September 7, 2019 - Continuing our look at the speakers for next week's inaugural Entrepreneurial Mindset conference in Zagreb next week Next up, conference organiser and entrepreneurial driving force, Ognjen Bagatin.
It quickly sold out and there is a waiting list of hundreds should tickets become available. Next week's Entrepreneurial Mindset conference in Zagreb is the first of its kind in Croatia, and it includes a top draw list of speakers, several of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country.
One of the co-founders of the conference is Ognjen Bagatin, one of the most energetic proponents of change and positivity in Croatia today. In addition to running the award-winning and rapidly-expanding Bagatin Clinic in Zagreb and Split, Bagatin is at the heart of efforts to establish Croatia as a top medical tourism destination on the global map, as well as to strengthen ties between the business community in the diaspora and the homeland. His magazine, Casopis Poduzetnik is rapidly becoming a focal point for the business community in Croatia. TCN caught up with Bagatin to learn more about the conference on September 12, which will also be live-streamed.
1. As a Brit, I notice that entrepreneurs are not embraced and supported as much in Croatia as they are in countries with a longer capitalist tradition. How does it feel being an entrepreneur here?
You are right in the sense of support, but that just means there are huge opportunities for entrepreneurship in Croatia. At the moment the biggest issue is our mindset, there is a lack of an entrepreneurial mindset and understanding among the general public. If there are more successful entrepreneurs there will be more chances for everybody, but like I said it is an opportunity.
2. How would you compare the perception of an entrepreneur in Croatia to one in Germany or the USA, for example?
The perception of an entrepreneur in the USA and Germany is much better and more motivating to get into new business opportunities. There they see failures as an opportunity and a bump on the road to success. In those countries, the entrepreneur is considered to be a driving force of the economy, which they really are.
In Croatia, we still have a long way to go to get a perception like that, and that is the reason why we need to put focus on the thousands and thousands of successful entrepreneurs who are doing an amazing job to create an environment where you can succeed, as opposed to the current "you can`t succeed" environment. Entrepreneurs are those who create jobs, create value for the economy and a better environment for new entrepreneurs.
3. A conference on the entrepreneurial mindset is very innovative for this part of the world. How did it come about?
Our goal was to create an environment of success and creativity, and to give hope to all those who are thinking of leaving the country. We are doing the conference so that both new and more experienced entrepreneurs get inspiration from those who are doing an amazing job and from whom we can learn. Our goal is to celebrate others' success, to focus on future growth and to learn from the best of us. We want Croatia to be the most creative, the most innovative and most entrepreneurial country in the new Europe.
4. What are your hopes for the conference and what do you hope to achieve?
Our goal is to inspire entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs and encourage them to continue with their efforts to succeed in Croatia. That is why we choose EY Croatia to be program partners and together with them we gathered entrepreneurs from their project EY Entrepreneur of the Year which has been running for 5 years in Croatia. We are very grateful to have them at our conference as speakers, but also as attendees. We hope to show that the entrepreneurial community is focused on the future, and that we celebrate each other's success. The next goal for us is to do these kinds of event but focused on students, because they are our greatest strength.
5. I assume that this is not just a one-off conference, but part of a longer-term strategy. Can you tell us a little more?
You are right, this is the start of a long term platform for the promotion of entrepreneurship, and we have plans to organize this every year and to have a smaller conferences for promotion of entrepreneurial mindset and entrepreneurship with university students and high school students, but also to have a series of podcast, articles and videos on this topic through www.poduzetnik.biz and our Entrepreneur Magazine. Our goal is to create a new army of entrepreneurs who we all are going to be proud of.
6. As conference organiser, I must congratulate you on such a great list of speakers, the real cream of Croatia's entrepreneurial class. Was it easy to persuade them?
The great thing is that we all have similar goals and want to give back to society, so in that sense it was easy, but it is also easier when you have EY Croatia by your side as a Program Partner?
7. Instilling an entrepreneurial mindset into a society which has grown up with socialism will take some time and effort. What is the roadmap to achieve this?
It will take some effort to install an entrepreneurial mindset, but with the strengthening of entrepreneurial community and successful entrepreneurial role models such as Mate Rimac (Rimac Automobili), Silvije Kutic (Infobip), Nenad Bakic (Varteks and Croatian Makers) , Alan Sumina (Nanobit), Ivan Mrvos (Include), Matia Zulj (Agrivi), Aleksandra Dojcinovic (Lei lou) and many, many others, and the new generation will embrace this opportunity and find the way to succeed, and the more of them who succeed will make it easier for everybody else. That is why the culture of success is our greatest chance.
The road map is simple, feed the public with positive news from the business sector, and do it more often than with negative news. We have so many of successful Croatians in Croatia and abroad, and we need to share more of their success to the others, it is our responsibility if we want our children to grow up in a healthier environment and to make Croatia a great place to live and work. I think that is something we all want.
More info at www.poduzetnickimindset.biz and FB Casopis poduzetnik
