Mentors

Rok Colarič is the founder and CEO of the company that launched the Sleepy Bottle, a portable baby formula maker that can prepare fresh baby formula in only a matter of seconds. It is sold in high-end department stores such as Selfridges, Virgin Megastores, KaDeWe, Steen & Strom, Magasin Du Nord, De Bijenkorf and ProIdee. In the last three years the bottle has already won eight international awards, including the 2018 Central European Startup Award. Rok also secured an important investor from Great Britain who has held a leading role at companies such as Google, Apple in Nest. Rok’s extensive experience spans market research, preparing and delivering pitches, and negotiations with potential partners and clients. He can assess a project’s market potential, design innovative projects or products and prototype them, and prepare financial projections. He is familiar with the global copyright databases and utilises them to assess the current situation in copyright, and has experience with preparing patent documentation. His skills extend to sourcing investments and launching a product in the domestic and foreign markets. His colleagues describe him as someone who sees a solution for every problem and every problem as an opportunity. He enjoys sharing his knowledge and experience with startups that develop physical products.

Mihael Leskovar graduated in political science and has more than 15 years' experience in institutions promoting regional development and offering a support environment for entrepreneurs. In his current position at the Regional Development Agency of the Ljubljana Urban Region he focuses on promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation in society, and on supporting sustainable development within the programmes and projects in the fields of economy, internationalisation, tourism, cultural industries and human resources. He has been actively involved in more than 20 development projects and initiatives. His main competences include challenges for young entrepreneurs, business idea development, project management, research and development processes and good relations with the interested public, and are backed by his extensive experience in EU-funded projects in these fields. Mihael has accumulated his experience through working with companies in private and public sectors. He worked as a project manager in marketing Agency Kainoto d.o.o. and served as director of the business incubator Styrian Technology Park for five years, where he was in charge of monitoring the operation of incubated companies on a daily level.

Olga Košica holds an MA in goldsmithing, silversmithing, metalwork & jewellery from the Royal College of Art, and is a textile and fashion design graduate of the University of Ljubljana. Since 2005 she has been working as head jewellery designer of Zlatarna Celje’s LENCIA line of silver jewellery. She is the co-founder of internationally acclaimed OfR jewelry and works with globally recognised fashion makers and newspapers. Her brand is active mainly in the international market. Olga also runs a jewellery design studio AgAu at Gornji Trg in Ljubljana, where she organises workshops in silver jewellery design. The recipient of numerous (inter)national design awards she is also a visiting lecturer working with the Faculty of Design Ljubljana, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering – Department of Textiles (University of Ljubljana) and Faculty of Technology (University of Banja Luka), among others. Olga has participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions in Slovenia and beyond (France, Italy, the USA, Spain, Norway, Great Britain etc.).

Severin Lorenčič is a passionate sinologist, i.e. an expert in Chinese language and culture. His first encounters with sinology were in Slovenia, but he studied also in the east, mainly at Nanjing Normal University. His competences extend to Chinese internet and social networks, such as WeChat, Weibo, Douyin as well as the largest Chinese eCommerce website Taobao. His in-depth knowledge of Chinese culture and society is key to successful business with Chinese companies and final success in the Chinese market.

Niko Slavnič is a passionate entrepreneur with extensive experience in Central and Eastern Europe, possessing the knowledge and creative skills required for business development. His first job was in the family company when he was only 16, and he has been an active entrepreneur ever since, developing different projects and organisations. He graduated from Harvard Business School, University of Amsterdam, CEEMAN’s International Management Teachers Academy and the University of Ljubljana. He shares his knowledge and experience as a lecturer (SSCA - École Supérieure des Sciences Commerciales d’Angers, IEDC - Bled School of Management) and guest speaker at panel presentations and workshops. He has successfully employed his unique blend of business practice and theoretical knowledge in consulting more than 60 dynamic companies in the SEE region as well as the Slovenian parliament. Since 1999 he has mentored thousands of startups in launching their business.

Robi Rodman specialises in sales process efficiency and customer dialogue management focused on winning new projects or contracts. Having graduated from the School of Economics and Business in 1996 he completed the regular MscBA at the same faculty. After different jobs for different companies and involvement in sales challenges in Slovenia and the wider region, he co-founded a sustainable energy startup and took part in the entrepreneurial training programme Grow organised by the CEED institute. Robi also took part in setting up and running the Entrepreneurship course at People’s University Ajdovščina. Since 2013 he has been providing different services for companies in Slovenia and abroad, from sales development, sales channels and market positioning, to the identification of potential clients or partners, and organises workshops on the effective sales dialogue with customers – teaching how to compel prospects to say “yes” to the offer. Robi is also a certified Mastermind Academy trainer (since 2017).

Matija Goljar is an entrepreneurial mentor running the business accelerator Ustvarjalnik – one of the biggest international mentoring programmes for new entrepreneurs. He started his first business at only 19 and now dedicates most of his time to teaching and promoting creativity. Matija has helped more than 1,000 entrepreneurs achieve their first business milestones and prefers to work with beginners who have not yet stepped into the market. He completed his master’s degree in Applied Imagination at the prestigious Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. Every year, Matija spends a few months in Colorado, USA, as a visiting lecturer at Watson University. In his free time he runs an entrepreneurship club for the youngest at his former school, and prepares radio programmes and articles on creativity, entrepreneurship and future trends.

Entrepreneur and founder of four companies, investor. Partner at CorpoHub, former director of the Business Intelligence Center, a partner and co-owner of Media Lab d.o.o. and manager of Cotrugli Business School in Slovenia. She is a master of business networking and connectivity, an inspirational speaker and certified LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® and ScrumMaster® facilitator. Enthusiastic about agile work methods and lean innovations, Daniela actively promotes agile transformation of Slovenian corporations.

Jasna has more than 20 years’ experience with go-to-market activities and has already launched more than 20 products. She is very fond of the creative and cultural industries – one of her projects at Delo newspaper focused on Miki Muster’s comics, for example, and at ReceiptBank she worked on the go-to-market strategy and growth of mobile apps for freelancers. She enjoys running design sprints and mentoring on how to select and make optimal marketing and sales tools in the shortest time. Currently she is working on a new product with her partners – hands-on e-training at Udemy on what it takes to successfully launch (technological) products through channel marketing. She also runs group workshops Your Professional Brand and LinkedIn, where she advises on building a personal brand and online credibility, how to explore the market and create sales opportunities as a freelancer or founder. She is one of the hosts of the LinkedIn Local initiative Domžale Kamnik, which connects a local community of creatives and professionals.

Nejc Matjaž is a mechanical engineer working at the intersection of the academic and entrepreneurial spheres. As a researcher at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (2010 - 2014) he developed numerous projects and co-authored four patents. During this time he founded ONDU d.o.o. (2014) with his partner and successfully launched wooden pinhole cameras on the global market. In 2015 he took the reins of Poligon Maker Lab and founded FABRIKAID d.o.o. Since then, he has been helping numerous makers, small companies and global corporations to transition from prototype development to setting up production lines. In the 1:1 mentoring season 2018/19 coproduced by Poligon and CzK he mentored 25 creators on product development and won the highest satisfaction score of all the mentors. As a mentor he can help solve the following problems: 1. How to make a prototype and the minimum viable product (MVP)? 2. Which materials and technologies to use for quality products at acceptable costs? 3. How to prepare products for serial production and how to set it up? 4. How to find reliable production partners? 5. How to design packaging? 6. How to obtain the relevant standards and certifications – CE? Nejc’s key prerogative is to find innovative solutions that simplify and reduce the costs of production processes irrespective of the size of the series.

Jordan Berginc is the co-founder of GEA College, author and co-author of several textbooks and study materials on entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, which is also his field of expertise as a lecturer. He has lectured across the world (USA, EU, Russia, China). In recent years he has been focusing on innovative ways of connecting startups through the introduction of new business models. In addition to consultations and trainings for Slovenian managers and entrepreneurs (more than 130) he has also been busy exploring opportunities for entrepreneurs in foreign markets. He is the founder and member of numerous business associations in Slovenia and abroad.

Together with Tjaša Bavcon and Katja Burger, Jasmina Ferček runs Oloop, a group of artists and designers who have made a name for themselves in different fields of visual creativity: from product design and interior installations to textile art. She runs training programmes, lectures and workshops, integrating design into socially engaged projects. For years, Oloop group have been showcasing their products and projects in Slovenian design exhibitions at home and abroad, gaining international exposure as well as winning prestigious awards and recognitions (Alpine, BIO, Red Dot and others). Their work addresses social issues such as health, ecology, sustainability and the purpose of life in general.

PhD in mechanical engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ljubljana, Professor Emeritus of the University of Ljubljana. In his career, Jože Vižintin (has) served as assistant at the Chair of Engineering Design at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering UL, director of the Institute for Research in Materials and Structures, Ljubljana, head of the Centre of Tribology and Technical Diagnostics and full professor for tribology and mechanical power transmission at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, UL; president of the Slovenian Academy of Engineering, acting director of the Institute for Innovation and Development of the University of Ljubljana, secretary general of the Slovenian Academy of Engineering. He is also the winner of multiple awards: Zois Award for achievements in science, Zois Award for outstanding scientific achievements in mechanical engineering, Professor Emeritus of the University of Ljubljana, Lifetime Achievement Award of the Association of Mechanical Engineers of Slovenia. Bibliography and other achievements: 155 scientific and 30 expert papers, 7 chapters in scientific monographs and 9 patents, among others.

Already as a high school student, Andraž was successful at the international computer Olympics and won the opportunity to gain experience in Silicon Valley. He was one of the co-founders of the Ljubljana multimedia centre Kiberpipa, an important player in the shaping of an open information society in Slovenia. For five years he was a presenter and producer of Resnična resničnost, a TV show on IT and consumer electronics at TV Slovenia, and also developed a captioning tool for RTV Slovenia programmes, which enables people interested in a specific content or quote to find what they are looking for. The next step was Zemanta, a company that he and Boštjan Špetič founded in 2007. Zemanta was one of the first Slovenian technological startups that won the Seedcamp startup competition in London. This was the company’s first opportunity to win investors and it helped make Zemanta the leading platform that provides agencies with the technology to scale, automate and optimize content promotion through native advertising. Andraž now himself facilitates startup development, having co-founded the Silicon Gardens Fund, which helps early stage startup teams explore international markets.

Creative leader, strategist and creative thinker with 25 years’ experience in various executive roles (CEO, MD, Media buying, creative director and more). He has exceptional expertise in devising digital products. He operated the first Mladina website, was the creative director at interactive ad agencies Sonce.net and Senca.net, director of Kolektiva.si (group buying), Mojedelo.com (job portal) and Bolha.com (classified ads). Today, he is the director of IAB Slovenija and consultant at Digitall.si.

Visual communication designer who started the design studio VBG (Visual Brain Gravity) 13 years ago. He was nominated the “young creative of the year” and received more than 80 Slovenian and international awards (Volvo Design Award, SOF, Brumen, Golden Drum, European Design Award, ADCE, …). Seven-time jury member at the Slovenian Advertising Festival and Golden Drum he was selected by Art Directors Club of Europe (ADC*E) as one of ten promising creatives in Europe. He employs his extensive multidisciplinary skills in creating and mentoring brands and visual identities for domestic and foreign clients. His work has led him to discover the importance of working on his own projects, so he has created a few brands (CreativeMornings) from which he draws knowledge and to which he dedicates more and more of his time.

He completed his PhD in open innovations in 2014 at the Ljubljana School of Economics and Business, where he continues to research new forms of innovation, emerging innovation systems and related business models. His activity is not limited to academic research, however, and he systematically collaborates both with both startups and large corporations seeking to achieve accelerated growth. He is one of the founders of ABC Accelerator and a partner in a venture capital fund. In his academic and other pursuits he remains closely connected with Southeast, East and Central European regions, using the diverse environments and experience as input for his research. In this capacity he has collaborated with several institutions in these regions, including the University of Trieste, Italy, where he worked for 18 months.

Peter Bruner is an entrepreneur and an all-round creative. He has written three startup stories already, two successful ones and one not so much. He is no stranger to success and has valuable experience to back that up. He is a pitch coach, but he also teaches business modelling, innovative processes and creative marketing, and has already coached more than 300 entrepreneurs, both in Slovenia and abroad. Working with people, especially budding entrepreneurs, is his source of energy.