That start-ups are extremely popular and current in numerous industries was proven by the full attendance numbers at the panel discussion with the provocative name “Underdog? Your mom is an underdog!” Moderator and Neostar CEO Dimitrije Trbović explained at the very beginning that underdog is a sports term for people who no one would ever expect to win. The panel participants, all leaders of successful innovative companies, explained with their own examples how you can win with just one idea.
Dejan Ljuština, director at Vision Partners; Tomislav Grubišić, CEO of Bornfight; Hrvoje Ćosić, CEO of Aircash, and Filip Ljubić, founder and CEO of Q Agency, recognized the difficulties and modern problems of today and, by thinking outside the box, have offered users innovative solutions.
According to Ljuština, you can invest in an idea at any stage of a company’s development, but Filip Ljubić still emphasized that it is important to react quickly and wisely to constant changes in the market. He also pointed out that no one can predict with certainty what the market will need in the near future and what creative solutions will be necessary in a few years.
Ćosić emphasized the importance of talking to people and recognizing the needs of users and offered a solution for secure long-term success: “I think it is important to release something on the market that will make it clear to people that you are the one offering them something that will solve their problems. This is how you acquire loyal customers who are ready to pay for your solution in the long term, and that is the key to success.” However, everything is not as simple as it seems – for him, the balance between business and personal life is mostly a myth, and he believes that it is not possible to stay in business unless you truly enjoy it.
The inspiring panel served as a kind of seminar with practical advice for those who are thinking about launching their own start-up, and the participants agreed that an innovative idea does not necessarily have to present a new product, but also a compact improvement of a specific business process. However, perhaps the most difficult and demanding part of launching and developing a start-up is “to go from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm”.
