Edison Venture Fund Completes Investment in Operative

Fuels Growth of New York-based Internet Advertising Technology Company

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, January 5, 2006… Edison Venture Fund today announced the completion of a $4.5 million investment in Operative. Based in New York City, Operative provides Business Process Management (BPM) tools – developing products and services to streamline online advertising operations for publishers and agencies. Edison is the sole institutional investor in this rapidly growing, later-stage company. The proceeds will fund expansion of development, marketing, sales and services.

“After almost two years of diligence in this space, it became clear to us that Operative stands alone as the leader in the BPM segment for interactive advertising,” stated Chris Sudgen, Edison Principal. “Operative possesses three key criteria that we look for in every investment: consistent growth and profitability, market leadership in their industry, and a management team that draws on years of experience from an array of industries.”

As the premier provider of ad operations solutions with a focus on software, outsourcing, and professional services, Operative has been at the forefront of the online advertising industry’s growth. The company’s software, called Operative Dashboard, provides transparency and optimization tools for inventory management decisions, enabling interactive publishers to build and manage high volume operational tasks from proposal and ticketing generation to yield management and billing. Operative’s integrated outsourced ad operations offering, called Operative Traffic, allows clients to scale effectively and focus on their core business. Operative’s Professional Services consulting arm leverages Lean and Six Sigma principals with industry best practices to streamline workflow and integrate proven business methodologies.

“Edison has deep investment experience in companies that combine software development and services. This is a key reason why we chose to partner with them,” said Michael Leo, CEO of Operative. “We’re excited to begin this partnership and work with Edison as we continue to grow our business.”

Edison has invested in more than 20 companies specializing in web-based business applications. Active portfolio companies in these segments include Archive Systems, Cadient, CorrectNet, Gain Capital, Maptuit, Portable Internet, TrueCommerce, USAData, VirtualEdge and Vocus. Over the last year, Edison has invested in three other New York-based companies including eChalk, Edgetrade, and Pinnacle Taxx.

Mr. Sugden will serve on Operative’s Board of Directors. Tom Vander Schaaff and Ryan Ziegler led Edison’s due diligence process.

About Operative
Operative enables interactive publishers and agencies to meet the demands of an increasingly dynamic Internet marketplace and to improve their bottom lines by providing expert management of ad operations through their industry-leading technology and truly obsessive service. Operative’s flagship subscription-based software – accessed by clients via the Operative Dashboard, an ASP software solution – automates the entire ad operations process, from insertion order through trafficking, campaign optimization through CRM, with sales force automation built in. Headquartered in New York City with its international base in London and offices around the world, Operative provides a full range of outsourced ad operations to many of the world’s leading media companies including The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, MSN, Omnicom, and WPP. For more information, please visit: http://operative.com.