Neil Sweeney – Tech Entrepreneur, Founder & CEO of Freckle IoT & Killi
Neil Sweeney is Founder and CEO of Freckle IoT and Killi. Freckle offers privacy-compliant data and agnostic measurement for brands to build deeper relationships with their consumers.
Sweeney has been widely recognized for his forward-thinking creativity and strategic entrepreneurship. He was awarded the 2007 Media Innovation Gold Medal in the field of mobile technology, was listed on Deloitte’s Fast 50 list for three consecutive years and was a two-time finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
About Neil Sweeney
Sweeney is also a much sought-after public speaker. He has appeared at the StreetFight, IAB and M1 summits, Mobile World Congress, Progress Partners investment panel, and more.
Education
Neil Sweeney received his MBA from the University of Edinburgh.
Career
Sweeney began his career in the business side of the media and entertainment sector. He was Director of Business Development and Strategy at CanWest, a Canadian communications and media company, and was appointed Senior Vice President of StreamTheWorld in 2008. Sweeney was also an owner in the company and played a significant role in developing it into the first and biggest in-stream programmatic audio platform worldwide.
After StreamTheWorld was sold in 2010, he founded JUICE Mobile, an advertising and mobile technology startup, which he also headed as CEO. Juice Mobile was named Most Promising Digital Media Company at the 2012 Canadian Digi Awards. Under Sweeney’s leadership the mobile technology and advertising company brought some of the strongest international brands into the mobile advertising ecosystem.
In 2014 Sweeney founded Freckle IoT, a data driven offline attribution company. Freckle helps companies determine the effectiveness of their media in driving customers to a physical location. It also delivers first-party data to help marketers build deeper relationships with their customers. As CEO and chief architect of Freckle’s strategy, Sweeney created a unique ecosystem of online platforms, connected devices, and location apps, that send consumer data to Freckle’s proprietary software. By analyzing the combined data, Freckle is able to give brands concrete information about the effectiveness of their advertising. Today Freckle delivers intelligence and validation of consumer data to the world’s leading brands and platforms.
In 2018, in response to the rapidly growing challenge of data privacy, Sweeney founded Killi, a mobile app that protects consumer privacy and helps users control and manage their personal data. The app enables users to select which information they wish to share in exchange for cash. Based on their personal preferences, they can enter into direct contracts with data buyers and share specific information with them on a safe blockchain-powered platform.
Philanthropy and Personal Life
Neil Sweeney is a mentor at Next36, where he assists entrepreneurs in launching and growing their startups. He also serves as advisor to more than 12 budding entrepreneurs and startup CEOs.
He is the entrepreneur-in-residence at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, which develops sophisticated treatments and assistive technologies to improve the lives of the elderly and people suffering from disabling injuries and illnesses.
Sweeney lives in Toronto with his wife and two children.
Recent News
Freckle IoT Lands Spot on Built in NYC’s List of 50 Startups to Watch in 2019
The Threat to Personal Data and How to Combat It