Small Biz

Darren Herman

IGA Worldwide
www.igaworldwide.com
New York
Age: 25

Then:
In early 2006, in-game advertising company IGA Worldwide's biggest rival, Massive, signed an exclusive relationship with Xbox manufacturer Microsoft (MSFT)—shutting IGA out of the business of serving ads in Xbox 360 games, but putting it in a prime position to profit from Sony's (SNE) and Nintendo's (NTDOY) new consoles. Founder Darren Herman helped see through a $17 million investment round—a sign the company was ready to pounce.

Now:
This year Herman got married and, though happy with how far he's taken his startup, decided to leave IGA Worldwide. And while IGA has staked claim to lucrative deals with game makers Electronic Arts (ERTS) and Midway Games (MWY), $17 million apparently wasn't nearly enough funding. In July, 2007, the company secured a $25 million Series B round of funding led by General Electric's (GE) developing technologies fund, Peacock Equity, and KTB Ventures.