Mentors

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.).

Samo Rugelj has a diploma in pharmacy, an MSc in economics and a PhD in publishing studies. Entrepreneur for more than 25 years he has been working as a magazine and book publisher for the last 20 years. He is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of UMco, a publishing house that has so far released more than 300 books, among them a number of reference non-fiction books, and Bukla magazine, which has been observing trends and developments in the Slovenian book market for 15 years. The author of more than 15 books in different genres, from books on the publishing industry to personal observations and fiction, some of which have reached wider audiences, has also produced several thousand book reviews, articles and columns on popular culture and its impact on the economy.

Nika Furlan comes from Intra lighting, a global provider of architectural luminaires and smart lighting solutions. With more than 10 years’ marketing experience she is responsible for project and design management, coordination of creative teams in the development of new concepts and solutions, and their implementation. She enjoys working with designers and copywriters as it allows her to harness the knowledge and skills from different disciplines, strategic thinking and (non)user’s point of view to devise new, intuitive solutions. For the last five years she has been actively involved in the development of new user experience through the company’s transformation from product to user focus. Her experience extends to website redesign, establishment of B2B business environment, sales tools development, process optimisation, design management integration and beyond.

Anja Sečnik is art director for Slovenian brands EQUA and Goat Story, responsible for the brands’ visual identity. She works on project conceptualisation and art direction in designing visual materials. Since 2018 she has been mentoring a fashion brand through the Kočevje Business Incubator.

Matija started his career as a designer already as a fine arts student at the Ljubljana Academy of Fine Arts and Design. He has worked with different advertising agencies and design studios, accumulating experience and learning different skills from the best of Slovenian creatives. As head of design and innovation (CDO) at Pristop he has been responsible for the agency’s design department and its design excellence. His work has won awards at Slovenian and foreign advertising and design festivals, and contributed to the successful appearance of the agency at the Slovenian Advertising Festival, where they have won seven titles of the agency of the year.

Marko Bucić graduated in economics at the University of Ljubljana and has more than 15 years’ experience in the field. He has worked for different companies (insurance, IT, legal IT services, daily deal platforms, online advertising) and gained experience in the Slovenian and CEE markets. A B2B sales and communications expert he worked as head/director of sales for eight years before going independent. He has extensive experience in work organisation, team leadership and motivation, business process optimisation, remuneration systems, new product launch, and B2B negotiations with major partners. Since April 2016 he has been running his own company and offers sales consulting services, optimisation of sales departments and various professional training. He is also the author of a business vlog Sales Police, which serves as a new communication channel through which he wants to redefine sales and business.

Having graduated from the Faculty of Economics Mirijana Koporčić Veljić worked at the Agency of the RS for Restructuring and Privatisation, Triglav insurance company and KD Group, dealing mainly with privatisation, corporate governance and corporate finance. Already at Triglav and later at KD she had the opportunity to serve as a board member in holding companies, which was her first encounter with direct corporate and HR management. As a board member she was responsible for ongoing activities as well as company strategy setting, finance, accounting, liquidity, HR policy and operations management. In 2010 she took the reins of Nama d.d. and gained a thorough insight into retail, fashion, marketing, product knowledge and PR as well as HR management and motivation. During her term of office as Nama director the department store set up a Slovenian designers’ corner. For the last two years she has been working as COO and CFO at CEED Institute.

Tanja Kožuh has 20 years’ experience in various jobs and companies, mostly in startup mentoring, company management, strategic development planning, business model development, team building and motivation, and fundraising. Since July 2012 she has served as director of Primorska Technology Park, responsible for developing corporate programmes for startups and scaleups. She mentors and advises startups and scaleups that participate in the SIO-PTP-2018/19 and SIP-PTP-2020-2022 projects (call for proposals by SPIRIT, Ministry of Economic Development and Technology) within the technology park. Between 2013 and 2017 she participated as an assessor in the pre-selection procedure of the P2 call for proposals Start:up Slovenia competition, and in 2016 she served as a member of the national expert committee at the international startup competition CESA – Central Eastern Startup Awards 2016.

Entrepreneur, marketing expert, copywriter, mentor and lecturer in Spirit Slovenia’s programmes supporting women entrepreneurs, head of the Dyslexia Institute and president of its expert council, associate of the Slovenian Third Age University and co-founder of an organic food company. In 15 years as a sole proprietor Petra Bališ has guided numerous Slovenian and foreign clients in their marketing decisions, building their professional competences and showing them a faster way to achieving the goals set. Petra’s primary focus is on digital and content marketing, marketing strategy and brand identity development. In 2011 she founded an innovative company LiberEko d.o.o. (Ekošara), an organic food home delivery service, which she later sold. Her clients include Abanka, Spirit Slovenia (Entrepreneurship Portal), Sodexo, Pro-Implant foundation Berlin, Originate Trieste, Ministry of Public Administration (e-VEM portal), Caritas Slovenia (an international project), Development Agency Sora, Development Centre Murska Sobota and others.

Nuša Šolar convinces with her driving optimism, which she invests in every challenge she tackles, creating a productive atmosphere in the work environment. She has been working in tourism for 15 years, specialising in congress tourism, and has extensive experience in communication with key clients, and B2B and B2C sales. Before she went independent in 2019 she was in charge of marketing and sales at Union hoteli d.d. Since 2019, she has served as director of SmartestHR, a company working in HR management and consulting for the hospitality industry.

Jernej Špende is in charge of developing advanced digital solutions that connect technological and human resources of the agencies within the Pristop Group. His work at Pristop and Renderspace agencies has been marked by breakthrough projects and numerous awards at the most prominent advertising and communication festivals, such as Digital Communication Awards, European Excellence Awards, Effie, SOF, SEMPL, Midas Balcannes, Gold Quill and others. His work as digital strategist in Grey Ljubljana won him and his colleagues at the agency two Cannes Lions. Active also in other roles within the industry, Jernej has served as a member of the Slovenian Advertising Festival’s competition programme council and a jury member of SAF, the Young Lions and SoMoBorac.

Tilen Ločniškar graduated in sociology of culture and took theory into practice through his extensive career in digital advertising. Having worked for different agencies he gained experience in “corpo” communications and presentation of diverse companies on social media, while devising also more unscrupulous social media appearance strategies for startups. As head of digital marketing at Ulla Labs he has been responsible for smooth running sales of Slovenian products to the USA in recent years, which eventually led him to visit Facebook offices in Dublin and London. As a lecturer in Facebook marketing he consults individuals and companies at the Go-Tel company on Facebook and Instagram sales.

Blaž Zupan, PhD, assistant professor at the Academic Unit of Entrepreneurship at the School of Economics and Business at the University of Ljubljana, entrepreneurial trainer, serial entrepreneur, mentor an investor. Blaž has helped launch seven companies, but his main passion is teaching about different aspects of entrepreneurship (idea design, finding the right business model, “d.school” doctrine) and consulting, both young entrepreneurs embarking on their business careers as well as more experienced ones wishing to improve their financial performance.

Gregor Cuzak works in marketing, focusing on finance. He began his career in advertising (1996), co-founded a startup (2006) and went on to become a freelance marketing consultant (2012). His work revolves around numbers in the unpredictable world of marketing, be it in planning returns on market investment (ROMI) in marketing campaigns or in comprehensive business plans. Gregor even gives an occasional lecture on the subject. His references include are Mayer McCann, iTivi, Shower, mimovrste), Marand and Atlantic Groupa. In recent years he has focused mainly on healthcare innovations; he co-founded the HealthDay.si community and is the coordinator at the European Connected Health Alliance. His personal pet project is Woodster Bikes.

Entrepreneur, experienced speaker, moderator and mentor. In the past he was part of the TEDx Ljubljana organising team and active within the internationally acclaimed StartupWeekend and PODIM Conference. Today he is a partner at CorpoHub. As a corporate mentor and consultant he specialises in development, innovation and business strategy concepts. An advocate of agile teams and efficiency, he is himself disciplined and methodical as well.

Event organiser with a diploma in economics. Having worked for a large corporation for 17 years Urša made a decision in 2010 to become an entrepreneur and set up Eventio, an event planning business. Urša is the co-founder of the biggest event dedicated to women entrepreneurs in Slovenia – 500 Business Women, which she and her team successfully sold last year. She has organised more than 100 events, from conferences, international congresses, municipal celebrations, corporate events and social meetings for employees and business partners to opening ceremonies and training sessions. Urša is also a lecturer with a track record of more than 50 lectures on diverse business topics, as well as a business consultant/mentor. In recent years she has been busy mentoring (future) entrepreneurs in growing their business. She focuses on each mentee’s idea and social networks (if any), prepares proposals and matches them with useful contacts.

Soon to defend her master’s thesis in smart city management Simona Roškar works as a trainer to promote creativity, social responsibility and sustainable development. She is an international licensed trainer of I.D.E.A.S. (a five-stage model for creatively confronting challenges) and Art of Innovation (a model for organisational creativity) as well as a certified ECQA sustainability manager. Simona helps individuals, teams, companies and organisations acknowledge that creativity is a work process with its own laws. Employing different creative tools allows creators and their teams to generate more creative and penetrating ideas on products, services or business models; ideas informed with sustainability concepts, eco-design and circular economy.

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.

MSc in economics and business, since 2002 project manager at IRP, institute for entrepreneurship research, and head of the Venture Factory (University of Maribor). Jure Verhovnik specialises in entrepreneurship and innovation and is an experienced consultant in business planning and strategic development. With extensive experience with SMEs and work in European projects he has published a manual on EU funding. In the past he worked as marketing director and has been part of the PODIM conference organising team for years.

Mateja is the design manager and visionary with a great intention that every individual, organization, or company has the opportunity to express themselves through the creation of a product, product, or service. In managing creative processes, she places great emphasis on innovation through various methods and techniques of design thinking. She is aware that innovations that are successful in the global market do not happen by chance, but require a thoughtful and guided process.

Since 2006 Nika has been organising events of different kinds. She started as a student, but today she runs her own event planning company. In recent years she has been busy mentoring and running workshops on entrepreneurship for beginners, accounting and finance basics for new entrepreneurs, event planning and public speaking.

Creative, multidisciplinary textile designer with extensive experience and technical skills that allow her to work on different aspects of product development. Motivated and curious about everything she is quick off the mark when it comes to recognising business opportunities and identifying new trends to develop innovative solutions. Her experience extends to team management, workshop planning, brainstorming meetings, pitching, communicating with clients and building strong relationships with suppliers to ensure they provide the best service.

MSc in economics, Ana has accumulated a wealth of professional experience both in creative industries and in corporate settings, where she had until recently served as head of market and consumer intelligence at Gorenje Group. Her passion for user research, design thinking and service design inspired the Ljubljana Service Jam, a bottom-up initiative that organises non-profit educational workshops, and led her to co-found Servis 8 institute, where she continues to work as a service designer.

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.

Strategic consultant in communication and public relations with almost 20 years’ experience. Her most important recent references include restructuring and recapitalisation of the Paloma company and market repositioning of the public utility company Snaga. She has worked with international corporations like TomTom and Nestle as well as with the public sector (Maribor libraries, the City of Maribor). She has served as an education director of SPEM Communication Group and director of the London School of Public Relations for SE Europe. She took part in the establishment of the School for Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Public Affairs. Today she runs the Centre for Creative Industries Maribor.

Entrepreneur with a degree in economics and extensive experience in the business sector, in particular international trade, advertising and retail. She has run a small business and worked in design management. She completed a course in interior design in the USA. She is the founding partner and procurator of the company Kubus-Interier. In recent years she has focused on design management and business design with an emphasis on the organisation of specialised training and validations in the field of design management. Her other experience includes business development, planning and organisation of training courses, management of multidisciplinary teams and interdisciplinary collaboration, event planning, marketing and promotion. Awards: 1st prize Design Management Value Award 1st prize HRM Project of 2016

Urša Svetelj is a soft skills trainer and NLP Practitioner. A co-founder of ImpACT institute she now works as a trainer at CorpoHub. In the past she helped organise TEDx Ljubljana events and is a member of the trainers’ pool at the Slovenian association of international student organisations KOMISP, National Youth Council of Slovenia and AEGEE Academy. Urša’s passions span delivering master classes, soft skills building, preparing inspiring speeches and promoting active society.

Miljana Dragičević stands at the intersection of creativity and production of animated kids’ content. She is the CEO of MINYA FILMS AND ANIMATION, a creative production/consulting studio based in Zagreb, Croatia. Miljana is the producer of an animated TV series for pre-school children Misho & Robin (30x5”), produced for Croatian Radio and Television (HRT). The series is currently being distributed across the world.

Combines strategic vision with business skills and artistic talent. She works with IDEO company, the leader in strategic thinking, innovation and design thinking (from an idea to the business model, startup and product development methods). Her forte is putting theory into practice, and she has more than 45 awards from all over the world to show for it. Her work has been published in the New York Times, Graphis, Lurzer's Archive, Creative Advertising, The World's Best Campaigns, and ADweek, among others. Jury member/speaker: New York Festivals Advertising, Cresta Awards, SOF, Golden Drum.

The only licenced trainer of de Bono thinking tools in Slovenia: - Six thinking hats – for constructive and effective thinking. - Lateral thinking – to generate fresh ideas. - Simplicity – to optimise procedures. - CoRT – thinking tools for schools. Licenced trainer for: - I.D.E.A.S. - The Art of Innovation. Co-creator - seminars Creative Leadership & Creativity conferences at the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce, - lectures and marathons on positive psychology. BA in Marketing, BA in Sociology, MA in communication studies.

Anja is a graduate student of the Faculty of Economics in Ljubljana. She completed her studies at the Toronto Business Academy in Canada. Since 2008 she has been an entrepreneur and lecturer, and has written a number of articles on entrepreneurship, finance and personal growth. Her main focus is on business training and mentoring on personal growth, sales, marketing and human resources. References: European project: Entrepreneurship and sense of initiative 2012-2013, Entrepreneurship is female 2016-2018 and Young adults into entrepreneurship, call for proposals 2017-2018.

I have a master's degree in biotechnology from the Biotechnical Faculty. As an MSc student I built the Biostartup community at the faculty, training students and researchers in entrepreneurial skills. In 2015 I started my own startup company and launched Byba, a unique product targeting primarily the U.S. market. In 2017 I started Pharsol, a startup that develops and distributes tools for laboratories. In 2018 I became a business development specialist at the University of Ljubljana.

Piera Ravnikar has been actively involved in contemporary art for the last 15 years. She is proud to have been part of Kino Šiška’s pioneer team as an artistic programme manager for nearly ten years. Piera currently runs RAVNIKAR GALLERY SPACE and takes part in projects like MENT Ljubljana, LIMITED EDIT111ONS, Independent Platform NYC and SKALINADA AIR. She holds an MA in history from the University of London and EU Diploma in cultural project management from Association Marcel Hicter, Brussels.

Current president of the management board of Designers Society of Slovenia. Born in Ljubljana he graduated from the Secondary School of Design in Ljubljana and worked for the Institute for Industrial Design from 1978 until 1980. He studied at the Faculty of Architecture as well as textile technology at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology in Ljubljana. He has appeared in numerous solo and group exhibitions and is a multiple award winner with extensive professional, peer-review and project management experience.

Matjaž graduated in communication and media studies from the University of Maribor. He is a young communication professional in the second decade of his career. Today he works at Agency 101, mainly in marketing communication, having previously worked as a creative director and strategist in Slovenia’s biggest advertising agencies (Futura DDB, Publicis One and others), designing communication solutions for key Slovenian and international brands (Coca-Cola, Heineken, Mastercard, Volkswagen, Radenska, FIBA, among others). He also takes part in communication projects for the public good and projects involving communication in tourism and sports.

Creative director with more than 14 years’ professional experience and a degree in communication and media studies. He is in charge of marketing communication campaigns for some of the largest Slovenian and regional clients, and the recipient of more than 100 national and international awards from advertising festivals. He says that being a creative means always being on the lookout for new ideas, and since he has made his hobby his work, he calls himself a workahobbic. A skater and co-owner of the brand Embisi Skateboarding he is also a member of the Maribor rap collective Tekochee Kru who finds creative inspiration in urban cultures, while his martial arts background of 20 years provides for order and discipline. Tine frequently shares his knowledge at different faculties, advertising festivals, workshops and events such as TEDx, Creative Mornings, Pecha Kucha and similar.