Excl: Post Quikr, co-founder Jiby Thomas launches digital marketing startup Web Butter Jam

Jiby Thomas, co-founder of online classifieds venture Quikr.com and earlier the firm's vice president for marketing, has launched his next venture, a digital marketing company called Web Butter Jam. The startup provides brands with services like web strategy and consulting, search engine marketing (SEM)/pay per click (PPC) solutions and content development services.

Mumbai-based Webbutterjam Digital Solutions Pvt Ltd, the company behind Web Butter Jam, was founded by Thomas (who is also the CEO of the company) in April this year. We tried contacting Thomas for more details on the venture, but he said that it is too early to talk about it. When we checked last, the company was looking at hiring talent in a number of areas like web designing and SEM. (more on that here).

Prior to Web Butter Jam, Thomas co-founded Quikr.com, a free classifieds site with over 26 million visitors per month, with Pranay Chulet in 2008. At the time of launch, the company was called Kijiji India, which was re-branded as Quikr.com when more investors came in. Under Thomas and Chulet, the company raised $50 million in five rounds of funding from investors Warburg Pincus, Norwest Venture Partners, Matrix Partners India, Nokia Growth Partners, Omidyar Network and eBay.

He has also had stints as senior manager - motors at eBay India and head - business operations (North) at Baazee.com. Thomas holds a BA degree in economics from St. Berchmans College, Kerala and a post graduate diploma in mass communication from Centre for Mass Media, New Delhi.

Thomas had left Quikr in November 2012. Rumours doing the rounds had claimed that his exit was over differences with the management.

Given that he was a part of the marketing team, his exit could not have come at a worse time, since Quikr is focusing heavily on marketing and using the bulk of its recently raised funds for mass media campaigns. It may be noted that Thomas continues to holds shares in the company.

At the time, Thomas had told Techcircle.in, "I have moved on and I don't think they will miss me. I continue to hold my shares in Quikr like any other employee. Quikr now has a good management team and they can do without me."

He had also mentioned that his next venture would be in the internet space and something related to marketing, "I am taking a break after 17 years of working. After that, I will start my new internet venture. I will be using my marketing expertise and you will see something there soon."

Why the peculiar name Web Butter Jam?

"Bread, butter and jam are an integral part of the diet of every growing child. Similarly, we believe the web today plays a critical role and should be a strategic inclusion in every brands marketing diet. And we have drawn inspiration from this in our brand name,' reads a message on the site.

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)