Mention

Mention operates as a comprehensive platform for real-time media monitoring and social media management, having been developed within the Paris-based startup studio Hexa (formerly eFounders). The company was founded in 2012 by Thibaud Elziere, a serial entrepreneur who also co-founded the stock photography marketplace Fotolia and the startup studio eFounders itself. The initial code for Mention was written in November 2011 by Arnaud Le Blanc, who worked alongside Edouard de la Joncquière to develop the tool. Their efforts led to an official co-founding in 2013, by which point the platform had already amassed 50,000 users.

The venture was born from Elziere's own experiences and frustrations while building his previous companies, identifying a need for a more effective way to track online conversations. This background in creating solutions for real-world business problems is a core part of the eFounders philosophy, which builds new companies by identifying market needs, providing an initial idea, and recruiting a founding team to execute it. Following its inception, Mention secured $800,000 in a seed funding round in March 2013 from investors including Alven, Point Nine Capital, and eFounders. A significant milestone occurred in August 2018 when Mynewsdesk, a provider of a digital PR platform, acquired Mention, aiming to create a global leader in real-time web and social listening for small and mid-sized businesses.

The company's business model is based on a Software as a Service (SaaS) subscription, offering tiered plans to a diverse client base that includes enterprises, marketing agencies, and small to medium-sized businesses. The platform allows users to monitor millions of online sources in over 42 languages, including social networks, blogs, forums, and news sites. Clients can set up alerts for keywords related to their brand, competitors, or industry and receive real-time updates through a unified dashboard. Key functionalities include social listening, competitive analysis, crisis management, and social media publishing. This enables organizations to track brand reputation, measure the impact of PR campaigns, engage with their audience, and gather market intelligence directly from online conversations.

Keywords: media monitoring, social listening, reputation management, brand tracking, SaaS, competitive analysis, social media management, PR analytics, real-time alerts, market intelligence