Tell us your name and a little about yourself.
My name is Giovanni Punzo, people call me Gio. I’m a Miami-based entrepreneur. I started my career by helping people get on the internet in its early days – and that’s how I fell for the world of technology. Since then, I’ve worked with other disruptive companies doing voice recognition technologies and streaming, until I finally co-founded with Antonio Calderon a company called Streann Media, an innovative SaaS platform that empowers content providers around the world. Now I work as its CEO.
What exactly does your company do?
Streann enables anyone to build their own Netflix or Spotify. That’s important, considering how consumers love videos. After all, YouTube is one of the most popular apps on the Internet! So whether you are a media company or a content creator, we can help you adapt the content business model and give your audience the interactive experience it craves. Whether using a TV or a smartphone, we make sure that the viewers can enjoy, interact, and play.
What were the biggest challenges you have faced and how did you overcome them?
The challenge is scaling faster as we have technologies that everyone should use. We’ve had revenue growth year over year, that comes down to hard work and innovation. As the Streann team grows, it can be difficult to ensure that all processes are fully effective. So we learned that with expansion, you need to pay more attention to how you manage all that.
Then there’s the fact that in the world of technology, everything changes with the blink of an eye. You can never become complacent, quite the contrary. You need to try to be five or 10 years ahead of everyone else in your industry. Luckily, I share my vision with my co-founder. There’s always the motivation to improve, and explore; we believe we’re on a mission to save the broadcasting industry, so we live every day with that mission in mind. It doesn’t even feel like we’re going to work – we’re just enjoying it so much.
What piece of advice do you wish someone had given you at the start of your career?
Start earlier. I’ve heard this so many times that it has almost become a cliché, but I still wish I had kept it in mind more.
I also learned that it’s crucial to find the right partners, whether it’s a co-founder or a team member so that you don’t go through things alone. I have an incredible family that is very supportive, but still, starting a company can be a very lonely process. When you have someone who shares your vision, you’re gonna get there faster – and together, it’s easier.
Who are your biggest influences and people you admire and why?
Gary Vaynerchuk. He is a media superstar. He’s shaking up the media and content market with out-of-the-box thinking and uses social media to build long-term brand strategies. He’s been a very influential figure for me and the entire organization. His approach is similar to what we’re trying to do and he believes in the same idea – that if you have quality content, you should make sure it gets seen!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are?
Definitely my co-founder Antonio Calderon. We are opposites – he’s the product guy and I’m on the business side. But this has been instrumental to the company’s success. Our biggest achievement besides getting paid customers, it has been getting our first investor – we had to knock on a hundred doors and finally, we got one to open. We’re like Batman and Robin. But the cool thing is that sometimes I’m Robin and sometimes he is – and having that powerful balance is amazing.
What do you see as your greatest success in life?
Built 7 Figure Milion Businesses and empowered teams to innovate. It’s been a lot of fun and seeing the direct impact makes me very happy. Then, of course, my family – they fill me with joy, and I couldn’t be prouder of them.
How can people follow your journey? Please list your social media URLs
My LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/punzo/
My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giovannipunzo/?hl=en
Streann Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/streannmedia/?hl=en
TikTok: http://vm.tiktok.com/ajqeuK/
Also, we are soon launching our podcast, so stay tuned for that!
