Entrepreneurship is a journey filled with unexpected twists and turns. For Ardi Batmanghelidj, one of the founders of Innovatum, one of the biggest challenges came when deciding the future of his company.

This decision to sell wasn’t a financial one. The company was already a market leader and even ramping up when the need for a new direction became apparent. It was initiated by the impending retirement of one of Ardi’s co-founders, which made it the right time to find a partner who could help Innovatum secure the credibility and resources it needed to thrive.

The partnership with Banyan allowed Innovatum to keep growing and innovating, ensuring a stable future for the company Ardi had built from the ground up.

Ardi’s path into the tech world wasn’t straightforward. Originally trained in economics and political science, he faced a tough job market in the early 1980s, which led to a big career shift. “I went to computer school, and I became a software developer,” Ardi shares. This decision was not just a change in profession but the first step towards innovation in an industry where he would make a big impact.

In 2000, Ardi, along with three colleagues he had worked with in the pharmaceutical industry, founded Innovatum. They shared a vision: to improve the safety and efficiency of pharmaceutical operations through innovative software. 

The team developed a labeling system that could meet the strictest compliance regulations. The solution would enhance patient safety by ensuring that pharmaceutical products were labeled correctly. “The pharmaceutical industry is very exacting. A mistake can actually harm patients and we all need to be very careful about that,” Ardi explains.

Ardi’s first major challenge was convincing big pharmaceutical companies of their software’s reliability and the small team’s capacity to support large-scale operations. This was difficult at times given the industry’s conservatism and the critical nature of the operations involved. However, Ardi and his team used their established relationships, deep industry knowledge, and commitment to quality to gradually build trust and secure their first contracts.

Innovatum faced many challenges as a startup trying to gain trust and contracts from large, established companies. These companies were initially skeptical of trusting critical parts of their operations to a small newcomer.

Ardi recalls the early days of pitching their solution: “Convincing these giants that a small company like ours could handle their needs was our biggest challenge. They needed assurance that we wouldn’t just disappear, leaving them with unsupported software.”

The turning point for Innovatum came when they secured a significant contract with Bristol Myers Squibb, a partnership that would become a strong endorsement of Innovatum’s abilities and reliability.

“Our original customer took the new version for their production environments. Here we were, a small company, supporting a critical path of global labeling systems,” shared Ardi. This success laid a foundation for future contracts and began to establish Innovatum’s reputation as a reliable partner capable of managing multi-million-dollar projects in the pharmaceutical industry.

However, even with this breakthrough, the challenge of continuously proving their reliability and longevity to potential clients remained. Each new negotiation brought the recurring hurdle of showing that they were a stable, long-term player in a highly competitive market.

Ardi and his team initially had no exit plan, intending to run Innovatum indefinitely. However, his business partner was approaching retirement and needed to exit. This personal situation coincided with a market opportunity, making it a good time to sell.

“Timing of a sale is really important from a founder’s perspective because you want to do it when the market is hot,” Ardi explains.

Innovatum faced ongoing challenges in proving its long-term viability to potential clients. Partnering with Banyan addressed this issue by providing the credibility and operational stability that clients often questioned.

“Joining forces with Banyan meant we no longer had to convince clients of our staying power,” Ardi notes. This partnership came at a perfect time when Innovatum was ready for faster growth with the support of a larger entity.

Reflecting on the acquisition, Ardi shares, “The biggest benefit we’ve received from the acquisition by Banyan is that we no longer have to answer questions about our longevity or reliability. This security has allowed us to focus more on innovation and scaling our operations.” The merger reassured potential multi-billion dollar clients..

Despite initial reservations, Ardi experienced no seller’s remorse. “Last year, we had the best year ever. This is like a tanker ship – you don’t turn tanker ships on short notice. We would have done well with or without Banyan, but their long-term impact will be very positive,” he reflects. Continuing as CEO, Ardi remains deeply involved and excited about Innovatum’s future.

The acquisition of Innovatum by Banyan marked a significant change in both the company’s structure and Ardi’s role within it. Freed from the daily pressures of proving the company’s viability and financial stability, Ardi could now focus more on areas where he felt he could make the biggest impact: innovation, sales and mentoring.

Innovatum has been able to expand its leadership team, promoting from within individuals who could take over various operational and management roles. This expansion was key in allowing Ardi to delegate routine administrative and operational tasks and instead concentrate on strategic initiatives and growth opportunities. 

“With the advent of Banyan, we’ve accelerated that, and there’s now this leadership team of six people. I’m the seventh,” Ardi elaborates.

“Fortunately, that’s one of the incredible things about our company – people stay at our company. On the new leadership team, the least experienced person has been with the company for nine years. What that’s allowing me to do is pass on to them all the stuff I don’t want to do and do all the things that I do want to do.”

Ardi’s passion for mentoring and leadership development became a central focus. With more time available, he could nurture the next generation of talent within Innovatum, ensuring that the company’s future was in capable hands.

“This has been my baby for the last 23 years. This is all I’ve done. And it’s been more than enough because it is so much fun. I mean, imagine being in my shoes at my age. You have 20 or so young, energetic, excited people, some right out of college, that you’re nurturing and bringing along. I can’t think of anything more rewarding than that,” Ardi shares.

Under his guidance, the leadership team at Innovatum has grown more independent, making strategic decisions that ensure the company’s longevity and align with its foundational goals. Ardi’s confidence in this team is strong and he believes in their ability to continue Innovatum’s legacy.

“They say, you can judge founders by how well the company survives after their departure. I’m very aware of that. And I have no doubt that we will leave a very solid, strong team behind when the time is right,” he notes.

Ardi’s journey with Innovatum, culminating in its partnership with Banyan, serves as a powerful story about the impact of visionary leadership and a founder’s lifelong commitment to nurturing talent, driving innovation and ensuring the sustainability of his life’s work.

Reflecting on the sale, Ardi offers a piece of timeless advice to other entrepreneurs at a crossroads: “It’s all about timing. It’s about making that decision and not regretting it once you’ve made it.” This advice underscores his own experiences – where careful timing and bold, decisive action have defined the path of his business and personal success.

Ardi’s approach to the sale – viewing it not as an end but as a strategic step – ensured that Innovatum would continue to thrive, while also securing a legacy that would inspire and empower the next generation of leaders within the company.