Although information has always been a vital resource, it has never been more available or highly regarded than it is now. As a result, protecting confidential information is one of the key responsibilities of businesses and organizations. Companies risk losing customers and the trust of their clients if they fail to do so when a data breach occurs. No trust equals no business.

Fortunately, companies such as Mattia Fosci's ID Ward were founded in recent years that use artificial intelligence (AI) to enable media publishers to engage better and monetize their audiences while preserving user security, privacy, and transparency. This mission-driven company, in particular, became a game-changer for publishers, advertisers, and consumers since it provides a more secure internet that uses its computing tools without cookies and without collecting personal data.

Here is how Mattia is winning the game by solving any technical puzzle to drive change.

The First Steps

Mattia Fosci was born and spent his childhood in Italy. From his early years, Mattia was a curious child who frequently challenged social norms and was regarded as a free spirit. It was obvious that he had leadership skills and an openness to new experiences and challenges.

In School, Mattia was known as a good student, willing to put in long hours and many sleepless nights to achieve his goals.

Mattia wanted to understand how the world works, so he devoted his time and energy to studying Political Science and Government at the University of Cagliari. His hard work and hunger for knowledge were demonstrated by the remarkable success of reaching a score of 110/110 and obtaining a degree with final honors (cum laude).

Since Mattia wanted to be a diplomat, he studied hard and won a competition to become a trainee in Italy's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He gained significant professional experience, but he soon realized that working for the Italian Foreign Affairs Ministry won't help him change the world the way he had imagined.

This inspired Mattia to continue his education at the University of Cagliari, where he enrolled in International Relations. Once again, his learning skills paid off as he graduated with the greatest honors and successfully mastered the field.

But even his master's degree wasn't enough to quench Mattia's trust for knowledge! After completing his doctoral studies at the University of Nottingham in International Law and Legal Studies, Mattia wanted to contribute to the world. His doctoral thesis proposed unconventional solutions to climate change, making him popular in academic circles and among other peers.

Mattia's status and impeccable networking skills helped him advance quickly into the business world. He kept working hard, changing positions and companies until he decided to take matters into his own hands - become the founder and CEO of his own company, ID Ward.

The Importance of Having Clear Vision

The long years of obtaining degrees paid off in the end, as Mattia managed to land a solid job right off the bat! The Italian Foreign Affairs Ministry marked the start of his career; however, his passion for politics soon led him to another direction - the content and media industry.

While he wasn't that interested in becoming a public face, Mattia definitely was intrigued by the human mind and how people consumed content in the real world. As expected, he started brainstorming and coming up with new ideas on how he could influence this business sector.

His passion for innovation led him to become a founder of a web and mobile app that lets people rate, share and discover media content in a new way. This allowed Mattia to reshape the modern business model and cooperate with industry veterans who wanted to improve their online presence.

Next, he joined research consulting and worked on improving the business processes of scientific communication. He wanted to do more with his life and contribute to testing the value proposition of open science products and building bridges between investors and research.

Being the innovator he is, Mattia has long been worried about the misuse of personal data in the media and the influence of hyper-personalization on how people perceive their environment.

Mattia discussed the issue with Denys Demchenko, Co-Founder, Chief Technology Officer & Board Member (CTO), and looked at how technology may be applied to give people more control over their data. In January 2019, they had the concept for ID Ward. When Google declared changing advertising rules, ID Ward started helping firms personalize their content.

Mattia and his close associate Denis Kiiashko expanded ID Wards into the ad tech sector and developed a new standard for privacy and digital advertising, reshaping the future of numerous brands, publishers, and investors.

Fortune Favors the Brave

From various concepts on scrap paper and countless discussions, Mattia and Denys saw the beginnings of something monumental that would impact the world in the digital advertising industry. Mattia and Denys both had a strong interest in user privacy and security; therefore, they decided to establish a successful next-generation technology for cookieless advertising.

Established in 2019 with great eagerness and desire for change, ID Ward is a mission-driven company based in London and Barcelona. It enables advertisers to discover the interests of their audiences without having access to customers' personal information.

Mattia always felt that a successful business is built upon people's trust. That's why transparency with clients and protecting users' privacy are at the core of the company mission, vision, and business model.

One of Mattia's biggest achievements early on was successfully signing contracts with major publishers and companies like EasyJet. Additionally, ID Ward initiated product testing, expanded the team, and assembled a prestigious advisory board.

The company's biggest challenges still revolve around market positioning, reducing the sales cycle, and generating capital. Mattia knew that the appropriate strategy for startups is to be flexible and agile because almost all of these things take longer than anticipated to resolve. His ability to respond quickly to market events gave ID Ward one of its crucial strengths over larger corporations.

ID Ward: Funding

Mattia and Denys both wanted the general public to profit from their invention. However, neither had any notion of how to establish a business.

Not being able to provide the finances themselves, the passionate entrepreneurs turned to external funding. They spent much of their time discussing the intricacies of privacy regulation and the opportunities of a cookieless web world while reaching out to investors.

Currently, the company has two major investors - BlackSheep Ventures and SyndicateRoom. The platform has raised €1.1M to grow its product and marketing teams and embrace acceptance of its privacy-focused, decentralized advertising technology.

As publishers and marketers desperately try to deal with the sunsetting of third-party cookies and device IDs, more investors see the potential long-term solution of ID Ward and pitch in.

ID Ward: Social Impact

Moving forward, ID Ward is competing to redefine the regulations governing online marketing and business practices. The company creates a world where companies are not constantly watching customers, personal data is not a market, and people have more control over their digital identities and experiences.

They achieve this by collaborating with some of the largest media agencies, companies, and publication networks that recognize the uncertain nature of digital advertising's future. As a result, they can provide effective advertising with high ROI without delving into the personal information of millions of customers.

This way, a new, open marketing ecosystem may be built on adopting an independent solution based on anonymous data.

ID Ward: What The Future Holds

Today, ID Ward is based in London and Barcelona, with over 15 employees. The company continues to work full steam and is committed to creating socially impactful businesses.

The success achieved in the company's first three years does not stop Mattia from looking ahead. He's optimistic about the future, as seen from the new ideas and products the company launches.

Mattia and his team's latest project is developing a new baseline for protection and online advertising. The product can be a game-changer since it provides walled garden-level targeting accuracy, retargeting, and accountability without cookies or gathering personal information.

Mattia is developing strategic collaborations with chosen brands, agencies, and publishers and is supported by some of the business's top people. Moreover, as the founder and CEO of ID Ward, Mattia leads a wonderful team of programmers, data scientists, and innovators.

Investing and expanding the team is crucial for Mattia, as is resolving problems by quickly responding to change in the digital world.

For Mattia, protecting the audience by providing a solution for brands and publishers to respect consumer privacy has always been the most important thing. From helping customers to protect their digital identity to assisting companies in reaching target audiences, Mattia proved that determination and passion are the driving forces behind every business.