Antonios Sarhanis is a co-founder of Adnuntius, a SaaS platform that provides advertising technology solutions to advertisers and publishers the world over.
Since 2016, Adnuntius has consistently innovated in providing a platform for digital advertisers and publishers to establish an independent, transparent and direct relationship, bypassing intermediaries and bringing trust back into the relationship.
For more details, visit their website here.
Here we sit down with Antonios, to know a bit more about his journey as an entrepreneur.
Q. What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
Antonios: The joy of creating something is my key driver. It’s an exciting sink-or-swim state of affairs that always keeps things interesting.
Q. How did you get started?
Antonios: I was beavering away in the precursor to our current company when discussions were had between me, some local co-workers here in Melbourne, and others in Norway.
We saw an opportunity to splinter off from our previous company and go our own way. Despite the geographical distance between us, we knew we could work together to build something compelling and had a bunch of business contacts already established.
We thought we could make something great with such an opportunity. Seven years later, we’re still delivering.
Q. What was your biggest startup challenge and what did you learn from overcoming it?
Antonios: Our biggest challenge was pivoting.
The primary use case for our software platform was no longer so common and it was limiting our ability to sell. We had to turn with the industry and pivot in order to attract a far larger share of the advertising market.
So we pivoted, quite elegantly given the technical hurdles, and have attracted a much larger share of the addressable market, particularly in Norway where our primary business functions are run.
Q. What is the most memorable thing you’ve done since you started your business?
Antonios: Getting Norway’s largest publisher, Schibsted, on board was a key milestone.
This put the stamp of approval on our pivot, verifying our value proposition, and meant we could concentrate on fleshing out our new direction.
Q. What is one book you recommend, and why?
Antonios: The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz.
The book is easily the best one about company management going around. It provides no easy answers, no bromides. It’s just a bunch of practical advice about how to manage and the inevitable trade-offs that abound.
Q. What are your top 3 favourite online apps, tools, or resources and what do you love about them?
Antonios: I’m pretty simple and just use the Google suite of products to organise myself and the company. For organising ourselves as a team, we use a bunch of standard tools: Notion, Slack, GitLab, Trello.
None are particularly revolutionary or compelling.
My advice is: don’t waste time digging up tools or resources! They are not going to solve anything important.
Q. In terms of legacy, what is the mark you’d like to leave on the world?
Antonios: I don’t worry so much about legacy and just think about the problems that are in front of me. Solving these immediate problems elegantly has its own intrinsic value and leaves things in a better place than before.
Q. In one sentence, what’s the best advice you’d give to someone just starting out on their entrepreneurial journey?
Antonios: Get good at something first – don’t pursue a business dream before you know at least one thing very well.
To keep up to date with Antonios and his journey, connect with him at https://adnuntius.com/