Founders. Operators. Builders. Decision-makers. People behind products used by millions – live in Maribor, May 11–13.
Not just another conference lineup
Doist. Sofascore. Infinum. Mews. FOREO. Outfit7. Orqa. FlowX.AI. Wonderful AI.
That’s where it starts.
Now add:
- former leaders from Microsoft, Atlassian, Roblox, MongoDB, Google, Meta
- operators from Accenture, IBM, Rakuten Viber, Culture Amp
- policy shapers from the European Commission, UnternehmerTUM, and the European Innovation Council
This isn’t a “speaker lineup”. these are the people who:
- built the products
- scaled the teams
- closed the deals
No theory. No recycled slides. Just real experience from people who’ve done it.
5-6 min read
25 speakers. 5 themes. What actually matters right now.
We’ve filtered 80+ speakers into the 25 you should actually care about.
- Global founders building products used by millions
- Corporate innovation & ecosystem leaders shaping Europe
- Growth & GTM operators scaling companies across markets
- Applied AI leaders turning hype into real business
- Deep tech pioneers commercializing breakthrough science
If you’re building, investing, or scaling — there’s something here for you.
Global founders who built products the world uses
Who it’s for: founders and startup teams with global ambition
Why it matters: these are real playbooks, not inspiration
You’ll hear how companies from Europe:
- reach tens of millions of users
- scale across markets
- go from idea → acquisition
Amir Salihefendić (Doist)
How Todoist reached 50M+ users — bootstrapped, remote-first, long before it was a trend.
Ivan Bešlić (Sofascore)
From 1M to 30M+ users — and how growth channels evolve at scale.
Tomislav Car (Infinum / Productive)
What actually drives SaaS growth — beyond vanity metrics.
Luka Berger (Flexkeeping → Mews)
How repositioning led to acquisition by a hospitality unicorn.
Maximilian Fleitmann (Wizard Ventures)
Lessons from building, investing, and exiting multiple B2B products.
Corporate innovation & ecosystem shapers
Who it’s for: corporates, policymakers, ecosystem builders
Why it matters: the rules are changing — and these people are writing them
Europe’s tech future is being shaped right now. Funding. Regulation. Scale-up strategies.
You’ll hear directly from:
Stefan Drüssler (UnternehmerTUM / EIC Board)
How Europe builds its next deep tech champions.
Stjepan Orešković (Bosqar / Future 500)
Scaling companies across 20+ countries — and closing Europe’s scale-up gap.
Anna Krzyzanowska (European Commission)
Inside the EU’s startup & scaleup strategy.
Grace Francisco (m2i)
What corporates still get wrong about AI — after 20+ years at Microsoft, Atlassian, Roblox.
Robin Wauters (European Startup Network)
Where policy, capital, and founders actually meet.
Growth & GTM operators scaling smarter
Who it’s for: startups in growth mode
Why it matters: generic advice doesn’t scale companies — execution does
These are operators who:
- scaled across markets
- built high-performance teams
- turned chaos into growth
Vedran Bajer (Wonderful AI)
How to build teams that scale across 8+ markets.
Mateo Starcevic Filipovic (PromptWise)
Community-led growth → 1.35M ARR in under 6 months.
Perica Levatić (57hours)
From runway panic → profitability.
Zarena Kancheva (Two-Plus.ai)
Hypergrowth = mindset + team + AI.
Faris Sehovic (Crunchr)
How events can land enterprise clients like Netflix.
Applied AI that actually works
Who it’s for: builders integrating AI into real products
Why it matters: AI only matters if it ships
This is where AI moves from hype → execution.
Ioan Iacob (FlowX.AI)
AI-native systems transforming banking & insurance.
Mary Hurd (Haavn)
Cutting through AI hype — back to fundamentals.
John Velissarios (Otranto Limited)
AI, finance, and the future of money.
Hajdi Cenan (airt)
Lessons from merging with a US AI company.
Deividas Kovger (Holo AI)
From viral ads → scalable AI systems.
Deep tech transforming industries
Who it’s for: deep tech founders, researchers, investors
Why it matters: the hardest part isn’t building — it’s reaching the market
These founders did both.
Vlatko Matijević (Orqa FPV)
Building world-class drone tech from Europe.
Christian Kumar (Capital Kinetics)
Investing across MedTech, energy, and tech.
Luis Valente (iLoF)
AI + photonics accelerating drug discovery.
Anastasia Maria Moschovi (Dyscovery Magnetics)
Turning advanced science into industrial growth.
Jasmin Güngör (Onsight Ventures)
Quantum computing → from hype to investable.
Speakers are just the beginning
The real value of Podim happens between the talks.
In 3 days, you compress a year of:
- meetings
- deals
- learning
- connections
Into one experience. Here’s what that looks like:
200 startups — handpicked and investor-ready
60+ VC funds — from regional leaders to European heavyweights
1,300+ meetings — pre-arranged through the Deal Room
Pitching competition — top startups on stage
Investors Academy — curated program for VCs & angels
Workshops & deep dives — hands-on sessions with top partners
Podim Party — where real conversations happen
Terrace networking — no forced small talk
Marketplace — startups in the center of the action
And yes — a 40+ year legacy behind it.
Ready to meet them in person?
You can:
- read about these people
- follow them online
Or you can:
- meet them
- talk to them
- build something with them
📍 Maribor
📅 May 11–13
