ABOUT THE COMPANY AND THE BEGINNINGS
Zemanta is a technology company that has changed the way brands advertise online. They are pioneers in the field of programmatic native (native) advertising. Today, they act as a key development hub within the global corporation Teads, where they use advanced algorithms to ensure that ads are as unobtrusive as possible for users and as relevant as possible.
They demonstrate that it is possible to build an ethically and technologically advanced advertising platform that supports independent media and quality journalism.
The story began in 2007 in Ljubljana, when founder Boštjan Špetičin Andraž Torijoined forces, and the breakthrough moment was the victory at the first European Seedcamp competition in London. This opened the door for them to the global investment ecosystem, gave them confirmation that their technology was world-class, and launched them to New York.
If they look back, they would probably focus more quickly on the direct monetization of technology. In the beginning, they worked a lot with tools for bloggers, but then they realized that the real value of their artificial intelligence lies in optimizing the entire advertising ecosystem on the open web.
TODAY'S TIMES AND CHALLENGES
The biggest challenge remains finding a specific technical staff that understands systems with extremely high load levels (Sistemi di alta scala). Because they process millions of requests per second, they need engineers who are not just programmers, but understand the architecture of systems in real time.
They are most excited lately integration into the Teads ecosystem after the merger with Outbrain. This step gave them access to an even larger set of top media publishers and technologies, putting their Ljubljana team at the very center of the development of tools for the “open web” (anything other than Facebook or Google).
PEOPLE, CULTURE, TEAM
“Zemantiance” is distinguished by a mixture of intellectual curiosity and pragmatism. They are a team that loves solving complex problems, but at the same time not taking themselves too seriously. When looking for new colleagues, they look for “T-shaped” professionals - people who are outstanding in their field, but at the same time understand the bigger picture of the product. They are found through strong involvement in the local tech community, Python and Go conferences, and in collaboration with faculty.
Transparency is very important to them. Have a ritual “Demo Friday”, where each team shows what they have built in the past week. This encourages pride in the work done and mutual learning.
Team building is true to tradition — from shared skiing to summer picnics. However, the most memorable moments are usually linked to their “hackathons”, where in 24 hours the craziest ideas are born, which sometimes become key parts of their product.
SOCIAL ROLE AND PUBLIC IMAGE
They are proud of their roots, so you will often meet them as lecturers at Slovenian and international technology conferences. Their main channel is professional blogs and LinkedIn, where they share knowledge of engineering and the AdTech industry. They actively support the development of the Slovenian startup community, their founders and employees often mentor young entrepreneurs, and also support events such as CoderDojo for children and various initiatives for more women in technology.
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AND FUTURE
Slovenia has a top engineering staff and an excellent quality of life, which is a magnet for talent. But we're still lagging behind in taxing stock option rewards, making it harder for companies to compete with those in Silicon Valley.
If we had a magic wand, we would simplify and cheapen the co-ownership of company employees (optional remuneration). This is the key to the circulation of capital and knowledge in the ecosystem.
Five years from now, they are seen as the leading technology engine of the combined company Teads, which defines the standards for privacy-friendly advertising in a cookieless future.
The trends that will most influence the future are artificial intelligence (AI) in creative processes and the shift to first-person data due to stricter privacy regulations (GDPR and beyond).
Their key competitive advantage is their ability to calculate the value of ad space in milliseconds in a way that delivers results to the advertiser while maintaining a good user experience for the reader.
FUN RUBRIC
If we were a musical group, they would play Progressive Rock. Complex structures, precise execution, but always with a strong rhythm that everyone understands.
The most frequently opened applications:Slack, Jira, GitHub, and — of course — the calendar.
Emojis that best describe a company?🚀 (growth), 🧠 (smart technology) and ☕ (the amount of coffee they drink).
Internal joke:All variations on the theme “it works on my machine” and endless debates about which coffee in the office is best.
CONCLUSION
Message to young people:
“Don't be afraid of global competition. In Ljubljana, you can build technology that is used by the whole world. Be curious and never stop learning.”
A lesson for the next generation:
“Entrepreneurship is not a sprint, but a marathon with obstacles. The team you build is more important than the original idea.”
And a message to all:
“The Internet is more beautiful when content is accessible to everyone, not just those within closed platforms. Support independent media, be critical of data and never underestimate the power of a small team from Slovenia that decides to change the world.”
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