PODIM 2026
Pitching Competition
Deal Room
Marketplace
Investors Meetup
Podim Party
Program
Who is it for
Startups
Investors
Business Executives
Attendees
Media
Partners
Become a partner
Partners 2025
Don’t Miss
Blog
Speakers 2025
Past Speakers
Downloads
Newsletter
Podim App
About
About Podim
Organizers
Maribor
Slovenia
Venue
Press kit
English
Slovenščina
PODIM 2026
Pitching Competition
Deal Room
Marketplace
Investors Meetup
Podim Party
Program
Who is it for
Startups
Investors
Business Executives
Attendees
Media
Partners
Become a partner
Partners 2025
Don’t Miss
Blog
Speakers 2025
Past Speakers
Downloads
Newsletter
Podim App
About
About Podim
Organizers
Maribor
Slovenia
Venue
Press kit
English
Slovenščina
Tickets
South Central Ventures, Slovenia
Jure Mikuž
Managing Partner
Fundraising Bootcamp, UK
Francois Mazoudier
Founder & CEO
Silicon Gardens, Croatia
Izet Zdralovic
Venture Partner Croatia
Slovene Enterprise Fund, Slovenia
Rok Huber
Head of Department for special development incentives
Vesna VC, Croatia
Karlo Kukec
Associate
Carinthian Venture Fund, Austria
Patrick Platzer
Startup Coach
Infobip, Croatia
Stefan Despotović
DevEx Partnerships Senior Specialist
MDX, Germany
Iva Janković
Principal Consultant
Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport, Slovenia
Matevž Frangež
e2vc, Turkey
Dilan Sisu
VC
Interactive Venture Partners, Hungary
Laszlo Czirjak
Managing Partner
Podim & Venture Factory, Slovenia
Urban Lapajne
Program Director
Optics Trade d.o.o
Dr. Teodor Štimec
Chief Visionary Officer
EdgeTech d.o.o
Iztok Renčelj
CEO
Faculty of Electrical Engineering UL, Slovenia
Mag. Jure Verhovnik
Project Manager
Solvesall d.o.o, Slovenia
Dr. Luka Stopar
CTO
SpaceGuardian, Slovenia
Luka Zlatečan
CEO
Pet Travel Advisor, Serbia
Andrea Mladin
Founder
Slovene Enterprise Fund, Slovenia
Maja Tomanič Vidovič
Director
Genialis, Slovenia
Miha Štajdohar
CTO and co-founder of Genialis, bringing AI-powered biomarkers into precision oncology to transform cancer care.
Ministry for Digital Transformation, Slovenia
Mojca Štruc
Acting Director of Digital Society Directorate
Slovenian Intellectual Property Office, Slovenia
Klemen Grošelj
Member
URSIL, Slovenia
Petra Boškin
Leader
Chipolo, Slovenia
Primož Zelenšek
CEO
Mysteria Colorum, Slovenia
Marta Klajnšek Gunde
Chief Executive Director
Novaspace, Germany
Annabel Egert
Senior Consultant
OTP, Slovenia
Aleksandra Brdar Turk
Director Banking Operations
Exoscale, Switzerland
Iva Bosotina
A1 - european cloud provider
Exoscale, Switzerland
Gernot Horak
A1 - european cloud provider
Gentler Stories, Slovenia
Katarina Lotrič
CEO of Gentler Stories, creator of award-winning apps recognized by Apple for innovation and social impact.
HeyReach, Serbia
Vukašin Vukosavljević
Scaled two B2B startups from <$15K to $4M and $13.5M ARR—proven growth leader turning early traction into explosive SaaS success.
Pan-Adria Partners, Slovenia
Charlotte Taft
Principle
Flycom Technologies, Slovenia
Vid Jakopin
Head of Remote Sensing
Novaspace, Germany
Thomas Tanghe
COO and innovation lead at Novaspace, advising global space ventures on strategy, funding, and startup scaling.
Colossyan, Denmark
Matic Užmah
Ex-Synthesia | Director of RevOps at Colossyan (OR Senior Executive, Director of Revenue Operations)
iScale Group, Spain
Tamas Szeker
General Partner
"Jožef Stefan" Institute & University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Rok Pestotnik
Physicist and innovation leader translating large-scale experiments to medical imaging.
World Intellectual Property Organization, Switzerland
Anja von der Ropp
Senior Program Coordinator for Climate Change and Food Security at the World Intellectual Property Organization
LUI & EIT, Slovenia
Jakob Gajšek
Director of Ljubljana University Incubator and Managing Partner at RUJ VC, driving deeptech growth and global investment visibility from CEE.
Bloq.it, Lisbon
Miha Jagodic
Co-founder and CEO of Bloq.it, the fastest-growing smart locker manufacturer for parcel deliveries in Europe.
all eyes on screens, Croatia
Perica Baškarić
Chief Product Officer at all eyes on screens
PortfoLion Capital Partners, Hungary
Mark Palfalvi
Leading Pre-Seed/Seed operation at Portfolion, a EUR 440-million-AUM, CEE-focused Venture Capital and Growth Equity fund.
CMS Slovenia, Slovenia
Gašper Hajdu
Corporate lawyer helping startups and global corporates navigate M&A deals, restructurings, and complex transactions.
Infineon Technologies, Austria
Andreas Muehlberger
Strategic Partner Manager at Infineon Technologies Austria where he drives startup and university collaborations through the Co-Innovation Program.
Nlaw, Slovenia
Nejc Novak
Founder of Nlaw and co-founder of Riskaway, empowering startups and investors with sharp, scalable legal solutions.
Octopus Ventures, UK
Peter Globokar
Technology-focused investment banker, co-founder of Mooreland Partners, and senior advisor to several European venture funds.
Good Tech Ventures, UK
Jerneja Lončar
Jerneja Loncar is the founder of Good Tech Ventures, where she supports mission-driven startups with deep expertise in corporate development and global venture networks.
Vesna VC & Business Angels Slovenia, Slovenia
Nina Dremelj
Managing Partner at Vesna Deeptech Venture Fund, investor, and advocate for early-stage deep-tech startups across Europe.
Sploro, Spain
Miguel García González
CEO & Co-founder of Sploro, specializing in EU-backed innovation programs and equity-free startup funding.
Synthesia, Slovenia
Mark Mavretic
Creative Strategy Lead at Synthesia, the leading AI video generation platform, driving creative demand for global brands.
Silicon Gardens, Slovenia
Vuk Lau
Partner at Silicon Gardens Fund and Board President of the Startup and Scaleup Association at the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce.
CAKE.com, Serbia
Nenad Milanovic
Founder & CEO of CAKE.com, a bootstrapped unicorn from Serbia and US that scaled past $1B valuation without external investment.
Uhura Solutions, UK
Mladen Markovic
Co-founder of Uhura Solutions, a low-code AI platform automating document analysis for businesses; Techstart company.
Daytona, Croatia
Ivan Burazin
Co-founder of Codeanywhere, creator of Shift conference, and Co-founder & CEO of Daytona, a platform revolutionizing AI-driven developer tools.
Capital Kinetics, UK
Christian Kumar
Founder & CEO of Capital Kinetics, expert in corporate finance, and CEO of Med Tech Makers Lab focused on medical tech innovation.
Serpentine Ventures, Switzerland
Michael Stucky
Deep-tech investor and entrepreneur with a track record of scaling ventures, including a successful exit to GSK.
Innovation Centre Nikola Tesla & Nuqleus, Croatia
Tena Žganec
Project Manager at ICENT & Nucleus, advancing Croatia's deep-tech ecosystem and driving interdisciplinary innovation.
Speedinvest, UK
Varun Rekhi
Fintech investor at Speedinvest, brings VC, capital markets and angel experience across the US, Europe, and Asia.
The Launch Code, UK
Zoltan Vardy
B2B startup mentor, helping tech companies scale their global sales using his 9-step framework, The Launch Code™
Microblink, Croatia
Luka Šlibar
Senior AI & Computer Vision Product Manager at Microblink, leading the development of next-gen AI-driven solutions.
Mimo, Austria
Johannes Berger
Co-founder & CEO of Mimo platform, making learning to code accessible with bite-sized lessons and real-world projects with over 25 milion learners.
Beta-i, Portugal
Pedro Costa
Growth Director at Beta-i, a leader in corporate innovation & international expansion.
All eyes on screens, Germany
Marin Ćurković
CEO & Co-founder of All Eyes on Screens, a leading AI-driven media engagement optimization platform revolutionizing TV and streaming advertising.
AGRANA Fruit, Austria
Mariya Konstantinova
Finance and investment leader with extensive experience in FoodTech, sustainability, and corporate venture building.
Bird Buddy, Slovenia
Tom Vodopivec
COO at Bird Buddy, shaping data-driven decision-making and business scalability for a global nature-tech brand.
Fil Rouge Capital
Julien Coustaury
Otranto Limited, Monaco
John Velissarios
Advisor and board member, ex. Global Director at Accenture, advising central banks and top global organizations on digital markets, CBDCs, and security protocols.
European Patent Office, Germany
Yann Ménière
Chief Economist
ROYBI, USA
Elnaz Sarraf
Founder & CEO of ROYBI®, the award-winning AI-powered learning robot revolutionizing early childhood education worldwide.
Rolla, BIH
Igor Čarapina
COO at Rolla, a health & fitness startup revolutionizing corporate wellness technology that has secured the CEE’s largest-ever seed round (€6.3M)
South Central Ventures, Slovenia
Tatjana Zabasu Mikuž
Managing partner with 15+ years of VC experience and 40+ investments. Advisory Board of ESNA.
Silicon Gardens, Slovenia
Gregor Rebolj
Serial entrepreneur and General Partner at Silicon Gardens
Native Teams, Croatia
Timothei Jukić
Young fintech leader and 30 Under 30 honoree, driving global expansion at Native Teams.
Nordoon, Slovenia
Tomaž Šuklje
Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Nordoon, leveraging GenAI to automate and optimize complex supply chain operations.
Merlin Hat, ex. Bugatti Rimac, Croatia
Snježana Miliša
Ex-Rimac Automobili, where she led the €150M Rimac Nevera program, the world’s first globally homologated electric hypercar.
Sportradar, Slovenia
Marin Ribać
A digital advertising and media sales leader at Sportradar, shaping the future of data-driven sports technology solutions.
Bird Buddy, Slovenia
Franci Zidar
Founder of Bird Buddy, the AI-powered smart bird feeder, which transformed a record-breaking Kickstarter into a $100M+ revenue business.
Nordeus, Serbia
Andrej Kugonic
VP of Marketing at Nordeus (acquired by Take-Two Interactive for $378 million), leading performance marketing for award-winning mobile games like Top Eleven.
Gentler Stories, Slovenia
Jasna Krmelj
Co-founder & CTO of Gentler Stories, creator of Gentler Streak, an Apple Award-winning app redefining fitness & well-being.
Outfit7, Slovenia
Ante Odić
Senior VP at Outfit7, driving data-driven gaming innovation behind Talking Tom & Friends, one of the world’s biggest mobile gaming franchises.
Austrian Startups, Austria
Daniel Cronin
"The Pitch Professor," a startup mentor & keynote speaker, helping founders master their pitch and scale their businesses.
Microblink and Photomath, Croatia
Damir Sabol
Co-founder of two Croatian global success stories: Microblink and Photomath.
Ex. Infobip, Croatia
Boris Pogačnik
Growth strategist and former VP of Business Operations at Infobip, leading market expansion across Latin America, Africa, and beyond.
GSV Ventures, USA
Jennifer Lee
Partner at GSV Ventures, former Chief Growth Officer at Photomath, acquired by Google, and expert in edtech investing.
Novakid, Turkey
Max Azarov
Co-founder & CEO of Novakid, a global EdTech platform delivering 18M+ English lessons across 50+ countries, backed by $41.5M in funding.
Unilever, Netherlands
PJ Mistry
Unilever Foundry Strategy & Ecosystem Builder, leading innovation strategies and partnerships in sustainable development.
Global Brain, UK
Naoki Kamimaeda
Partner & Europe Division Head at Global Brain, investing in AI, fintech, and cybersecurity while driving corporate innovation across Japan & Asia.
Unfold.vc, Poland
Magdalena Surowiec
Managing Partner at Unfold.vc, is a seasoned business strategist and VC leader known for scaling ventures, driving exits, and championing diversity in tech and innovation.
CMS, China
Jonathan Chu
Legal expert specializing in IP, fintech, and blockchain, advising global companies on regulatory compliance in China & Hong Kong.
KWF, ex Philips, Austria
Roland Waldner
More than 30 years of experience inside of leading innovation positions inside of Philips. Now Managing Director Carinthian Economic Promotion Fund.
LAM'ON, Bulgaria
Angela Ivanova
Co-founder & CEO of LAM'ON, EIC Company. Forbes 30 Under 30.
Bible Chat, Romania
Marius Iordache
Co-founder & CTO of Bible Chat, an AI-powered Christian app that cracked the global Top 15 most popular iOS apps.
Infineon Technologies Austria, Austria
Sabine Herlitschka
Infineon Technologies AG the largest microelectronics development unit in Austria, part of Global Group which is present in more than 60 countries.
Portia AI, UK
Emma Burrows
Co-Founder of Portia AI, former CTO of Stripe UK and ex-Google engineer, recognized by Sifted as one of 15 AI founders to watch.
European Investment Fund, Luxembourg
Daniel Beck
VC Fund-of-Fund Investor at European Investment Fund (EIF)
European Investment Fund, Luxembourg
Uli Grabenwarter
Director of Equity Investments at EIF, overseeing VC, impact investing, and PE funds across Europe.
HubSpot, France
Nabila Moumen
AI & growth expert, helping businesses scale through marketing, sales, and customer retention strategies at HubSpot.
Busuu, UK
Bernhard Niesner
Co-founder of Busuu, the world’s largest online language-learning platform, acquired for €385M after surpassing 100M users.
EIT, Switzerland
Stefan Dobrev
Chair of EIT Governing Board. Extensive experience at the intersection of strategy and technology.