Masterson is a co-founder of CampaignGrid, a D.C.-based online political advertising firm that pairs voter records to online user profiles, enabling candidates to directly reach the voters they are targeting across multiple sites on the web. How did you come up with the idea for your company?

I have a long background in online advertising, having arguably started the first Internet consulting firm in 1994. In 2007, I was a potential candidate to run for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 15th District, and I went to Washington and talked to Republicans about what they were doing in terms of online advertising for the 2008 elections. The answers I received showed there was no real commitment to online advertising, so I saw an opportunity. I chose not to run for Congress and instead set up CampaignGrid.