The Conference ‘Experience Never Expires’ – Ideas and Solutions for Challenges at All Stages of the Entrepreneurial Journey

The conference titled ‘Experience Never Expires‘ will be held on Thursday, October 26, 2023, at the premises of the Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP) in Zagreb. The organizers of the conference are Senior Entrepreneurs Club SENTOR, an association that brings together experienced, mostly retired entrepreneurs and managers who provide pro bono mentoring support to entrepreneurs facing business challenges, HUP, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Croatia, and CEPOR.

– The conference will gather participants of the mentoring program and other entrepreneurs and institutions that provide support for the development of entrepreneurship in Croatia. The conference is intended for entrepreneurs at various stages of their entrepreneurial journey who need support that they can receive through SENTOR’s mentoring program, as well as experienced professionals who are ready to share their knowledge and experiences. Whether you are a young entrepreneur seeking support or an experienced expert willing to share your knowledge and experience – this is a place for connection – explains Blaženka Urbanke, co-founder and President of the Supervisory Board of the Senior Entrepreneurs Club SENTOR.

The main partner that supported the development of SENTOR’s mentoring program is HUP.

– We are all aware of the importance of mentors in life; we have all had them and found them in the people around us. HUP has supported SENTOR’s mentoring program from the very beginning because we believe it is extremely important to enable the exchange of experiences and knowledge among employers and that in this process everyone learns and benefits. HUP, or the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, has engaged in this project because among its members are entrepreneurs who want to be mentors, as well as entrepreneurs who seek the experience of another entrepreneur to help them with their entrepreneurial dilemmas – said Irena Weber, the CEO of HUP.

The conference will feature interesting speakers.

Ratko Rudić, a retired water polo coach and former water polo player who has participated in the Olympic Games 11 times, which is a record in the history of Croatian sports, will give a presentation on the topic ‘The Experience of a Winner’ where he will talk about the approach he applied in his coaching practice that helped him achieve top results, regardless of the environment and the teams he worked with.

We also highlight the topic ‘Building a Brand of an Entrepreneur or Company – What is More Important?’ which will discuss the strategic approach to building the brand of an entrepreneur and a company and the implications such an approach can have on the company’s value. This topic will be presented by Manuela Šola, owner and director of the PR agency Communication Laboratory, vice president of HUP’s Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, and president of the Supervisory Board of HUP, but also a participant in SENTOR’s mentoring program:

– I truly believe that this learning process is extremely important regardless of how long you have had your company; on the other hand, there is a tremendous wealth we can gain from people who have been in the market for much longer and are very successful in what they have done. My mentor was an entrepreneur with many years of experience who went through various transformations of the company, from its beginnings to its sale. In our three sessions, he shortened my entrepreneurial struggles by five years – says Šola.

In a conversation with Miodrag Šajatović, the editor-in-chief of LIDER-a, four young entrepreneurs who have successfully overcome the ‘growing pains’ of starting a business will share their initial entrepreneurial experiences, while new challenges have arisen.

Ante Mandić is the founder of the IT company IN2. After selling the company, he remains active in the business scene as an investor in several businesses and a mentor and co-founder of SENTOR. In his presentation, he will discuss the reasons, advantages, and disadvantages of an ownership exit through the sale of a company.

The topic ‘Do Companies Die and Why?’ will be addressed by Boris Popović, co-owner of the Rijeka company Alarm Automatika and co-founder of SENTOR, and Boris Vukić, a partner at Adizes SEE, who will talk about the prerequisites for a company to outlive its founder.

Approximately 120 participants are expected to attend the conference – entrepreneurs and representatives of institutions that provide support for the development of entrepreneurship in Croatia.

There will be no registration fee for participation in the conference. Applications and the complete program: https://sentor.com.hr/konferencija/.