About us
Overview
Factal is a breaking news technology company that helps the world's largest organizations protect people, avoid disruptions and expedite disaster relief when global events put them at immediate risk.
Founded in 2018, Factal is the only company that combines instant social media discovery with trusted verification in a single platform. From outbreaks and active shootings to wildfires and severe weather, Factal blends AI technology with a 24/7 newsroom of experienced journalists to enable global organizations to see precisely where and how they're at risk in real time. Learn how Factal works.
Factal is trusted by many of the world's largest companies, technology platforms, newsrooms and NGOs for security, business continuity, crisis communications, disaster response and content verification. We provide our service for free for humanitarian aid NGOs and fact checkers. See our solutions and integration partners.
Based in Seattle with a London office, Factal was created by the founders of BreakingNews.com at NBC News. Scroll down to learn about our mission, team and investors. Interesting in learning more? We'd love to hear from you.
Mission
Factal is a news organization founded on a public service mission to protect people from imminent harm and help those in immediate need. We work hard to earn your trust through high standards in our code of ethics.
Our Story
Most startup stories begin with an idea. Factal's story begins with another organization called Breaking News.
Team
Charlie Tillinghast, co-founder and CEO
charlie@factal.com
Charlie was the President & CEO of MSNBC Interactive, LLC. where he chartered the formation of Breaking News as an internal startup under a separate brand. During Charlie's 13-year tenure, msnbc.com was consistently the #1 news site, as measured by unique users. Following Microsoft's 2012 divesture of its stake in the MSNBC joint venture, Charlie served as CEO of a video content security company in England; and later as CEO of Seattle-based Mixpo, Inc., a digital advertising platform that was acquired by Netsertive. Charlie is the 2015 recipient of Geekwire's Hire of the Year award. He has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Brown University.
Ben Tesch, co-founder and VP of technology
ben@factal.com
Ben was the co-founder, technical director and creative director of Breaking News, leading the technology and design teams. Earlier at NBC News, he was the manager of the Labs Group, an R&D group of developers and designers tasked with conceptualizing new products and businesses. Prior to NBC, Ben led the design and front-end development of Minnesota Public Radio and its network of websites for stations and programs, which won multiple Edward R. Murrow awards during his tenure. He also led the initial design and front-end development of American Public Media and its network of programs websites, one of which received a George Foster Peabody Award.
Cory Bergman, co-founder and VP of product
cory@factal.com
Cory was the co-founder and general manager of Breaking News. Earlier at MSNBC Interactive (msnbc.com), he worked as the director of new product development, identifying and fostering innovative product efforts. Prior to msnbc.com, Cory led the digital team at KING TV in Seattle, winning the highest national awards for a local TV site. Separately, he co-founded and built hyperlocal site MyBallard.com, which won a national Online Journalism Award; and Lost Remote, a popular media blog acquired by AdWeek. Prior to his work in digital, Cory covered breaking news for NBC News as an assignment editor and field producer. He has an MBA from the University of the Pacific.
Tyler Adams, director of marketing and community
Tyler is an experienced B2B marketer and public relations practitioner. He began his career in community management for Newsvine. Later, he served as Director of Community for NBC News Digital's family of websites. He's an alumnus of Goucher College - but graduating from Garfield High School comes up a lot more in Seattle.
Awais Ahmad, editor
Awais is a Pakistani-born multimedia journalist with a diverse background in media production. He was most recently an assistant editor at Corum Group, where he produced and edited their monthly and weekly webcasts and assisted with the production of the monthly podcast. He has previously interned at National Geographic Partners and Voice of America and has fellowship experience with Meridian International Center and TRT World. He graduated from American University with a BA in Journalism in December 2019.
Amanda Aldrich, developer
Amanda is a developer based in rural Idaho. After graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in Computer Science, she worked as an AI specialist and, more recently, as a full stack developer, before joining Factal. When not at her laptop, you can find Amanda out snapping photographs or working with the animals on her small farm.
Brooke Barker, business operations manager
Before joining Factal, Brooke assisted in Pediatric Anesthesia traveling to dental offices throughout Western Washington. She now handles day to day business operations and all things human resources for Factal. Outside of work, you'll find her adventuring with her family and working towards living a more regenerative lifestyle.
Agnese Boffano, editor
Agnese is a journalist with previous work experience in the NGO and human rights sector. She graduated from City, University of London, with an MA in International and Broadcast Journalism. Her area of expertise lies in the Middle East, with a particular focus on Israel-Palestine. She speaks five languages – English, Italian, Spanish, Swedish and Arabic.
Rebecca Bratek, senior editor
Rebecca was most recently a producer on CBS News' social team, where she managed the network's flagship accounts, produced videos and wrote on a variety of topics. Prior to that, she was an editor for Breaking News, where she focused on politics and helped plan coverage of the 2016 election. She has an MA from the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism in New York and a BA in English from the University at Buffalo.
Jaime Calle Moreno, editor
Prior to joining Factal, Jaime worked as a content producer for a broadcast/radio media company in London, UK. Initially, he began working as a journalist in Kolkata, India, where he wrote articles for a local newspaper. He has a Bachelors in history from George Washington University where he also worked as a Research Assistant, and most recently received a masters distinction in International Studies from SOAS University. Jaime speaks four languages fluently, and in his spare time, he works on publishing his first historical novel.
Dave Clark, marketing strategist and producer
Dave is a digital marketer with a background in building communities around sports and news. Previously he worked at Reign FC, Newsvine, and founded Sounder at Heart. He is a peacetime veteran who served as an Arabic linguist in the 5th Special Forces Group. When he's not writing marketing copy he's writing about soccer, flavor, and rolling 20s.
Jessica Fino, editor
Jessica is a journalist who has worked for financial newswires and trade publications in the financial and educational sectors for the past five years. More recently, she was a reporter at Press Association's local data unit, covering health and government policy stories. She graduated from London Metropolitan University in 2011 after moving from Portugal, where she is from originally.
Brian Gass, sales development manager
brian.gass@factal.com
Brian has a diverse background in designing and implementing successful sales campaigns for IT infrastructure, web design, and commercial real estate firms. Prior to launching his career in sales, Brian was a cook at a Michelin star restaurant in Manhattan and a long distance hiker, completing the 2600 mile Pacific Crest Trail. He earned a dual BSBA from Sierra Nevada University in finance & entrepreneurship. When not cooking or exploring the Cascades, he volunteers with 501 Common's Executive Service Corps.
Sheryl Goldberg, developer
With a previous career in marketing and sales, Sheryl is a software developer with an affinity for the end-users' perspective. Prior to Factal, she worked with an international EdTech organization. Sheryl lives in the Finger Lakes region of New York and enjoys boating and cooking. She has an MBA from the Kellogg School.
Andre Grant, editor
Andre was most recently a risk analyst at Youtube with previous stints at Meta and the news startup Dataminr where he helped oversee a crew of news domain experts. Before that, Andre worked as a multimedia journalist for 10 years with stints at Complex Magazine in New York and Good Magazine in Los Angeles.
Emily Hart, senior developer
After graduating with a degree in computer science and English, Emily combined her loves of technology and words as a software engineer at IDG, the company behind technology magazines such as CSO and Computerworld. She has also worked in government contracting, where she developed APIs for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and publishing.
Matthew Hipolito, editor
Matthew is a journalist from cloudy Western Washington who joined Factal as an editorial intern while a junior at the University of Washington, and now focuses on Oceania and any news involving large boats or airplanes. While he graduated with a journalism degree from UW, he did most of his learning at the Mountlake Terrace High School Hawkeye. He also has a nice camera and too many hours in Counter-Strike.
Hua Hsieh, editor
Hua is a multi-lingual journalist that relocated to London after spending most of her life in East Asia. Most recently, she graduated from the University of Manchester with a master in International Relations, after obtaining a Bachelors in broadcasting and journalism in Taiwan. Hua is fluent in Mandarin and her expertise lies in East Asia.
Carolyn Kahler, director of member success
Carolyn is a Member Success expert from Orange County, CA. Prior to joining Factal, Carolyn worked for ten years at Bloomberg as a Client Service Partner specializing in legal technology for AMLAW 100 firms and Fortune 500 companies. Carolyn is a licensed and formerly practicing attorney. She earned her J.D. at UIC John Marshall Law School.
Bada Kim, managing editor
Most recently an editor at Agence France-Presse's Asia hub in Hong Kong, Bada developed and launched the agency's first Korean-language platform focusing on misinformation. Before this, she led Dataminr's Asia desk in London, specialising in breaking news, and held roles at the Associated Press' live video desk and South Korea's Yonhap News Agency and Korean Broadcasting System, covering North Korea news.
Jeff Landset, editor
Jeff is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who has worked as a television news producer at stations in Massachusetts, Las Vegas and Seattle. He produced the coverage of a deadly Amtrak derailment that won a 2018 Murrow Award for best Newscast in the Pacific Northwest region. He has a master's degree in Broadcast Journalism from Syracuse University.
Corwin Light-Williams, mobile team manager
Corwin is a developer in Seattle, Washington. He has worked on everything from video games to biochemistry software, as well as the original Breaking News. His favorite drink is an Arnold Palmer.
Jimmy Lovaas, senior editor
Jimmy was most recently a manager at Dataminr, where he oversaw a team of domestic news domain experts and regularly supervised global coverage. Prior to that, he was an editor at Breaking News and a freelance reporter for Reuters, McClatchy, and The Seattle Times covering state and local politics, music events and crime. He's covered virtually every type of major breaking news story. Jimmy came to journalism after graduating from the University of Washington with a BA in Journalism following more than 20 years of jobs ranging from flight attendant to retail manager. He loves cats.
Halima Mansoor, senior editor
Halima is a journalist experienced in print and digital with a focus on breaking news and infographics. She was last running the international breaking news desk out of Istanbul, Turkey, at TRT World, where she was recognized for building teams and audiences. Prior to TRT World, Halima was at a national newspaper in Pakistan, in charge of the edition focusing on the complex northern region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit Baltistan and the tribal districts. Halima's work — reporting and editing — was nominated for the Online Journalism Award 2016 as part of a digital interactive special report on the Army Public School terror attack in Peshawar, Pakistan. Her reportage covers a range of topics, including terrorism, music, public health and gender rights. Outside of work, Halima is interested in rehoming strays and developing a repertoire on food commentary.
Neal Marks, member success manager
Neal is a Member Success expert from Bellingham, WA. Before joining Factal, he managed wholesale account portfolios for specialty coffee roasters in Virginia and Oregon. He has helped service industry entrepreneurs train teams, develop workflows, and launch businesses. Neal holds a Masters in International Commerce and Policy from George Mason University. He spends his free time chasing his two cattle dogs through the verdant green forests of Washington.
Martin McClellan, principal UX designer
Martin is a Seattle-based designer and writer. He co-founded the Seattle Review of Books, and published his first novel California Four O'Clock through a successful Kickstarter campaign. He was the primary designer for Breaking News for nearly six years.
James McLane, developer
James is a developer from Melbourne, Florida, who graduated from the Florida Institute of Technology with a degree in software engineering. Before working at Factal, James accumulated professional experience working in federal contracting in various areas of the government, including Veterans Affairs and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Outside of work, he enjoys weightlifting, video games, cooking, and jiu jitsu.
Mohamed Mohamud, editor
Mohamed Mohamud is a journalist, writer, and the founder of Somali Sideways, a platform dedicated to sharing authentic stories of the Somali diaspora. Through this initiative, Mohamed has fostered a global community that celebrates Somali heritage while exploring themes of identity, resilience, and belonging. His work challenges the simplified, one-dimensional narratives about what it means to be Somali, aiming to bridge cultural gaps and foster deeper understanding. As a freelance writer, Mohamed contributes to reputable outlets such as Africa Confidential and Geeska Platform, a platform offering in-depth analysis of the Horn of Africa. He is an African Union Media Fellow and has committed himself to amplifying African voices globally. His work is also housed in the libraries of Stanford University and SOAS, University of London. Mohamed holds an MSc in Politics of Conflict, Rights, and Justice from SOAS, University of London, and has traveled to over 30 countries, bringing a rich global perspective to his storytelling.
Alex Moore, senior editor
Alex was most recently a part of the Domain Experts team at Dataminr where he oversaw coverage of breaking news from regions ranging from Eastern Europe to Latin America. Prior to moving to Seattle, he worked in the policy world in Washington, D.C., studying arms control and non-proliferation. He holds a master's degree in International Conflict and Security from the Brussels School of International Studies.
James Morgan, editor
James has spent the last few years working with social media companies TikTok and Meta on Trust & Safety issues, countering the spread of disinformation, ensuring election integrity and advising on geopolitical risks associated with the CIS region. Prior to this, James was a Domain Expert at Dataminr, specializing in Russia and Ukraine, and worked as a reporter for S&P Global, focusing on the metals and mining sector in the CIS. He speaks Spanish and Russian and has an MA in interpreting and translation.
Ryan Nagle, senior developer
Ryan builds software to help others better understand and get along with the world around them. Before joining Factal, he spent time in the federal healthcare space, contributing to a variety of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services projects, including HealthCare.gov. Going farther back, Ryan's also worked at several news organizations, including Breaking News.
Ahmed Namatalla, editor
Ahmed is a reporter and editor who relocated to the US in 2017 after spending more than 13 years in the Middle East, based in Cairo and Dubai. He was a member of the Bloomberg News team that covered the Arab Spring and its aftermath across the region, writing extensively about economic crises that broke out in North Africa and the rising political and economic influence of Persian Gulf countries. He is fluent in Arabic and a graduate of Washington State University.
Ryan Ockuly, head of sales
ryan@factal.com
Ryan is a sales executive with startup, growth and management experience in security, unified communication, life safety and emergency communication. Ryan has designed, sold and managed successful delivery of technology solutions and service at the enterprise level for Fortune 1000, healthcare, education and government organizations. Prior to joining Factal, Ryan worked nine years at Alertus Technologies where he was an integral part of growth in sales, product development, partnerships and OEM channel relationships.
Elissa Olinsky, director of product
Elissa does human-centered product, research, and accessibility work from her home base in Maryland. Prior to Factal, Elissa led teams of researchers and communicators who helped make government websites and APIs meet their users' needs. She holds a Master's degree in Museum Education and had a first career at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, where she created in-museum experiences both digital and physical.
Greta Opzt, product manager
Greta demystifies data with human-centered and equity-driven approaches. They have practiced and developed these methods while working on nonpartisan voter resources at Ballotpedia, crisis services at The Trevor Project, the Veterans Affairs Health & Benefits mobile app, and other pursuits. They hold a Master of Arts in Liberal Arts from St. John's College Graduate Institute in New Mexico and a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Augustana University in South Dakota. Greta can often be found dreaming up new recipes to test out with their spouse.
Ronak Patel, member success manager
Ronak is a member success expert from Raleigh, NC. Prior to joining Factal, he was an account manager for a facilities management software company and he also has many years of managerial experience in the hospitality industry. Ronak holds a bachelors in Business Education from the University of Georgia. Outside of work, you can find him traveling with his wife or playing with his two doodles and two parrots.
Suneetha Ragupatula, developer
Suneetha is an iOS app developer based out of Dallas, Texas. She has worked in various sectors such as groceries, insurance, pharma and manufacturing. Prior to joining Factal, she worked at Amazon as an iOS Developer. Suneetha holds a Masters in Marketing Management and Bachelors in Business Management. With an interest and passion in building apps, she learned Swift and Objective C and pursued a career in the same field. In her free time she likes to draw, play with her kids and spend time with family.
Emmanuel Robi, developer
Emmanuel is a mobile app developer from Seattle, Washington. He graduated from the University of Washington in 2019. After graduating he worked as Geographic Information System Developer and Analyst at Apple, alongside building mobile applications for himself and other startups. He enjoys running, playing basketball and traveling.
Theresa Seiger, editor
Theresa is a journalist who earlier led breaking news coverage at Cox Media Group, writing about everything from celebrity news to U.S. politics. Earlier, she chased down leads as a public safety reporter in southern Alabama. She loves to hike and collect notebooks that she is definitely going to use someday.
Jillian Stampher, head of news
jillian@factal.com
Jillian is a journalist with a focus on news editing and mobile platforms. Most recently at HuffPost, she worked as a front page editor, assigning and editing evening news coverage, often as the only editor on the site. While there, Jillian helped redevelop HuffPost's editorial mobile initiatives, tracking alert analytics and coordinating the launch of push categories. Prior to HuffPost, Jillian was an editor at Breaking News, where she covered major stories from the aftermath of the Boston bombing to the Nice terrorist attack while also growing Breaking News' social platforms.
Rea-Lynne Starbird, member success manager
Rea-Lynne is a Member Success expert from Orlando, Florida. She graduated from the University of Florida. She worked at Chick-Fil-A throughout her time in school, and became passionate for providing meaningful customer experiences. She worked as a social media manager and photographer, learning to create unique content that fosters relationships and loyalty with customers. Most recently, she was the customer success manager for POS Nation.
Brian Stoots, senior developer
A long-time software developer striving to create elegant software platforms that allow humans to get things done. Before joining Factal he was involved in a diverse set of projects ranging from Public Health to Robotics. Hailing from the City of Bridges, Brian enjoys craft brewing, motorbikes, and telling stories with friends.
Joe Veyera, editor
Joe was the editor of the Queen Anne & Magnolia News, managing the news operation of a hyperlocal weekly paper in Seattle. During his tenure, the paper won the Small Business Award from the Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce. Before becoming editor, he briefly served as staff reporter for the full chain of neighborhood papers operated by Pacific Publishing. He graduated from the journalism program at the University of Washington, and served as editor of the campus newspaper, The Daily.
Irene Villora, senior editor
Irene is a multi-lingual journalist based in London who has worked for Agencia EFE and for Thomson Reuters as a visuals breaking news editor. She worked in Colombia between 2016 and 2019, where she specialised in the coverage of Latin American news and conflict in the region. More recently she worked in Poland for one year. She previously worked as a lifestyle, gastronomy and culture writer in Spain, where she's from. She graduated from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid on a full scholarship.
Vivian Wang, editor
Before joining Factal, Vivian led news coverage of the Asia-Pacific as part of the Domain Expert team at Dataminr. Her area of expertise is East Asia, and she is proficient in Japanese, Mandarin, and Cantonese. She has a BS in International Relations from Carnegie Mellon University. She grew up in Southern California and is now based in Seattle.
David Wyllie, editorial development manager
Most recently a senior journalist for BBC News, David was one of the first employees of Breaking News and a London-based editor for six years. While at Breaking News at NBC News, he was on the Emmy-winning team covering the downing of MH17. David also served as notifications editor for Sky News.
Advisors
Stephanie Clary
Stephanie Clary is the deputy editor at New York Public Radio / WNYC. She has previously held leadership roles at VICE, CNN, MIC and Breaking News. Stephanie shares a Pulitzer Prize with The Seattle Times staff for the 2010 breaking news coverage of the 2009 Lakewood police shooting. She also shares the 2016 Gannett Foundation Award for Technical Innovation with the Breaking News staff and a SPJ Northwest Excellence in Journalism award for her coverage of the 2010 winter Olympics. For her work at CNN, she shares 2019 Edward R. Murrow, Webby and Shorty awards with her team.
Mike Davidson
Mike Davidson is corporate vice president for Design & Research at Microsoft. He was previously vice president of Design at Kraken, vice president of Partnerships & Community at InVision, and spent three years building the Design & Research org at Twitter. Mike has also worked in design leadership roles at NBCNews, ESPN, Disney, as well as founding his own company, Newsvine, which was eventually acquired by MSNBC. Mike earned a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Washington and studied Creative Advertising and Management at the University of Oxford.
Steve Dowling
Steve Dowling is vice president of Communications at OpenAI in San Francisco. He began his career as a broadcast journalist, covering Washington, D.C. for CNBC and establishing the network's Silicon Valley bureau. He later served as vice president of Communications at Apple.
Hanson Hosein
Hanson Hosein is the co-founder of the Communication Leadership graduate program at the University of Washington and the President of HRH Media Group LLC, a media production and communications strategy firm. He's an award-winning documentary filmmaker and former broadcast journalist, earning an Emmy while working with NBC News in overseas conflict zones. Hanson hosts the UW's "Co-Existing with COVID-19" Public Lectures series, and leads conversations on misinformation in partnership with the UW Center for an Informed Public. He's presently intent on recalibrating the power dynamic between people and technology as Co-Principal of MIRA! — Mobilize Innovation, Reimagine Agency — a community-first approach to learning and innovation.
Investors
Factal's 2018 seed investment round was led by SeaChange Fund in Seattle with additional funding by Grubstakes, Frontier Angels, Sierra Angels, OF Partners and Dave Smith. Factal's 2021 A-Round was led by Arthur Ventures with participation by SeaChange Fund.
Press
Factal, which alerts companies of breaking news events, raises $3.3M after doubling revenue in 2020
GeekWire (June 2021)
Breaking News founders launch Factal, delivering real-time news and incident alerts to companies
GeekWire (August 2018)
This Startup Wants To Sell Verified Breaking News Alerts To Companies
BuzzFeed (August 2018)
I want bad news and I want it fast: That's the business model for Factal, a business-focused company from the founders of Breaking News
NiemanLab (August 2018)
For press inquiries, email us at hello@factal.com
View Factal's press kit here. It contains press releases, logos and product screenshots.
Jobs
Factal is hiring! Learn more about working at Factal, see our current job openings and apply.
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