If we were to wake up now in, say, 1997, it would be almost unimaginable to find content or be at an event celebrating failure. Especially in entrepreneurship. You made a mistake, nearly destroyed the company? Be quiet, cover your ears, and if you move on, continue in silence. Even on the global stage, this ‘sin’ came with the usual penance – shame, and in Croatia, if you destroyed a company at that time, you immediately received the label of a ‘controversial entrepreneur’. And if you dare to push on, then you are probably a favorite of political structures. But Silicon Valley changed everything.
Even for ‘our’ man. As the IT industry grew, so did the frequency of failures. Even if you founded a company, conceived an incredibly innovative product that caused severe disruption in all segments of both markets and lifestyles, the board could get rid of you if the results fell short of what shareholders expected. And then you leave, establish several more incredible companies that achieve global success and boom: you give speeches about your ‘inspirational mistakes’. Ksenija Puškarić writes about the failures of business successful people in this week’s topic.
In a few days, it will be exactly two years since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, escalating the Russian-Ukrainian war, which has lasted nearly a decade. The world (read: the USA and the EU) then installed an unprecedented number of sanctions. Various centers and institutes report a staggering 13,000 penalties, more than the sanctions imposed against Iran, Syria, North Korea, and Cuba combined. Russia is a vast country, but the fact that no state in history has ever been hit with so many blockades must have knocked it out.
Because we have stepped deep into the medium term, but the knees are still not bending. And this despite the fact that about 49 percent of European exports to Russia and 58 percent of Russian imports are under sanctions. Moreover, new forecasts from the World Bank estimate that the Russian economy grew by 2.6 percent last year, recovering the loss from 2022, the first year of comprehensive sanctions when it fell by 2.1 percent (by the way, less than all forecasts!). So, how is it that a country that analysts generally look down upon – because its GDP is smaller than, for example, France’s – withstands the fierce pressures of the most developed and richest countries? The answer is provided in the new issue by Gordana Gelenčer.
By entering the Slovenian market and then acquiring the Spanish generic company Mabo Farma last autumn, PharmaS is expanding its business into the markets of Western Europe. Entering the Spanish market marks the beginning of its five-year strategic plan aimed at expanding into new Western European markets and continuing to build the company as a strong international player in prescription and over-the-counter drugs as well as dietary supplements. This is a significant step for the company owned by Luka Rajić, which started operating in 2008, since when it has continuously grown organically, but also through acquisitions that have been realized so far in Eastern European countries. Thus, in 2010, PharmaS acquired the Serbian Ni Medic and the related drug distribution company In med. The investment also included funding for business development, namely the completion of the construction of a generic drug factory in Zrenjanin.
