Rev Content

John Lemp graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a degree in Information Technology in 2013 and immediately founded Rev Content to tackle a problem he saw plaguing the digital publishing ecosystem. While the content recommendation space was dominated by players like Outbrain and Taboola, Lemp believed the industry was fundamentally broken. "The reason why we exist is to create an open internet," he explained. He saw how Facebook and Google powered 49% of all internet advertising and how algorithms could make or break businesses overnight. For Lemp, the real danger was centralized control: "If all your ideas are dependent on one or two companies in the algorithm, if your ideas are not liked by that algorithm, they're dead."

Rev Content's business model targets publishers and advertisers. Publishers (like Inc., Fast Company, Newsweek, CBS) use Rev Content's recommendation widget at the bottom of articles to drive traffic and engagement. Advertisers can target users by interests and pay via CPC (cost-per-click) or CPM (cost-per-thousand-impressions). The company built one of the most advanced targeting systems on the market, allowing advertisers to reach users at granular levels.

Lemp took a principled stance that differentiated Rev Content from competitors: he refused to compete on sensationalism. While clickbait and shock-factor content generate short-term yields, Lemp implemented a two-sided algorithm that balances immediate click metrics with long-term user trust and attribution. "We've gotten rid of that type of content, and as we got rid of it our RPMs have continued to go up," he stated. This approach required understanding not just what users click on, but what they actually convert on—and building user feedback directly into the quality scoring algorithm.

The company invests heavily in attribution tracking. "We offer full attribution to people that have product services, whatever you have," Lemp explained, meaning advertisers can see exactly which recommendations drove actual purchases. If users complain about products or stop converting, the quality score drops, lowering future yield for that advertiser. This aligned incentives with long-term value rather than pure clicks.

By 2016 (the year before this interview in 2017), Rev Content processed $184 million in advertiser spend across its network and retained approximately 20% as revenue, equating to $35-40 million annually. With 150 employees across headquarters in Sarasota, offices in Silicon Valley and Bath (England), and a small team in India, the company has maintained profitability since day one while growing 50-100% year-over-year. Lemp remains bootstrapped with zero external funding.

The company is pursuing aggressive innovation beyond its core recommendation widget. Lemp hinted at unreleased products in video recommendations and a new "below article experience" that he believes will "change everything." When acquiring companies (he bought a European company and a Silicon Valley company in successive years), Lemp focused on acquiring talent and intellectual property rather than customer bases. "You're buying a brain," he said. "You're not trying to buy a customer base." His growth thesis centers on out-innovating competitors rather than chasing market share, and his unwavering commitment to the open internet remains the North Star guiding strategic decisions.