An international lineup of 70+ world-class founders, CEOs, and innovation leaders is hitting the Podim stage – from the USA, UK and Turkey to Slovenia, Serbia, Romania, Austria, Croatia, and beyond. They’re gathering in one place to share bold ideas, startup stories, and next-level innovation energy.
We’re talking about:
🌍 Visionaries building global products
🌟 Real talk, no sugarcoating
🚀 A chance to meet them in person and grow your network
Whether you’re a founder, investor, innovation manager or simply startup-curious – this is where the future connects.
Entrepreneurs turning bold ideas into global success
Meet world-class entrepreneurs who’ve turned bold ideas into global impact. Their stories aren’t just inspiring — they’re full of practical takeaways that can fuel your own entrepreneurial journey, whether you’re just starting out or scaling globally.
Bernhard Niesner, co-founder of Busuu, will share how a simple idea became the world’s largest language-learning platform, used by over 100 million people worldwide — and how it all led to a €385 million acquisition.
Nenad Milanović, founder of CAKE.com, will bring one of the most inspiring bootstrapping stories to the stage: building a unicorn valued at over $1 billion — entirely without external funding. A rare path in today’s startup world, and a powerful lesson in long-term vision and resilience.
Elnaz Sarraf, founder of ROYBI, will explain how she developed an AI-powered robot designed to revolutionize early childhood education and give a voice — and a future — to children often left behind by traditional systems.
Max Azarov, CEO of Novakid, will unpack what it takes to scale a global EdTech company delivering over 18 million lessons in more than 50 countries — and the hard-won insights from reaching $75 million in annual recurring revenue.
Marius Iordache, co-founder of Bible Chat, will show how creative growth hacking and AI integration helped turn a niche Christian app into a global iOS Top 15 success story — proving that purpose and performance can go hand in hand.
Corporate innovation that delivers impact
Top innovation leaders reveal what it takes to keep companies competitive, bring deep tech to market, and unlock long-term impact through open innovation. These aren’t theories — they’re proven practices from the frontlines of corporate innovation.
Sabine Herlitschka, CEO of Infineon Technologies Austria, will offer a strategic perspective on Europe’s position in the global tech race — and what it will take to move from catching up to leading the way in breakthrough innovation.
Roland Waldner, former innovation lead at Philips and now Director at KWF, will share essential lessons drawn from 30 years at the heart of a European tech giant — practical principles that remain relevant for today’s corporate innovators.
Pedro Costa, Growth Director at Beta-i, will explore how open innovation enables deep tech commercialization — offering real-world strategies for bridging the gap between cutting-edge research and market-ready solutions.
PJ Mistry, innovation strategist at Unilever, will demonstrate how collaborative innovation models drive impact — accelerating deep tech solutions through partnerships that create value across industries.
Jerneja Lončar, seasoned deep tech operator, will bring insights from her experience at GM, where she helped design and run corporate venturing programs aimed at integrating and scaling deep tech solutions within global tech ecosystems.
Growth experts scaling smarter and faster
Seasoned operators share what it really takes to break into new markets, validate products effectively, and scale smart — with the endgame in mind. These are practical strategies, tested under pressure, and shared by leaders who’ve done it at scale.
Boris Pogačnik, former VP at Infobip, will share hard-won lessons from leading global market expansions — including the five most common mistakes companies make when entering new markets, and how to avoid them.
Mark Mavretic, Creative Strategy Lead at Synthesia, will explain how targeted social media strategies fueled the explosive B2B growth of the world’s leading AI video platform — and what it takes to scale in a crowded digital space.
Jennifer Lee, Partner at GSV Ventures and former CGO at Photomath, will walk through how to align product growth with a future exit — from defining the right KPIs to positioning your product for strategic acquisition.
Ante Odić, SVP at Outfit7, will reveal how the team behind Talking Tom & Friends approaches product validation across different growth stages — and how they balance science, intuition, and timing in a fast-moving environment.
Johannes Berger, co-founder of Mimo, will open up about the tough decisions behind reshaping a 25M+ user platform into a leaner, stronger, and more sustainable business — and what he learned through the process of scaling with resilience.
Applied AI that’s changing the game
From redefining customer engagement and reshaping finance to building global products — these leaders show how applied AI is transforming real-world business challenges into scalable solutions across sales, fintech, and customer success.
Nabila Moumen, AI & growth expert at HubSpot, will share how companies can elevate marketing, sales, and customer retention by embedding AI throughout the entire customer journey — unlocking faster growth and deeper engagement.
Damir Sabol, founder of Photomath and Microblink, will take us behind the scenes of two globally successful AI-driven products and explains how solving real problems with smart technology can lead to massive scale and meaningful impact.
Emma Burrows, co-founder of Portia AI and former Stripe UK CTO, will explore how AI is reshaping fintech — from foundational infrastructure to automated decision-making and smarter workflows.
Mladen Markovic, co-founder of UHURA, will reveal what it takes to win sales in the notoriously difficult banking sector — and how intelligent automation is helping startups gain trust and close complex deals.
John Velissarios, former Global Director at Accenture and advisor to central banks, will dive into how AI is transforming digital finance — including security protocols, regulatory compliance, and the evolution of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
Deep Tech that transforms industries
Leading investors, innovators, and deep tech operators reveal how to fund, scale, and commercialize breakthrough technologies — turning complexity into real-world solutions and long-term impact. From lab discoveries to venture success stories, this is where the next generation of deep tech takes shape.
Snježana Miliša, former program lead for the €150M Rimac Nevera at Bugatti Rimac, will share her experience managing complex deep tech projects — from concept and development to global commercialization.
Michael Stucky, partner at Serpentine Ventures, will offer insight into how deep tech ventures scale across Europe, and what investors look for when backing technologies that need time, capital, and bold vision to succeed.
Uli Grabenwarter, Director at the European Investment Fund (EIF), will provide a macro-level view of Europe’s deep tech investment landscape — and outlines what needs to evolve for Europe to remain globally competitive.
Naoki Kamimaeda, Partner at Global Brain, will explain how global corporations are leveraging open innovation to connect with startups and scale deep tech across industries — accelerating commercialization beyond borders.
Angela Ivanova, co-founder of LAM’ON and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, will share a founder’s perspective on raising capital and building sustainable deep tech ventures that combine technological innovation with environmental impact.
Ready to turn inspiration into action?
From bold founders and corporate innovators to deep tech pioneers and AI trailblazers — these are the voices shaping the future of business, and they’ll all be live on stage at Podim 2025. This is your opportunity to learn from the best, ask questions face-to-face, and connect with the people building what’s next.
👉 Check out all our speakers and grab your ticket before it’s gone!
