Croatian Academic Community at EFZG Held Entrepreneurial Academy

On Friday, May 12, 2023, at the Faculty of Economics in Zagreb, the branch of the Croatian Academic Community at the Faculty of Economics held its last major conference of this academic year. This is the fourth edition of the Entrepreneurial Academy: Set Sail into Risk.

In a well-filled congress hall of the Faculty of Economics, the program began with the official opening of the conference, during which the national president of HAZ, Karlo Kolesar, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jakša Krišto addressed the attendees with a few words. In their presentations, they highlighted the importance of holding such events for students and the academic community.

The first lecture titled “Would you buy a used car from this man?” was delivered by Dimitrije Trbović, CEO of Neostara and a member of the management board of the Zubak Group. In his lecture, he reflected on his journey to the final realization of desired projects and the characteristics of good and successful entrepreneurs.

Following the lecture, the first panel discussion titled TechTalk: Discussion on Trends and Challenges in the IT Sector took place, featuring Ivan Runje (Director of Product Management and Digital Products at Hrvatski Telekom), Ivan Bešlić (COO and co-founder of Sofascore), and Dejan Donev (founder of KEKS Pay and Director of Digital Business at Erste Bank), with Martina Radaš, president of HAZef, serving as the panel moderator.

The panelists explained through their own business journeys that the only way to become successful in their field is that the ideas they wish to turn into business ventures must be innovative and brought to market before the competition, and that copying existing solutions will not achieve the desired effect and result. They also emphasized that ambition, seemingly a simple factor in the entire process, is actually the most crucial component for bringing innovation to market, advising all students to dedicate their free time during their studies to education, volunteering, and internships that will later be of great benefit. After the panel, numerous questions were posed to the panelists.

In the second part of the conference, a second panel discussion titled Start Something of Your Own was held, featuring Marko Rešetar Rudić (founder of Asempo), Frane Šesnić (Director of the Zagreb Innovation Center), and Ante-Janko Bobetko (Deputy CEO of HAMAG – BICRO). The moderator of this panel was Adrian Poznić (national vice president of HAZ). The discussion was extremely interesting and educational, providing attendees with a different perspective on understanding the entrepreneurial environment and challenges through the experiences shared by the panelists.

Great credit for the excellent organization of the conference certainly belongs to the members of the project team, led by project manager Katarina Šaban, who ensured that the conference was held at an exceptionally high and professional level, and we hope to report next year in the same tone about the jubilee fifth edition of the Entrepreneurial Academy.