Multiple nationalities, multiple different sectors, industries, viewpoints on different topics and just generally a great place to meet new people.
At the Podim Deal Room, connect with investors and other business-relevant individuals, get expert mentoring to tackle your entrepreneurial challenges, and forge valuable connections. With 1,300+ 1:1 meetings, we offer months of networking in just two days.
With a 40-year legacy, Podim fosters personal growth and sparks disruptive ideas. Join us to connect with innovation leaders, uncover success secrets, and fuel your entrepreneurial journey.
“The core values of Podim drive us to take over the future we want to experience.” Matej Rus, Venture Factory & Podim, Slovenia
The owner and main organizer of Podim is the nonprofit institute Tovarna podjemov (Venture Factory) from Maribor. Partnerships have formed the strong foundation of Podim from the very beginning; therefore, we cooperate with different kinds of startup ecosystem stakeholders as co-organizers, partners, and supporters. Traditionally, the Slovene Enterprise Fund and the Slovenian Ministry of Economic Development and Technology are the co-organizers of the conference.
Multiple nationalities, multiple different sectors, industries, viewpoints on different topics and just generally a great place to meet new people.
Jon Goriup
Anteja Africa, Slovenia
Come to Maribor, it’s beautiful. People are friendly, food is good, great wine. You can’t go wrong coming here even if you want to walk in the beautiful park.
Michael Kerschbaumer
SFG, Austria
Podim is always worth the trip – great atmosphere and great crowd!
Michael Schuster
Speedinvest, Austria
I think the value of human-to-human interaction is just very difficult to replace. Even the best online interaction platforms lose a lot of that value. It’s just very different to be person-to-person.
John Harthorne
Two Lanterns Venture Partners, USA
The highlight for me is just the sheer number of startups and investors. I haven’t seen this kind of concentration of both startups and investors from this region anywhere else.
Kebbie Sebastian
Penser, United Kingdom
I’m overwhelmed by the spirit and energy, the number of people interested in innovation and over a thousand people that are into this entrepreneurial culture.
Eran Davidson
Davidson & W Technology Growth, Israel
Even if you’re coming from anywhere in the world and you really are looking for the next great thing, you should be here.
Lisa Gutu
Yapily, UK
What impressed me the most was the focus on actionable learning and networking. Podim offered a well-curated program designed to maximize our time and provide meaningful insights. The engaging keynote speeches, panel discussions, and interactive workshops left me inspired and motivated to take my own endeavors to the next level.
Una Sabljaković
Prostruktion, Bosnia & Herzegovina
It’s the place to be!
Florian Kandler
GetFunding.how, Austria
Maribor is a beautiful city and even If you don’t have any meetings or anything, you have time to enjoy the city a little bit.
Simon Schmiderer
zone16, Austria
The startup ecosphere in our region is really good quality, there really are enough investors, there are enough corporates, there is a lot of media involved, there are good startups here and I think this is one of the prime hubs to meet all of these people.
Marin Ćurković
AdScanner, Croatia
If you’re an entrepreneur, come talk to investors. If you’re an investor, come talk to entrepreneurs.
Julien Coustaury
Fil Rouge Capital, Croatia