March 13th, 2022 - Yesterday, Bots&Pots was opened in Zagreb on Vlaška 50 as the world's first restaurant with robotic chefs capable of preparing all kinds of one-pot meals.

Bots&Pots is a new model of digitized catering, with an ambitious plan of expanding first throughout Croatia and eventually across the world with the help of the franchise business model. The kitchen is run by GammaChef robots that prepare a meal in under 15 minutes all in front of the eyes of the customers. Robots can cook any meal that can be prepared in a pot, hence the name of the restaurant Bots&Pots. They offer Mediterranean-style dishes that include different soups, risottos, stews, seafood pasta, gnocchi, and much more, all for affordable prices. The dishes are designed by a chef Vedran Varvodić and there are also additional employees or as they call them robot operators that prepare the ingredients for robots and serve the customers. After the chef designs a meal the robot makes, a digital recipe and with the help of in-house developed software it can reproduce all the steps with 5 robots restaurant can deliver 60 servings per hour.  

As reported by Jutarnji.hr their current menu includes the following main dishes: daily soups, fuži with chicken and spinach, fuži with shrimps and zucchini, black risotto, octopus goulash, gnocchi on goulash, arrabbiata, chili con carne tortillas, Thai red curry and pumpkin, and mushroom risotto. The prices range from 25 to 65 kuna for the main dishes.

This project was developed by Hrvoje Bujas, Đulijano Nola and Dražen Drnas. Đulijano Nola and Dražen Drnas are the founders of GammaChef a Split based startup that started more than 6 years ago and focused on developing a state-of-the-art smart robotic cooker. As with any startup, these two engineers started in a garage with the aim of combining their two passions engineering and cooking. Their initial idea was to bring a robotic cooker to every household, but they soon realized that the international home appliance market was still not ready for this revolution. As they believed strongly in their idea they embarked on a journey to prove to the business world the contrary. With the help of entrepreneur Hrvoje Bujas, they implemented this technology to develop an innovative restaurant with robotic chefs that is a real game-changer and aims to conquer the world restaurant scene. Hrvoje Bujas and Đulijano Nola already cooperated on several successful projects such as CrnoJaje, Osiguraj.me, and GoHome. 

The whole process is automated from the just-in-time procurement to the preparation of the meal and service in the restaurant. This is a perfect landscape for a franchise model as everything can be standardized and easily scalable. As Bots&Pots stresses their aim is not to rival the restaurants with "fine dining" models but rather fast-food chain giants such as Mcdonald's and KFC.

The time will tell will this Croatian innovative concept manage to stir up the industry with high quality, affordable meals, and fully automated and digitalized restaurants. 

If you want to find out more about Bots&Pots you can check out TCN's previous article on this innovative business model.

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May 24, 2021 - The new method, me.mum, only needs a drop of saliva for analyzing hormones and predicting fertility. The project aims to present a reliable solution for all women and couples who are planning a pregnancy or trying to conceive but are experiencing difficulties.

As we hear about the latest technological advances and discoveries, the first thing that comes to mind might be a Tesla truck or a new social network available in the app store. Thus, we wonder, what purpose does technology serve? We believe, therefore, that today's progress in the technology industry is dictated by the latest trends, whims, and social needs of the human being (and it is worth clarifying that it is not all bad).

me.mum

But it also depends on where we look, because not every day people and ideas appear willing to change the course of, for example, the way we know about family planning and predicting fertility. A Croatian entrepreneur, based on her life experience, decided a few years ago to take action on the matter and revolutionize the way in which women can better know their bodies and plan the desired pregnancy with their partners through an innovative method, and it only requires an easy-to-use device and a mobile application.

In 2015, after two years of expectations, disappointment, and hopes, Maja Bujas felt pushed towards four years of developing me.mum, which is an innovative portable fertility monitor and app that can accurately predict women's fertile days by analyzing the levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) from saliva. Its technology is built from scratch, and provides personalized insights into women's hormone profile, and detects the most fertile days, which significantly increases the chance of conceiving. Chances of getting pregnant are higher when women can identify their fertility window. me.mum combines the most popular methods of determining the fertile days: period calendar and measuring luteinizing hormone (LH) from saliva, instead of urine.

Maja Bujas, founder of me.mum

After conceiving the idea, the research and development stage followed. In 2017, the first functional models and app were designed. In the two following years, two prototypes of me.mum were developed, and in December 2020 the final product was completed. That way, after four years of development and two prototypes, Maja can finally share one simple to use solution for all women and couples who are planning a pregnancy or trying to conceive but experiencing difficulties. When you are trying to conceive, the most important thing is to determine your fertile days. With me.mum you will do it easily and simply.

Its use is very practical and easy to learn for all those interested in predicting fertility in few steps. The best time to use me.mum is in the morning, but you can use it during the day too. Before using, it is important not to eat or drink anything, except water. That way your saliva will be clean. According to Maja and her team of developers, the process of using me.mum can be summed up in only three easy steps! 

Currently, the product is already on sale in the early-bird mode, in which all those interested in buying it can access an exclusive price. The market price will be €119, but at this time one can order it through two packages: one for €59, which includes the smart fertility monitor device and the me.mum app. The other, for €69, also includes an online nutrition course for boosting your fertility. The estimated shipping date worldwide will be July 2021. The app will be available as soon as the first me.mum devices are delivered.

Likewise, the me.mum crowdfunding campaign is still in effect, with 25 more days for all those willing and interested in collaborating with its developers, who would like to hear feedback from the early users and grow the me.mum community. Also, through their crowdfunding site, you can learn more about me.mum, the team behind its development, how to use it, any updates in purchasing and shipping, and more!

For more, follow Made in Croatia.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has done very little to instil a sense of optimism in anyone, particularly in the enfeebled Croatian tourism sector which has been among the hardest hit economic activities in the country. One Croatian startup, however, wants to save the summer season and return a sense of optimism to those working in the Croatian tourism industry. Meet Divan.hr.

As Novac writes on the 3rd of July, 2020, Maroje Sabljić and Matina Tenžera, the duo behind Croatian startup's Divan.hr service, has been highlighting the best the City of Zagreb has to offer on its website and on its application (app) for the third year in a row now. This summer, given the dire circumstances caused by the global pandemic of the new coronavirus, they prepared the first complete digital guide to summer in Croatia's capital city - Zagreb.

"The user is offered a choice of more than 200 events across the city that can be reached in a few minutes of searching," says Tenžera, who is also the project manager for this Croatian startup. Their summer guide to Zagreb was designed so that users can also participate in the creation of content, and include all summer outdoor events, restaurants, concerts, stuff for children, etc.

However, in addition, in cooperation with interested managers and owners of hospitality facilities, they launched the #divanfiling initiative. In particular, from week to week they give away tickets for events, they treat users to booze and food in Zagreb's very best bistros and restaurants, and ensure safe entertainment for all of the app's users. The purpose of these donations is to help those in the hospitality industry, cultural facilities, performers and organisers of events bring back their much-needed guests, audiences and visitors and increase turnover and earnings.

''We want to restore optimism to people and send a clear message that summer in Zagreb has never failed,'' the creators of this Croatian startup explain.

Marin Levaj, the manager of Mojo bar, was among the first to join this campaign.

''I'm glad that we joined this initiative because we believe that guests will recognise the effort behind our modest restaurant, and also allow them to relax a bit after the past shocks caused by the pandemic and the earthquake,'' said Levaj.

Divan.hr is curently visited by 50,000 users a month.

For more, follow Made in Croatia.

February 12, 2020 - Today, Croatian startup Omoguru, a company that improves dyslexics reading skills, announces that it aims to help improve reading skills for over 130 million dyslexics in Croatian, English, Spanish and German language. Based on research over the last couple of years, Omoguru dyslexia-friendly tools are now ready to help English-speaking dyslexics. 

There are solutions for dyslexics, especially in the segment of text-to-speech apps. But to improve reading skills you actually need to read. Since reading is quite tiring, the main premise of the app is to make it easier to read. Omoguru improves readability and provides a better visual impact. Even though dyslexia is the language difficulty, the only interface for reading is font and text. Dyslexics use the app to find the most appropriate appearance of the text that suits each reader perfectly. The core of the solution is a visually comfortable OmoType font family designed to improve letter detection and word recognition. Research proves it reduces reading time, mistakes and mental effort needed to read. The app provides specific text adjustments (font type, size, spacing between the lines and letters, syllable marking for reading rhythm, mirror letters differentiation) and tools that help with reading speed and focus. 

“Omoguru Reader has been present in Croatia for over a year, where we currently have around 10 000 users of our tools. Since October, the version for English language is available on stores and user base, especially in the USA is constantly growing,” says Vanja Andric, who is in charge of getting the solution to as many dyslexics possible. Omoguru is currently preparing two pilot programs with middle schoolers in New York and looking to start conversations with many other schools. 

Last month Omoguru received great feedback from an independent trial done in the UK with 6 dyslexic students. The trial was done by a Head of one SEN school and included teachers and educational psychologists. They concluded Omoguru is a truly wonderful application. Each child reported that it helped them read and all gave the app thumbs up. Teachers and education psychologists felt Omoguru was a well-developed app they should use to support students.

“Combining the tools, products, and activities, besides empowering the position of dyslexic children, our effort is to create a global community that destigmatizes dyslexia and encourages the blossoming of dyslexics creative potential by making it easier to read, learn and grow in all aspects of life in which reading is important.” said the founder and CEO of Omoguru, Petar Reic. Petar isn’t dyslexics himself but he lives with dyslexia every day. His wife and 13-year-old daughter are both dyslexic. He created this product because he couldn’t find anything else that would suit his daughter. 

For people with dyslexia, the ability to read and understand text can be affected by the way in which text has been written and produced. Each person with dyslexia is affected in a different way. In the USA about 1 in 5 persons are dyslexic, while on average it affects 1 in 10 people worldwide. 

“We aim to support them during education. Make it easier for dyslexic students to read the necessary literature and improve reading skills. They will be more independent and tackle what life throws at them as they move forward. It would be amazing if more dyslexics would have the ability to go through life with better reading skills, carrying fewer issues from the early days. And to be able to focus more on the positive sides of dyslexia.” say at Omoguru. 

Join dyslexic students (and adults) who already use Omoguru to make the text more readable and decode words with ease. “The app is available for free, with books preloaded so you can start reading immediately. We also have some premium features you can subscribe to” say at Omoguru. The idea is to make the app as easily available to end-users but they look to provide business accessibility solutions. One such case is the Cornell Law School’s Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide. 

“Hopefully, businesses will be more interested to improve their website accessibility so we’ll be able to offer customer solutions completely for free” say at Omoguru. The app for Android and iOs are available in their stores.  

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