The Key to Successful Business Lies in a Strong Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

Zagreb was yesterday the host of renowned global experts in the field of developing entrepreneurial ecosystems to promote entrepreneurship and innovation, who shared their experiences with participants of the Chicago Collaboration Week. The week of entrepreneurial collaboration continues in Varaždin, Zadar, and Split, organized by the Croatian Agency for Small Business, Innovation and Investment (HAMAG-BICRO), the non-governmental organization WorldChicago, the European Enterprise Network, and local partners.

The aim of the event is to familiarize students, startups, entrepreneurs, and scientific-research institutions with American best practices through various lectures and workshops on entrepreneurship. On this occasion, a workshop was held yesterday at the Forum Zagreb congress center for representatives of development agencies, technology parks, coworking spaces, accelerators, and incubators from all over Croatia, where the main topic was the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Croatia through examples from Chicago.

Nicole Vasquez, founder and director of the coworking space The Shift, introduced conference participants to best practices in managing coworking spaces in Chicago, business development, strategic partnership seeking, and event organization. Scott L. Steward, an expert in developing startup strategies and market positioning through integrated marketing communication, presented the Tech Teens program, in which students from underdeveloped communities learn to program and bring their solutions to market. Participants had the opportunity to hear from Keith Bradley on how to develop an international startup, who has been involved in managing and developing IT systems for over 16 years. Terra Winston presented her extensive experience in developing leadership skills and business organization gained from working at companies such as Google, PepsiCo, Merck, Abbott, and the Dallas Cowboys. Marina Christos, founder of the marketing company Socialty for strategic media and social media management, presented entrepreneurs with the challenges and opportunities of positioning businesses on social media.

The importance of strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Croatia was emphasized by Boris Guina, Deputy CEO of HAMAG-BICRO: ‘Just last year, HAMAG-BICRO secured over 50 million kuna in support for innovative projects. To continue successfully implementing these, we have gathered American experts in the field of developing collaborative spaces with the aim of transferring best practices and creating a strong network of development agencies, technology parks, coworking spaces, accelerators, and incubators that will provide entrepreneurs with quality support at all stages of their business. I believe that in this way we will enhance the innovative potential of the region and highlight the significance and potential of the growing startup community in Central and Southeast Europe.’

Guest speakers are participating today in the Voogle conference in Varaždin, while on Wednesday, March 16, they will be the main speakers on the topic: Are YOU Connected like a PRO? at the Faculty of Economics in Zagreb starting at 4 PM. On Thursday, March 17, at 2 PM, the speakers will introduce the local community of the city of Zadar at the COIN Zadar coworking space. Similarly, on Friday, March 18, a workshop on startups, networking, and coworking will be held in Split, where Nicole Vasquez and representatives of two Split coworking spaces, Amosfera and CoCreative, as well as the Startup.hr association, will share their experiences. More about the first women’s cooperative brewery Brlog, networking, and crowdfunding experiences will be shared with attendees by Ana Teskera, one of the founders of the brewery.