Liftoff with Jeanniey Walden · Cannes
Aubriana Alvarez Lopez of Agnitio on Starting an AI Startup and Advertising’s Coordination Tax
Who’s on this episode
Hosted by Jeanniey Walden, founder and host of Liftoff with Jeanniey Walden, recorded at Cannes.
What you’ll learn
- What gave Aubriana the confidence to leave corporate and start an AI company.
- Why founders have to get comfortable being told no.
- How a supportive network turns into both immediate and long-term success.
- What advertising’s coordination tax is, and how Agnitio removes it.
- Why AI is a revenue generator, not just an efficiency play.
Episode highlights
- 00:00Reuniting on a yacht at Cannes
- 00:41Leaving corporate to start an AI startup
- 01:00What gave her the confidence to jump
- 01:42Advice to founders: get comfortable being told no
- 02:55Why a supportive network matters
- 03:20The problem Agnitio solves: the coordination tax
- 04:20100% of proof-of-concepts became clients
- 04:40Winning budget: AI as a revenue generator
Episode summary
Aubriana Alvarez Lopez sits down with Jeanniey on a yacht at Cannes for a reunion that quickly turns into a founder’s master class. Eighteen months earlier she had a concept; in January 2025 she ripped off the band-aid, left corporate, and launched an AI startup, Agnitio, with two co-founders. What gave her the confidence to jump was living inside the industry’s pain points and being ready to make an impact she found hard to make inside a large organization. Her framing is simple: why say no when you can say yes.
Because so many emerging leaders and entrepreneurs watch the show, Jeanniey asks how you get past the fear of starting something. Aubriana’s answer is the through-line of the episode: get comfortable being told no. Talk about your idea, let people tell you it is terrible, and let that either filter and sharpen it or give you the courage to back it. Get comfortable being uncomfortable, believe in yourself, and keep going, because if founders gave up the first, second, or hundredth time they heard no, none of them would be sitting where they are today. She adds that a supportive network is not a nice-to-have. Human connection, nurturing relationships, and making introductions for others without expecting anything back is how you set yourself up for both immediate and long-term success.
Then she gets to the business. The advertising and media ecosystem, she says, has been running like an airport with no air traffic control: endless human coordination and stitching, a tax the industry has quietly paid for years. Agnitio is an operating system that sits on top of a company’s existing data platform, media platform, publisher, brand, or agency stack and orchestrates the work, turning what once took roughly 53 days and 17 people into something done in moments. The results back the thesis: she says 100% of the company’s proof-of-concept engagements have converted into long-term subscribing clients. Her closing advice on winning tight budgets is to stop pitching AI as efficiency and start pitching ROI, a revenue generator and a way to leapfrog competitors that can pay for itself in about three months, which is exactly what a CFO or CRO wants to hear.
Key takeaways
- 00:41 She had a concept in August 2024 and launched Agnitio in January 2025, leaving corporate to build an AI startup with two co-founders.
- 01:00 Her confidence came from living the industry’s pain points and being ready to make an impact that was hard to make inside a large organization.
- 01:42 The core founder lesson: get comfortable being told no; it either filters and refines your idea or builds the courage to back it.
- 02:20 Get comfortable being uncomfortable and believe in yourself; if founders quit the first hundred times they heard no, none would be where they are.
- 02:55 A supportive network matters; be a good person, nurture relationships, and make introductions without expecting something in return.
- 03:20 Advertising runs like an airport with no air traffic control; Agnitio removes that coordination tax by orchestrating a company’s existing stack, turning 53 days and 17 people into moments.
- 04:20 100% of Agnitio’s proof-of-concept engagements converted into long-term subscribing clients.
- 04:40 Sell AI as ROI, not efficiency: a revenue generator and a way to leapfrog competitors that pays for itself in about three months.
Questions people ask
Who is Aubriana Alvarez Lopez?
Aubriana Alvarez Lopez is Co-Founder and CEO of Agnitio, an AI startup she launched in January 2025 after leaving corporate. She started it with two other co-founders to solve coordination problems in the advertising and media ecosystem.
What is Agnitio?
Agnitio is an operating system for advertising and media operations. It sits on top of a company’s existing data platform, media platform, publisher, brand, or agency stack and uses AI agents to orchestrate work, turning tasks that once took roughly 53 days and 17 people into something done in moments.
What is the coordination tax in advertising?
Lopez describes today’s advertising and media ecosystem as an airport with no air traffic control: heavy human coordination and stitching things together. That constant manual handoff is a tax the industry has paid for a long time, and Agnitio is built to remove it.
How do you get comfortable starting a company?
Lopez says you have to get comfortable being told no. Talk about your idea and let people tell you it is terrible, because that either filters and refines the idea or gives you the courage to back it. Get comfortable being uncomfortable, believe in yourself, and keep going even after being told no a hundred times.
How should companies think about budget for AI tools?
Lopez says to frame AI in terms of ROI. It is not just an efficiency play; it is a revenue generator and a way to leapfrog competitors. Show how proprietary data, your team, and the technology can raise your competitive position quickly, and make the case that the investment pays for itself in about three months, which is what a CFO or CRO wants to hear.
How successful has Agnitio been?
Lopez says 100% of the company’s proof-of-concept engagements have converted into long-term subscribing clients, which she credits to her team, the technology, and the founding thesis.
Full transcript
Jeanniey Walden: I’m Jeanniey Walden, and this is another episode of Liftoff.
Aubriana Alvarez Lopez: As a founder, starting something, you have to get really comfortable being told no.
Jeanniey Walden: Welcome back. I’m here with Aubriana Alvarez Lopez. I can’t believe I’m seeing her after so long. Thank you so much for meeting me on this amazing yacht here in the middle of this gorgeous water. That’s my house over there, just kidding. So thanks so much for coming on the show. You have been a very, very busy woman. Tell us what’s been going on in your life over the last, what, year and a half?
Aubriana Alvarez Lopez: Eighteen months. So I started a company, and it’s amazing, and crazy at the same time. In August of 2024 we had a concept. I have two other co-founders, and in January of 2025 I ripped off the band-aid, jumped out of corporate, and started an AI startup.
Jeanniey Walden: Obviously AI is hot, the timing is right. What gave you the confidence to do this?
Aubriana Alvarez Lopez: That’s a great question, Jeanniey. I think it’s just, you know when things are happening and when you’re seeing the pain points in the industry and you’re kind of living in those. I was able to say, okay, I think this is a problem we’re solving, and I was also ready to really make an impact. Sometimes in a large organization it’s really difficult to do that. I learned so much and I’m so grateful for my time and tenure in those spaces, but I was ready for that next step, and it just felt like, okay, the market’s ready, the idea is something I truly believe in and can get behind. And, like, why not? Why say no when you can say yes?
Jeanniey Walden: Exactly. And I was having this conversation with someone not too long ago because there’s a lot of emerging leaders, entrepreneurs, and business leaders who watch the show and listen to the podcast, and some of them are asking, how do you know? Why should you not be afraid? What gives you the confidence to jump in and do something? I want to talk about what the company does, but what would you advise a person who has an idea to start a business that would eliminate any fears they have?
Aubriana Alvarez Lopez: I think you have to talk about it and let so many people tell you it’s a terrible idea, because as a founder, starting something, you have to get really comfortable being told no. You have to be very comfortable knowing why you believe what you believe. So either it’s going to help you filter your idea and refine it, or it’s going to help you have the courage to just say, I truly believe this is a problem we’re solving, and other people are going to see that too. Get comfortable being uncomfortable, and you have to believe in yourself. Look in the mirror and be like, okay, you got this. Because if we gave up after being told no once, twice, a hundred times, then none of us would be sitting in these seats where we are today.
Jeanniey Walden: How important is a network that supports you, that you can go to, that you can ask for help?
Aubriana Alvarez Lopez: Well, that’s how we got connected. And I think it’s so important. Human connection is really important, and nurturing those relationships and just being a good person, being a good friend, and making connections for other people without asking for something in return is setting yourself up for immediate success and long-term success at the same time.
Jeanniey Walden: Absolutely. Well, let’s talk about the business. What problem do you solve?
Aubriana Alvarez Lopez: That’s a great question, and it’s why I’m here. In the advertising and media ecosystem, we have lived in a world that’s almost like an airport with no air traffic control. There’s a lot of human coordination, a lot of stitching things together, and that is a tax the industry has been paying for a very long time. So we solve that coordination tax. We are an operating system that sits on top of a company’s data platform, media platform, a publisher, a brand, an agency, on top of all of their existing stack, and we help orchestrate those things. We take a lot of things that would take, you know, 53 days, 17 different people, months of work and handoffs and coordination, and we do those in moments.
Jeanniey Walden: I love it. And you’ve had amazing success from what I’ve been seeing and hearing. Everybody is just buzzing about what you’re doing, what the company is solving for.
Aubriana Alvarez Lopez: We’ve had 100% of our proof of concept turn into long-term subscribing clients, and that’s a huge win and a testimony to my team, to our tech, and also to us and our thesis, right, where we started. I love helping people and solving problems, and we’re really excited to continue doing that.
Jeanniey Walden: So what’s your best advice for someone looking to get a hold of that elusive budget that everybody is tightly grabbing on to right now?
Aubriana Alvarez Lopez: I think it’s thinking about it in terms of ROI. A lot of people are thinking about AI tools and technology as simply an efficiency play, but it’s really not. It is a revenue generator and a way to leapfrog competition. So when you think about how to use these tools and technology to actually change the competitive landscape and rise above really quickly, that’s what we’re seeing. How do I use all of my proprietary data, my team, and our technology, and elevate that really quickly? Because that’s what your CFO wants to hear, that’s what your CRO wants to go out and sell. So go beyond the efficiency play and showcase, hey, I think we’ll make up this investment in three months. That’s a great sell.
Jeanniey Walden: It has been so wonderful having you on the show, and I can’t wait, hopefully not as long next time.
This conversation was recorded at Cannes and lightly edited for readability.
Watch the full conversation
More candid conversations with the executives shaping marketing, media, and commerce.