Following in his father’s footsteps, Adrian Sasine (Georgia, 1999) joined AEPi where he found a community and a lifelong network. And now, professionally, he’s working to build professional networks for others.

“I studied business at the University of Georgia, but I was also social chairman at AEPi…it was definitely a time of work hard – play hard,” said Sasine.

An Atlanta native, he started at a corporate insurance position after graduating from the University of Georgia which eventually led to him earning an MBA at Georgia State. From there, he began working at start-ups, working as director of marketing in an entrepreneurial environment. He left to start a promotions business with a friend from college which he sold just before the pandemic.

“Sometimes,” he said laughing, “Good business is about good timing.” After his experience in start-ups, Adrian began doing some small business coaching when a LinkedIn request from a stranger caught his eye. The stranger was starting a networking group and wanted Adrian to participate. “I ignored the first message – like we all do on LinkedIn – but eventually I looked into it and was really kind of blown away. The group had a real intentionality about it. People were actively asking each other, ‘How can I help you? Who can I introduce you to?’ The quality of people was very high, too.”

Adrian became an investor in the networking business. “I told him that I can help grow this, that I see a bigger opportunity. I thought we could actually monetize the networking and the intentionality that this creates. I thought that other organizations could use that.”

The company – Nolodex – has grown from there to become a robust community platform that helps users make connections, manage referrals, build partnerships and, in addition to growing networks, allows for networks to get paid, resulting in more users, connections and referrals.

“AI is awesome. Digital tactics are great. But at the end of the day, its people working with people and we are helping to facilitate that.”

Within the Nolodex ecosystem, members who benefit from a connection or referral pay a referral fee and the sponsoring network shares in that fee. Networks can be relatively small, based on connections or smaller based on geography or something else.

Nolodex has invested considerable resources to rebuild the technology of the system to better facilitate both the flow of referrals and the ability to efficiently determine monetizations. “As we’ve rebuilt the software, we knew that it needed to be simple, easy to use. But it also needs to be trustworthy and transparent and engage everyone.”

“We’re actually less expensive than building and maintaining a website. We want to train users to be better networkers, to work with more people in their community, and to support each other. At the end of the day, everyone wins when we do that. The clients win. The members win. The organizations win. And we win.”

Since officially launching at the beginning of the year, Nolodex and its networks have grown steadily. “Relationships are still key in the professional world. Building community has become so vital but also underutilized. We’re the most connected we’ve ever been but yet we’re the loneliest we’ve ever been. The truth of the matter is that people want to talk to people. People want to learn and trust and work with other people. We want to help people get past the number of Facebook friends they have and create real, meaningful – and profitable – connections.”

A network built on mutual respect and shared goals and values? Sounds like something learned from an AEPi experience?

“My dad – Stephen Sasine (Auburn, 1972) — was an AEPi at Auburn. I remember when he came up to Georgia when I was joining the Omicron chapter and he was like, wow, this place hasn’t changed since the 60s. I bet I could go down to Athens today and say the same thing, right? It’s the same smell. It’s the same walls.”

“I think people are looking to make those connections still. I’m a connector at heart. I’m always trying to bring people together and now that’s what Nolodex is doing.”

For more information on Nolodex, visit: nolodex.com.

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AEPi’s Omicron chapter at the University of Georgia will be celebrating its 100th Anniversary next year! For more information on the Omicron Centennial Celebration, being held April 17-19, 2026 in Athens, click here!