It’s been way too long since the last inspiration session. And it’s not like I don’t have anyone to interview – inspiring and creative people are all around me. I finally decided to take some action and I talked to some of them to arrange a few inspirational talks. Today I want to share an interview with the founder of Apodora Shirts, Denis Sonoga. We had a really nice talk about starting your own business and it personally affected me in a really positive and motivational way. I hope I manage to transmit at least part of the energy to you with this interview.

Denis in action working on the next stage of Apodora. A creative man in action.

When I was working on my company – MyBookStore and I used my school as an office I first met Denis who was preparing to pitch his business idea to the teachers. I saw his passion and determination back then and I checked out his designs as well. I was certain he will get approved and start his business really soon.

Now, a few months later, it is already a fact – Apodora shirts is a working company making playful and cheeky designs and trying to spread some positivity and make people smile. I know how much of a struggle it is to start and develop your own business so I wanted to talk to Denis and see what he has to say on the topic.

Also, I think Apodora deserves some more attention and has a really worthy cause. And most importantly the designs are neat and I’m sure lots of you will be happy to wear them. So before I show you the quick interview we did, take a look at their website and follow their Facebook and Instagram to stay updated for new designs and products. It’s worth giving them a shot.

So let’s get to it.

Well, this is not an official part of the interview but since I am certain the name Apodora is not something random, can you tell us about the meaning of the name and how you came up with it?

Yeah, it’s not random indeed. Apodora is actually a type of snake from the python family. My girl really likes snakes and reptiles in general. When it was time to figure out the name we wanted something special but also related to the company. And since the company is focused on designs with a twist and unusual pictures we choose the name Apodora. This is a type of snake which is usually black but when it is exposed to light it changes it’s color to kind of a rainbow- every angle of light is a different color. There are some things in common with the snake and the company because my designs are also ordinary and normal at first glance but when you think about it a little bit it’s kinda twisted and not so ordinary. Also, the snake uses twisted movements so that’s another reason.

That was interesting to know! So with the name of the company cleared up, how would you introduce yourself?

My name is Denis, I’m studying Multimedia Design and Communication in Zealand. I came to Denmark because the education system here is way different than the one in my country (Slovakia). The focus here is on the practical aspect, not just theory. I like that a lot. My parents didn’t really believe in me, unfortunately – even though I was applying here my mom always wanted me to also apply in schools in Slovakia because it was certain I will get in. I finished in a really good high-school and it would be easy to get into university there, but I didn’t want that. I didn’t see a bright future for myself if I stayed there and I also wanted to try something new. So I started applying to universities abroad, first I applied to the Czech Republic but it is kinda similar to Slovakia in terms of education. The turning point was when a visitor from an agency for studying abroad came to visit our high school and that’s when I realized how many possibilities I actually have – Denmark, UK, and so on. Denmark sounded good and it is also free so I chose to give it a shot.

Denis already presented the concept of Apodora to the school and he has an upcoming presentation next week as well.

Tell us a bit more about Apodora. Why did you decide to make a company, how did it start?

It all started in the second semester – there was a project where we were given six white t-shirts and the goal was to sell them somehow. Of course, we first thought we can just sell them amongst ourselves – five people in a group, we all buy one and sell some to our friends and done –easy peasy. But of course, the school changed the rules and forbid that we sell amongst each other so we started thinking about designs that would sell well to various people. We started brainstorming and we came up with the idea of sweets because who doesn’t like sweets and chocolate? The first versions of the t-shirts were just black and white pictures of sweets – donuts, cakes, etc – printed on the shirts but that was kinda boring so we decided to add some text to make them more fun. That’s how it all started basically, we used the black and white images and the playful sentences similar to what I have now in my designs. It came out okay, to be honest, it was a good start. Our goal was to sell 6 t-shirts and can you guess how many we sold (I didn’t guess) – we sold 21. Considering that we didn’t have much exposure and any promotion, the designs were not really that good as well – we were still learning and there were some really big prints and some really small ones, I think it was quite the success. And most importantly I found out that people love the idea.

After that, we decided to keep the idea and make a company but gradually the people involved started having doubts so it kinda faded out and eventually only one of my classmates and I were still up for it. However, she also wasn’t really feeling it and being all into it so soon after the project the idea was forgotten in a way. No one was working on it and we got caught up in other projects we had to do for school.

The next semester came fast and it was the internship. I was trying to figure out where I should do it and then I found out there is the option to start my own company. I don’t really know why but I just kinda felt that this is what I should do and I should just give it a try so I decided to continue working on the t-shirt ideas and develop it as much as I can. I still believe in the idea and I’m passionate about it so it’s the perfect opportunity.

The first designs that started the idea of Apodora

What is the end goal of Apodora?  

Well, the big idea behind the company is that I want to help other people. Ever since I started working on my stuff my idea was to keep some of the money but donate most of it to charities and people who need support. Of course, now the company is quite small I’m not at all there yet but that’s why I’m trying to build it up and eventually be able to help others with what I am doing.

I believe that we are all here in this world to help each other and of course, it all starts with helping yourself – you can’t help others if you can’t help yourself. I also like the process, I like what I’m doing and I like how it is being done, I enjoy it so I want to keep going and pushing it further and further and see where it can lead me. I also want to show the people who did not believe in me that I am able to do it and I can accomplish a lot. Honestly, this is why my entire journey started so it is still one of my goals to prove to everyone and to myself that I have what it takes to succeed. This has always been part of my life. Even the translation of my hometown in Slovakia means “exit” and everyone has always considered us to be the “exit” of the country so it has an impact on my mentality. I even remember once while I was in high school and we were on a trip we were having a conversation with the prime minister – even though our school is the best in the country and has the best results the prime minister himself didn’t know where it is. This is really upsetting to me and I can’t accept it honestly.

Do you have any other projects in mind right now?

I started with just white t-shirts with my graphics and the playful text on them but now I’m working on some more stuff. Yesterday I launched phone cases with some of the designs. For now, I only have them for iPhones but I’m currently working on launching cases for Samsung devices as well.

Honestly what comes next all depends on the audience and the customers. Apodora is a customer based company and I do what the potential clients want to see and what they ask for. I’m currently thinking about black shirts, sweatshirts, and backpacks but that’s all for the future of course. I also have new designs on mind which I need to develop.

Some of the phone case products which are available in the shop of Apodora!

What about your inspiration? Where do you find the inspiration for your designs?

It’s all in everyday life. I just walk around and the ideas come spontaneously. For example the size matters illustration– it’s a world famous saying and people use it all the time but when you add a funny and playful design to the saying you get a completely new thing. I just connect the different things – objects from everyday life with frisky sentences.  It’s all about the creative twist to the everyday life I think.

Inspiration is everywhere if you look around indeed!

Do you have any particular people or artist you look up to?

I would say Gary V is a big inspiration for me. Especially in the entrepreneurial field.

I listen to his podcasts and watch his videos a lot and it really gives me the motivation I need. I definitely can find myself in his quotes and his mindset – we think in a similar way and I guess this is why he inspires me so much. If I am struggling with something I can always find the answer and the help I need in his podcasts. The thing is he will never say something which he is not 100% sure about or which he hasn’t experienced. He is super honest and he just shares things from his experience – what worked for him and what didn’t, what did he learn and so on. Most motivational speakers just give you advice but there is nothing behind what they are saying – no understanding and no story, no way for you to be sure if it is true or not, they just speak but they don’t tell. I think this is what makes Gary V different and more impactful.

What advice would you give to someone trying to start his own business?

Just start.

Don’t overthink it. It is simply impossible to predict everything and “be prepared”. I have been thinking about starting Apodora since December and trying to make a detailed plan of what I should do with each step of the development. This doesn’t work. Everything changes just like that for a second and all your plans go to hell. The only way to make progress is to start and go with the flow, adapt and overcome. There will be changes for sure and things will not go as smooth as you would want them to but that’s the beauty of it. As many people say – you need to fail to your success. It’s unavoidable but the important thing is to learn from the experience and he changes.

You also need a strong why. A solid reason of why you are doing it, why are you starting the business. And if your reason and goal is money then you already failed. If there is no passion and no real goal behind your actions things get difficult.

Was there a mistake on the way that taught you something important?

There were definitely lots of mistakes on the way and everything thought me something. As I said you succeed by failing – every time something goes wrong you learn something out of it and do it better next time.

For example, when I started I spent lost of time overthinking everything including the designs. Because there are so many ways to create them based on the idea I have it took a long time to find the right style, colors, placement of illustrations and so on. As I said before it’s all up to the potential clients so the only way to do it was to just go for it, try it out and see the result. Some things will work and some won’t but in order to find out the right ones you need to start doing it and putting it out there. Instead of overthinking the designs I could have just asked my audience and this would have saved me lots of time and energy.

There were lots of other mistakes and struggles of course, from choosing a partner for dropshipping to problems with the legal stuff, bank accounts and so on. The list is endless but I think it’s unavoidable, it’s never really smooth and easy. I was listening to one podcast with Mark Zuckerberg and someone asked him how to avoid the mistakes he has made. His answer was that people shouldn’t try to avoid mistakes but do as much as they need to in order to learn and improve. And I really agree with that.

Was there a moment where you wanted to give up?

There were lots of hard moments and struggles as I said. I think the hardest part is that there are lots of things to take care of and pay attention to at the same time. Since the company is my internship there are lots of formalities and documentation for school, also the legal aspect of having a company requires constant attention and documentation, and at the same time, I am part of the development of another company with a friend of mine in Slovakia. So it’s a lot of things happening at the same time. Then there were also some other problems with my accommodation and this just added up to the other things I had to think about. But I consider this a normal part of life and those things always get resolved one way or another it’s just a matter of hard work and patience. And if you make a mistake on the way there is always a way to fix it and go back one step to make things right. So I would say there were lots of hard times but I survived and I didn’t consider giving up just because of some complications.

What do you think about collaborations with other artists?

I am definitely up for that. I would love to collab with others if they have the passion for it and we vibe together! It’s another way to reach more people and improve. It’s more about if others would like to collaborate with me, not if I would like to collaborate with them. I am always up for it.

Okay, last one. Which is the favorite design you have made so far?

That’s a really hard question, all my designs are my little babies. I would say either the lollipop design or the peach – I like them juicy. Those are my picks if I really have to choose.

Conversations with motivated people are never long enough but this is how this inspiration session concludes. Denis is a really hard-working and creative person and I wish him the best of luck with Apodora, I am sure the good things are just starting for him and his company. I hope you enjoyed this interview and you managed to find something valuable in it. A huge thank you to Denis for taking the time to do this and thanks to everyone who read the post. Don’t forget to check Apodora out and stay tuned for more inspiration sessions really soon!

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