Top 6 takeaways from my Bloomberg TV interview as Insider announces monumental investment news of $105 million to fuel M&A

Hande Cilingir

May 24, 2023

Hande Cilingir

May 24, 2023

Yesterday morning, I had the pleasure of speaking with Haslinda Amin on Bloomberg TV to announce Insider’s latest investment round of up to $105 million, bringing our total funding amount to an $274 million. 

I want to start by expressing my heartfelt gratitude for the immense support we’ve received during this recent funding round. Seeing the world recognizing and backing Insider’s potential is incredible, and I couldn’t be happier to share this milestone with you.

This exclusive interview with Bloomberg TV was a fantastic opportunity to share insights on our incredible journey so far and shed light on our bold vision for the future. Here are my top six takeaways from the discussion…

Table of Contents
  1. Fueling growth through M&A

  2. More value through bigger, bolder tech

  3. Good companies are still fundable

  4. Valuation rising

  5. IPO on the horizon

  6. The future of tech is female

  7. It takes a village…

  8. And finally

1. Fueling growth through M&A

Following this investment news, our focus is on strategic acquisitions that will further accelerate Insider’s monumental growth. Despite the challenging economic climate and many of the world’s biggest software companies making lay-offs, Insider has remained resilient, expanding both our talented team and growth rates over the last two years. 

It’s incredible to see Insider continue to thrive amongst so much uncertainty, working with more than 1,200+ customers from some of the world’s best-loved brands, including Singapore Airlines, Estée Lauder, Samsung, Allianz, Virgin, Toyota, L’Oreal, Santander, Pizza Hut, MAC, and CNN. Through this dedicated M&A strategy, we can offer our customers more value through enhancing our already powerful platform with emerging technologies and channels.

2. More value through bigger, bolder tech

Hande Cilingir's Bloomberg TV interview

For us, now is the perfect time to seize opportunities and explore acquisitions that will extend our platform’s powerful capabilities with new and emerging technologies. We’ve already made significant strides here by acquiring MindBehind—a Meta-verified, Conversational Commerce and Messaging Platform to enhance our messaging capabilities and introduce new, innovative channels like WhatsApp. And now, we’re actively seeking new partnerships to further enhance our product roadmap to meet the evolving needs of marketing teams.

3. Good companies are still fundable

The multipliers in the market have come down, so valuations are now lower. However, good companies with good metrics are still fundable. Sequoia, one of the biggest investment funds in the world and one of Insider’s investors, said to me that even during times of economic crisis, good investors will continue to invest in good companies. 

4. Valuation rising

Insider’s incredible growth story in recent years has significantly impacted our valuation. were valued at around $1.3 billion during our series D investment round. But our numbers have skyrocketed since then: we’ve already surpassed the $1.5 billion mark, and we’re inching closer to the $2 billion milestone. This puts us in a strong position for our future IPO plans.

5. IPO on the horizon

Insider’s target is to go public in 2025 or early 2026, and we’re making sure we’re fully prepared to take this next step. Going public isn’t just about making headlines; it’s about setting a solid foundation for sustained success. So, we’re working tirelessly behind the scenes and putting all the necessary preparations in place. I believe that hitting a milestone of this magnitude is a by-product of hard work and our non-stop focus on building the most progressive technology company in the world. 

We’re gearing up for a huge next few years, especially following our recent announcement that Steve Cakebread—Legendary IPO Leader for Salesforce, Pandora, and Yext—has joined our advisory board

6. The future of tech is female

At Insider, we believe in the power of diversity and inclusion. We’re proud to have a strong representation of women in leadership positions, with 70% of our C-level and 60% of our leadership roles held by remarkable women. We were also congratulated by NASDAQ for becoming one of the only woman-founded, women-led B2B SaaS unicorns in the world. 

We trust and value the unique perspectives and strengths that women bring to the table, and we’re committed to empowering women engineers by creating more opportunities for them in the tech world. It’s a cause close to my heart, and something we’ll continue to focus on as we expand.

It takes a village…

Lastly, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone at Insider. It’s because of your unwavering dedication and relentless hustle that we’ve reached this incredible milestone. We simply wouldn’t be where we are today without your insights, creativity, and never-ending drive to be bigger, better, bolder. 

Building a company like Insider takes the power of hundreds of talented, hard-working, passionate people from around the world, and this investment news is a testament to your tenacity, dedication, and expertise. Every single one of you brings your full potential to work each day, and together we’re changing the world. Thank you. 

I’d also love to thank our partners, customers, advisors, and wider community for their unwavering trust in our platform and vision for the future. Being voted the #1 leader with the highest user satisfaction score (98/100) in G2’s Spring’23 Reports is an incredible achievement, and we’re over the moon that you love working with us as much as we love working with you. 

Gartner, Forrester, and IDC have recognized us as the #1 leader in the cross-channel marketing and customer experience space. And, most recently, we were named the #6 Best Software Company in the world by G2. We are so proud of these achievements and the hard work that has made our platform trusted by some of the top analyst firms in the world.

And finally

I’m grateful for the opportunity to share Insider’s remarkable story and shed light on our exciting journey and unique culture of innovation. Insider’s growth, product roadmap, investment, and our ongoing commitment to diversity and female empowerment have set us on a truly incredible path.

Thank you for joining us on this remarkable ride, and stay tuned for more updates, because this is just the beginning. 


Co-founder and CEO at Insider, Hande Cilingir is one of the few women leaders to have found and led a B2B SaaS company to a one billion dollar valuation. Responsible for building the world’s most progressive technology company, with 1000+ team members, representing 51 different nationalities. Under Hande’s leadership, Insider has unlocked #1 leader status everywhere with a platform loved by analysts like Forrester, Gartner, and IDC, trusted by 1,200+ of the world’s leading brands and voted ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ by G2 users. Insider recently unlocked unicorn status and NASDAQ congratulated the company for becoming one of the few woman-founded, women-led B2B SaaS unicorns worldwide. CrunchBase recently ranked Insider’s co-founder and CEO Hande Cilingir as one of the top women CEOs.