Location intelligence has become an important but crowded sub-sector of local media and commerce. When it comes to value for retail brands, marketing tactics are all about driving (and measuring) foot traffic. This is where Paris-based location marketing and analytics company Teemo continues to innovate.

As we discussed with CEO Benoit Grouchko on the latest episode of Heard on the Street, the company works with multi-location brands like JoAnn Stores to boost return on ad spend by growing physical foot traffic. And it sees a  5-10% boost in footfalls from its "drive-to-store" marketing platform.

"When you look at retail, grocery, restaurants and auto... the vast majority of their business happens in physical locations," said Grouchko. "So, all the investment in marketing is to drive store traffic and sales. So we call it a 'drive-to-store' marketing platform because we've really built it to maximize that KPI."

We also talked to Grouchko about important lessons he's learned in the process of launching Teemo and securing funding from top-tier VC firms like Index Ventures. In short, it's important to avoid the common trap of seeking venture funding as a silver bullet. Several questions should be asked first.

"The first question is, 'Do you need VC money?'" asserts Grouchko. "It really depends on the company and the opportunity you're after, and about what you're going to do with that money... How is this going to help you grow faster and generate more value than what you'd [generate] without it?"

Check out the episode above, find out more about Heard on the Street, and see our entire episode archive here. Contact us if you'd like to sponsor an episode.