Few people experience a tech company's entire journey from startup to scale and even fewer choose to stay through every chapter of change.
Steve, VP APAC, and Stephanie, Senior Manager Customer Success, are two who have.
Few people experience a company’s growth from its earliest days through to global scale – and even fewer do so across different regions, roles, and chapters of change.
We sat down with Steve, VP APAC (Australia team, 12 years at Adthena), and Stephanie, Senior Manager, Customer Success (10 years), to reflect on standout moments, what’s endured, and what still excites them about the journey ahead.
Steve: Hitting our first $1 million stands out most to me. That happened around the same time as we hired our first sales rep. The feeling of pride, and that sense of identity as a brand, was really strong – it was one of those moments that stays with you.
Just as meaningful was establishing our own office space for the first time and hiring specialists. Our office today is incomparably better, but it can’t quite compete with that feeling back then; at the time, having that space felt like a big milestone for us.
Stephanie: For me, having the Global Company All Hands in person in London was incredibly memorable and so much fun. We truly are a family here at Adthena, so finally meeting our overseas colleagues was really special – I’ll remember it, always.
It was something our previous CEO, Founder & Board Member, Ian O’Rourke, had talked about for a long time, so seeing it come to fruition felt especially meaningful.
Stephanie: Without a doubt, our company culture. We still have the startup heart, drive, and determination that we had all those years ago in Shoreditch.
That shows in how we work today: we hire incredible people and treat them like adults by offering freedom with responsibility. The people we work with are the threads that weave our culture, and that freedom creates a healthy work-life balance. That’s hard to find elsewhere.
A decade of growth – from early team socials to today
Steve: Commitment to the journey. We’re elite at what we do – both as a product and service, and in how we support people day to day.
For me, it’s a little different, since I was the day one ‘Adthenian’ in APAC. But I can honestly say the core hasn’t changed. Our focus was always on excellence, integrity, perspective, kindness, and life balance – and it still is.
From Adthena’s first APAC Search Award to hosting a 100-person event by the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House – milestones across the journey.
Steve: A belief in what we do and a commitment to life balance. It still surprises me sometimes that we’ve managed to hold onto the initial values as we’ve grown – but we have, and I’ll always want to keep making it better.
Alongside that, the fun matters too – whether that’s seasonal events, or just a bit of light-hearted office competition. Those moments make a real difference.
Sydney Christmas celebration – the AUS team marking the holidays together.
Stephanie: The culture and company vision are a huge part of what’s kept me engaged all these years. I really value working in a place where people are thoughtful, collaborative, and genuinely open to feedback. That kind of environment makes it possible to do meaningful work and keep growing over time – and I’ve definitely learned a lot along the way.
What continues to inspire me is being able to help build something sustainable, whether that’s developing people, improving how we work, or contributing to longer-term strategy. I’ve always felt a strong sense of ownership here – that what I do matters – and that feeling of impact and belonging has stayed with me throughout my journey.
Stephanie: We’re in an industry that’s very hot and likely to stay that way for a long time, given how quickly the way people search for information is evolving.
Right at the centre of that is AI – the topic of so many conversations, whether you work in Search or not. We have a real opportunity to be actively part of that conversation, helping our clients make business decisions in an industry that can often feel opaque.
At the same time, our strength is our data – it’s the moat that protects us. Being able to build on that and branch into additional value-add areas is what’s going to propel us into a really exciting space.
Steve: I think, in many ways, most things will stay the same. When PMAX launched, people thought the world was about to collapse – and it didn’t. Nothing changed about how we supported our customers.
AI Search will be similar. The most important thing for marketers to remember is that data is the distilling ingredient in all of the AI noise. Six months from now, it’ll probably feel like this is how things have always worked.
From building an empty office into a global presence, to preserving a tech startup culture rooted in trust and balance, Steve and Stephanie’s reflections highlight different chapters of the same story. Together, they show that sustainable employee retention isn’t just about growth – it’s about people choosing, year after year, to grow with it
