 50 next year, said Tom McClain, one of the company”™s three principals. During 2009, the company should outgrow the Main Street office as it grows to 250, then to 1,250 people in 2010 and 2,500 in 2011, according to JETERA”™s business plan. By then the principals expect the company to have revenues of $1.9 billion.

They aren”™t the only ones optimistic about JETERA”™s potential. “We were offered $150 million by a major financial firm if we wanted to restructure our ownership,” giving the firm 80 percent ownership and leaving the three with only 20 percent. “That tells us our idea is fabulous,” McClain said, “but we”™re all experienced business people and we know the idea is significant.”

The company is creating a media platform that targets airline passengers, hotel guests and other travelers by creating a data-rich profile of the traveler by combining a broad range of information from consumer data companies and other sources to accurately pinpoint advertising and media content on an individual basis. The content would be available on touch screens on the backs of airline seats.

Airlines and hotels

The principals have already raised about $3.5 million, “all with credited investors,” McClain said, and are on their way to raising an initial $9 million in seed money “to build the system, pay the staff and get up and running.” The next goal is raising $45 million to take the company to the next level.

The partners plan to have their first airline customer by the end of this year, and recently “sent Southwest Airlines a proof-of-concept document they asked for,” he said. “Basically, the document said here”™s how we get started with you and lays everything out chronologically. The document began its executive review in mid-April.” Southwest would be JETERA”™s first airline client, should the airline accept the proposal.

“We”™ve also had conversations with two of the four very large hotel groups across the country,” he said. “Almost all of the 630 million people who will fly this year will go to a hotel, so we can use the hotels”™ reservations systems to be in touch with people before they arrive at the hotel.”

Of the two hotels JETERA has talked to, “one had an interest level of five or six on a scale of one to 10, the other had a four,” McClain said. “That”™s very encouraging to us. Ten means they got so excited they bypassed all the formal corporate procedures. That”™s not how big companies work.” One signed a letter of interest, he said, “and we are continuing negotiations. They said they”™d be very interested in using the JETERA system once we”™re up and running.”

McClain and his partners are keeping an eye a few years down the road for office space to accommodate their company”™s growth. “We talked with one of the area”™s large landlords who has properties around the Danbury and Ridgefield area, and have had some very initial conversations about potential linkages for space downstream as we grow,” he said. “If this thing goes the way we think it will, it might be nice to chat with him and get a couple of contracts signed and things like that.”