Adglow at 10 - Thoughts From The Directors

In 2008 Adglow was founded by Jorge Rincon and Juan Dominguez. At the time, no one had any idea that the business would grow to serve dozens of different global markets, employing hundreds of people and working to deliver thousands of advertising campaigns.

For this post, we grabbed some time with Jorge, Juan, and Adglow's Latam founder, Ricardo, to ask them what they've learned and enjoyed in 10 years of Adglow.

Jorge Rincón - Managing Director and Co-Founder

I find very difficult to detail all the things I’ve learned from my time at Adglow - because there's too much to talk about! But for me, the best part of this trip is how it allowed me to evolve in two ways: professionally and personally.

I believe that time is the best teacher and turning 10 years old gives a clear image about the experience that Adglow has as a company in the world of social networks.This time has allowed us to grow to have many different offices around the world and more than 200 employees. But above all, now we are proud to have the confidence of some of the world's biggest brands and advertisers. For me, this is a major achievement and one that we are very grateful for. 

My other reflection as we turn 10 years old is that, personally, I wish the years wouldn't fly by so quickly!

It has been an incredible journey of good times, and together we have seen our little family grow up to what it is today.

Ricardo Reis - Latam Founder & Chief of International Operations

Adglow is 10! And I've been with the company since almost the beginning. What a journey, it's been absolutely great.

Since the beginning Adglow has grown a lot, but since I joined we have been focusing on becoming more of an international company and it's been a very good journey to transform the country from a very 'Latin' one into a more international one.

When I say international, I not only mean geographically international through opening in new markets, but also culturally more international: where our people are more acquainted with working on a global basis, adapting themselves to new cultures and the differences between operating in markets as diverse as the US, Mexico, Italy, Japan, Philippines and more.

I have learned a couple of big lessons during my time at Adglow.

I think that the most important one is that for a business people - talented people - are absolutely key. A good portion of my time is spent trying to develop skills in our people, trying to reinforce their strengths, and trying to make sure that they get a good understanding of what the company is all about so that they can develop in the best possible way. Recognising talented people is a key lesson.

The other big lesson for me is that in order to be a global company it's important to be mindful about local nuances. Even though we may have a global product and a global service, it needs to be presented and adapted in ways that local clients can relate to and feel excited about.

There are so many things about Adglow that make it a special and exciting place to work.

Adglow is a company in which we try to put together hard work and having a good time, and this has been a big part of the journey - making sure that these two things operate in balance with each other.

We are a very flexible company. The fact that we try to manage that balance of hard work and fun is very positive. We have managed to attract talented people to work with us and I really enjoy spending time with all of them.

A lot of my work is going to the many countries around the world that we operate in, and I think that everyone in Adglow's local operations does a great job of creating a unique professional and personal culture in the company that I'm very proud of.

I'm always an optimistic person about anything, and I'm particularly optimistic about the future of Adglow. At the same time, I think that drawing 10 year plans for a business like ours is a very hard thing to do. Because certainly in the next 10 years we will need to adapt and change many times. I think we're ready for that, and that's why I'm optimistic.

We're not a rigid company. The fact that we are a company that has managed to expand geographically as much as we have done, that has developed a product and a service in the way that we have done, that has built relationships with partners, clients and agencies in the way that we have done - I think this all leads me to believe that we'll keep on having success. Just don't ask me to predict what shape that success will come in - that's part of the fun of being here, watching the company evolve and change in new and exciting ways.

Juan Dominguez - CEO and Co-Founder

No one founds a company unless they are incorrigible optimists who think that nothing can go wrong and that they are going to conquer the world. But I have to confess that, as I signed Adglow's monthly payroll for the 120th consecutive time without one single day of delay, I am a little surprised.

Adglow is now ten years old. Jorge Rincón and I founded the business in the middle of the 2008/09 financial crisis, and we still don't know if that was good - for the lack of competition - or bad - for the market outlook. But the fact is that the gamble paid off and here we are celebrating a decade together!

Of course, internet years are like dog years, in that one is worth seven. We are now almost 300 people across 17 countries, we have a lot of accumulated experience, and I realize that we have made countless mistakes along the way, but probably we got it right more often than not.